ABSTRACT
The existence of the Duchy of Cornwall and the consequent concentration of the administration of a large area of the county at its head quarters in Lostwithiel had helped to inhibit the emergence of a strong and influential local gentry. Men of wealth and ambition tended to move away — the poverty of the county and its remoteness from the centre of power also influenced their decision – so that the majority of Cornishmen who made their mark under the Tudors, no small number, usually began by severing personal links with it. The absence of the extremes of wealth and poverty that could be found in other counties was a noticeable feature of Cornish society at this period. In contrast with most of England there were few labourers; in the various fiscal returns of 1522—5 they did not amount to more than 15 per cent.
