Note 9 — PENZANCE.

Penzance signifies, in Cornish, Holy-head, i. e. holy headland; and the town appears to have been so called in consequence of a small chapel, dedicated to that universal patron of fishermen, Saint Anthony, having formerly stood on the projecting point near the present quay. When it became necessary to adopt arms for the town, the true origin of its name was forgotten or overlooked, and the holy head of Saint John emblazoned. It would, however, appear from the Liber valorum, that Buriton was the old name of Penzance,—a sound which to the ear of the antiquary is full of historical intelligence, for the addition of Bury to the name of a town signified that it was a town with a castle; thus, Buriton signified Bury-town, i. e. the Castle town. Some cellars near the quay are to this day called the Barbican cellars; thus tradition points out the castle to have been upon, or near, the site of the present chapel.