Page:County Churches of Cornwall.djvu/13

 PREFACE THE object of the series of "County Churches," to which this little volume belongs, is to produce in a handy and condensed form an accurate outline account of the old parish churches of England, in the hope that they may serve as a help to church- loving visitors, and also prove of some trifling service to resident churchmen. So far as Cornwall is concerned, I have under- taken this task with no little diffidence, for the Duchy has ever been celebrated, far above all other English counties, not only for its sturdy independ- ence of character, but also, in its intense local patriotism, for a somewhat contemptuous estimate as to the worth of mere intruders from the shires. These traits, I know full well, it still retains, though mellowed by age, and with angles rounded off by more frequent contact with appreciative visitors. I also know full well how fortunate Cornwall has been, from the days of Elizabeth down to the present year of Grace, in the possession of men of letters of her own kith and kin, especially of those who have loved to write of her own local features so vividly displayed both in nature and art, and which are for the most part in striking contrast to the rest of the kingdom.