Taking Day

A Cure for Epilepsy

The Siege  at Skewes

Many years ago on the Sunday evening before Praze  Fair (July 16th) the local young people went to  the service in the parish church and then  afterwards went on to Clowance park. Large crowds gathered from Leedstown, Carnhell Green, Nancegollan, Blackrock, and Praze. “Here the sterner sex select their partners for the fair, and, as  it not infrequently happens that the generous proposals are not accepted,  a tussle ensues, to the intense merriment of the passing spectators”. Cornishman  1882

A traditional Cornish cure for epilepsy  was to walk three times around a church at midnight  and then walk into the church in the dark and  touch the altar. One unfortunate local man did  this but on the way up the nave put his hand  on the bald head of the sexton who was there to see that he came to no harm.  The epileptic thought he'd met the ghost of  Sir John St Aubyn and was terrified. Not only was he not cured of epilepsy but , according to  the Reverend. S. Rundle, he later died in a lunatic asylum

Sir John St Aubyn, the 3rd baronet, was MP for Cornwall between 1722 and 1744. Rogers, who was childless, owned Skewes, a farm in Crowan Parish on Sir John's doorstep. Rogers' brother Henry, who had several children, lived in Helston about 6 miles away, where he worked as a pewterer. In 1734 the elder brother died and left all his property to his widow, whose maiden name was Millet. Henry the pewterer disputed the will and seized control of the farm when his sister-in-law was out, ejecting all the servants.

So far Henry had most people on his side! However the widow took legal action and the sheriff was told to get Henry out of the farm. Meanwhile he had barricaded himself into Skewes with several accomplices and they shot at the sheriff and his men when they arrived on 8th June 1734 to carry out the eviction. Two of the sheriff's men were killed and the sheriff himself had a narrow escape. The next day the under-sheriff was sent with soldiers to try again but also came under fire and one soldier was killed. 

Then for some reason nothing further was done until March 1735 when another attempt to evict Henry Rogers was made and two more soldiers were killed and a total of seven wounded. Finally, after cannon were brought from Pendennis Castle, Rogers decided he couldn't win and he escaped by night.

On page 397 of the Custom House record for 1735 it says, “ROGERS Henry of Crowan in the County of Cornwall; (reward of £200 is offered) committed several murders, (description given)”. Another account says that the reward was £350 for his capture and he was caught with his servant near Salisbury and hanged on the 6th of August.