A book of the west. Volume 2, Cornwall : $b being an introduction to Devon and CornwallBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
A book of the west. Volume 2, Cornwall : $b being an introduction to Devon and Cornwall
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Cornwall (England : County)
Many years after, one of Rogers’ sons gave the following account of
his reminiscences of the siege:--“He recollected that his father was
fired at, and had a snuff-box and powder-horn broken in his pocket by
a ball. He recollected that whilst he himself (then a child) was in
the bed several balls came in through the window of the room, and
after striking against the wall rolled about on the floor. One brother
and sister who were in the house went out to inquire what was wanted
of their father, and they were not permitted to return. On the last
night no one remained in the house but his father, himself, and the
servant-maid. In the middle of the night they all went out, and got
some distance from the house. In crossing a field, however, they were
met by two soldiers, who asked them their business. The maid answered
that they were looking for a cow, when they were permitted to proceed.
The soldiers had their arms, and his father had his gun. The maid and
himself were left at a farmhouse in the neighbourhood.”
Henry Rogers, whom the soldiers had not recognised in the darkness,
managed to escape, and pushed on in the direction of London, resolving
to lay his grievances before the king. He was dressed in a whitish
fustian frock, with imitation pearl buttons, and a blue riding-coat
over it.
As soon as it was discovered that he had decamped, a reward of £350
was offered for his apprehension. He had already shot and killed
five men, and had wounded seven. He was not, however, taken till he
reached Salisbury Plain, where he hailed a postboy, who was returning
with an empty chaise, and asked for a lift. He was still carrying his
gun. The boy drove him to the inn, where he procured a bed; but the
circumstances, and the description, had excited suspicion; he was
secured in his sleep, and was removed to Cornwall, to be tried for
murder at Launceston along with his serving-man, John Street.
His trial took place on August 1st, 1735, before Lord Chief Justice
Hardwicke. Rogers was arraigned upon five indictments, and Street upon
two. Both received sentence of death, and were executed on August 6th.
The house at Skewis has been recently in part rebuilt, when a bag of
the slugs used by poor Rogers was found.
It is in Crowan parish.
The church of S. Crewenna stands on a hill, and has a good tower. It
contains numerous monuments of the S. Aubyn family, and some brasses
only recently restored to the church, after having lain for many years
lost or forgotten in a cupboard at Clowance.
It is hard to say whether the fulsome memorial of Sir John S. Aubyn,
who died in 1839, is more painful or amusing reading to such as know
his story.
The church has been “restored” in a cold and unsympathetic fashion.
Clowance, the seat of the Molesworth S. Aubyn family, has noble trees,
and is an oasis in the midst of the refuse-heaps of mines. There are
some early crosses in the grounds.
But to return to the Irish invasion.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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