The Levelling Sea: The Story of a Cornish Haven in the Age of Sail. Philip Marsden

court in London did little for Killigrew’s health and ‘quite ruined his estate’.

      John Killigrew poured his energies into making money. He was the first at Arwenack to understand the basic rule of business, that it is better to offer people a service than rob them, better to victual ships than plunder them. And he knew that, by dint of geography, inheritance and timing, he was sitting on something priceless. For despite the piracy and corruption of King James’s court-bound regime, peace with Spain had led not only to a rapid increase in overseas trade but to a revival of the question of colonisation. Traffic through the Channel – Dutch and English, commercial and colonial, legal and illegal – was growing rapidly. John Killigrew seized his chance. He presented a petition that, with the Killigrews still well represented at court, was approved by King James. It was a modest beginning for a great port: permission to build four inns on what remained of his land.

      The scheme was not without its critics, at least locally. The burghers of Penryn had nurtured a hatred for the Killigrews ever since the destruction of Glasney College. More and more ships took shelter off Arwenack land, rather than sailing up to Penryn. So when Jane Killigrew sought sanctuary from her estranged husband, Penryn was where she fled. She in turn presented the town with a 2-foot-high, silver loving-cup which is still borne around the town streets as part of the mayor’s parade. Jane Killigrew’s grateful message can be seen running around its rim: To the town of Penryn when they received mee that was in great misery.