This church is a vicarage, valued at £11. 3_s._ The patronage in Edmund Prideaux, Esq. the impropriation of the sheaf in Sir John Prideaux, of Netherton in Devon, Bart.; the present incumbent Mr. Charles Guy. THE EDITOR. The most probable opinion respecting the name of Padstow seems to be, that St. Petroc originally fixed his hermitage or his monastic establishment at this place, from whence he afterwards removed to Bodmin. At the taxation of Pope Nicholas this parish stands, Ecclesia de Aldestowe £5. 6_s._ 8_d._; Vicarius ejusdem 13_s._ 4_d._ In the Valor Ecclesiasticus, 26th of Henry the Eighth, preserved in the First Fruits Office, among the property belonging to the monastery at Bodmin, the following entries occur with respect to Padstow: £. _s._ _d._ Padistowe, Decimæ garbæ 14 9 6 Decimæ piscatoriæ 4 0 0 Oblac’ 2 0 0 Reddita et Firmæ Temporalium 10 7 5 Leland says, that the name of this Athelstow indicates its being founded by Athelstan on his conquest of Cornwall, but this appears mere conjecture, unsupported by the slightest authority; in contradiction to the orthography used in the Valuation by the Bishops of Winchester and Lincoln in 1291, where the name is Aldestowe, not Athelstowe; and Athelstan’s conquest took place more than three centuries and a half after the death of St. Petroc. Mr. Whitaker conjectures that the original monastic establishment of this Saint occupied the spot, since inhabited by one of greater learning, and we may fairly presume imbued with a more deep infusion of real piety, the well known and respected author of the Connection of The Old and New Testament, and of a variety of other works, all evincing his profound erudition, strong abilities, and goodness of heart. The Prideauxes are understood to have held this property before the Reformation under a lease for lives from the priors of Bodmin, who appear to have been high lords, at least, of the whole town. Mr. Carew, after noticing Padstow, and referring to a charter of incorporation which unquestionably never had any existence, says, “Mr. Nicholas Prideaux, from his new and stately house thereby, taketh a full and large prospect of the town, haven, and country adjoining, to all which his wisdom is a stay, his authority a direction. He married one of Viel’s coheirs; and, though endowed with fair revenues in Devon, maketh Cornwall beholden to his residence. He beareth, Argent, a chevron Sable, in chief a file with three lambeaux Gules.” P. 144; 340, Lord de Dunstanville’s edit.