St. Cleather is situate in the hundred of Lesnewith, and hath upon the north, Trenegles; east, Egles-kerry and Laneast; south, part of Altarnun; west, Davidstowe. For the name of St. Cleather, it refers to the vicar of the church, and in Cornish, signifies a sacred, or holy fencer or gladiator; a person that exercises a spiritual sword for offence or defence in a holy manner; and as in this place by the holy fencer is to be understood the vicar, so by his sword is signified την μαχαιραν του πνευματος ὅ ’στι ῥῆμα Θεου, gladium spiritus, quod est verbum Dei, i. e. the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. In the Inquisition of the Bishops of Lincoln and Winchester aforesaid, 1294, Ecclesia de Sancto Clede, or Cledredi, in Decanatu de Lesnewith, was valued to its first fruits 6_l._ In Wolsey’s Inquisition, and Valor Beneficiorum, 6_l._ 11_s._ 0½_d._; the incumbent, Harris; and the parish rated to the 4_s._ per pound land-tax, 1696, 71_l._ 4_s._ 8_d._ Quere, whether St. Clede, or Clete, mentioned in that Inquisition aforesaid, relate not to St. Clete, or Cletus, Bishop of Rome and martyr, as the tutelar guardian and patron of this church? whose history in short is thus: He was born at Rome, of an old family of gentlemen or noblemen, in the reign of Tiberius; whose father’s name was Emelianus, a Christian, that placed his son Clete a disciple under St. Peter; after which he made him and Linnus coadjutors in the ministry. To Linnus St. Peter gave the charge of affairs within Rome, to Cletus the charge of the churches abroad; and those two holy men had both the succession of the Bishopric of Rome, after St. Peter’s death, (Clement through humility declining that office, who in justice should have had it,) till the time that Domitian, the son of Vespasian, enjoyed the empire, who, degenerating from the morality of his father and brother Titus, raised the second persecution against the Christians; at which time, amongst many others, St. Cletus Bishop of Rome received the crown of martyrdom, after he had held the Bishopric twelve years and seven months and two days, 26th April, anno Dom. 91, tempore Domitian. He lies buried by the body of St. Peter at Rome, and is one of the saints mentioned in the Canon of the Mass, as also in St. Paul’s Epistle to Timothy. He is said, by order of St. Peter, to have divided the City of Rome into twenty-five districts or parishes, and to have set up a priest to rule and govern in spiritual matters over such Christians as were within the same, and attended their predicaments; whose successors afterwards in those churches were called cardinals. See Peransand for the family of Cleathers. Bas-ill, in this parish, or Bas-yll, in former ages (at best being but a poor corn country) has been for many ages the seat of the worshipful family of the Trevillians [Trevelyan]; the present possessor, Peter Trevillian, Esq. that married Borlace, his father Arundell.