For the origin of the boroughs name we have to examine the old Cornish language. This language remained fairly well intact until the 9/10th. Centuries when the English, or more correctly Saxons, under the Wessex kings began to settle in Cornwall. One of the most notable features of their arrival on the Cornish language was the introduction of the word ton ( tún) to designate their centers of settlement. The usual practice was add this word to the existing Cornish place names, however this was not universally adopted and so at least two versions of a settlements name would exist. The Saxons mainly settled in the north and east of Cornwall, particularly in the area of Bude. In the case of Helston their arrival can be linked to the 'port' that existed at the time.
I doubt that it was a port in the sense that we accept today, more likely a small fishing comunity that did not develope much further. When one considers that even after sailing ships moved on in desiegn, from square to fore and aft rig, the number that have been wrecked on this stretch of coast that it would be an illogical choice for developement particularly with Gweek so near with it's access to Falmouth Bay and subsequently the Channel.This was also before the 'great storm' that threw up the sand bar that blocked the mouth of the River Cober and formed Loe Pool.
So in the case of Helston we have the old Cornish hen-lys meaning old or
ancient court coupled with the Saxon ton (tún) denoting a farm or manorial
center. The original Cornish name in the form of ‘Hellys’ survived
until the end of the 14th. Century and as ‘Helles’ until the late
17th. Century. In conjuncture with this it is interesting to note that modern
Cornish dictionaries, for example The New Standard Cornish Dictionary by Dr.
Ken George, define the meaning of the Cornish Hel as meaning hall in English.
Older publications give different explanations for example;
Richard Carew of Antony wrires in The Survey of Cornwall first published in
1602, that ‘Helston, in Cornish ‘Hellaz’, in English the
Green Hall’
Yet another expanation of the origin appears in Lakes Parochial History of
the County of Cornwall (1868)Vol. II, page 179, where he states ‘The
name of the town, properly Helleston, is unquestionably derived from hellas,
a marsh, and the termination, ton, the origin of the word town, more especially
a walled town, or fortress; Helleston consequently signifies the fortress
on the marsh.’
However as this is Kernow the land of myth and legend it is not surprising that the local interpretation is somewhat different. There are two versions of the myth relating to the origin of the place name Helston. In the first the Devil appears over Helston in the guise of a dragon carrying a red-hot stone known as the ‘Lid of Hell’ to destroy the town. Saint Michael joined the Devil in a ferocious battle to save the town and threw the fatally wounded dragon (the disguise of the Devil) into Loe Pool. The stone ‘Lid of Hell’ or Hell’s stone is said to have given the town its name Helston. The same stone appears in the second version where the devil threw the stone at Saint Michael who was sitting on Saint Michaels Mount (at Marazion) and it missed him and landed in Helston. In both cases it is believed that the Hell’s stone was in fact the ancient black stone that resided at the rear of the Angel Hotel until 1783 when it was broken up and used in the building of a wall there.
It should be borne in mind that there is very little certainty in much of the above owing to the scarcity of written records from olden times and that many of those that are in existence are not readily available for examination. In practical terms we have to rely on the interpretations of those who have examined them and published their work.
The official spelling of the borough of ‘Helston’ has evolved
over time. In some instances the spelling changes by error and in others by
the natural evolvement of the language. It should be borne in mind that the
level of education of those recording events at the time was vastly different
from even the basic level that we accept today. Latin was the official language
of the day and was primarily taught by rote as all books at that time were
copied by hand. This in itself was a long and laborious process prone to error.
The official documents of the day were produced by scribes (professional writers)
and their sources of written information were in the most recordings made
by the traveling officers of the reigning monarch and the in situ priests,
using the local version of the name.
The Exeter Domesday Book of 1086 records Helston as ‘Henlistone’
and the entry continues ‘King's land, formerly Earl Harold. 14 unbroken
mares, 200 sheep, 40 ale-men’ demonstrating that Helston was an important
place in those times. In 1201 we know that King John’s clerks referred
to the borough as ‘Hellestona’ in the original charter granting
the manor of Helston the status of a free borough. This changes in the Assize
roll numbered 111 recorded in 1284. This roll refers to ‘Hellestone’
and in 1302 this changes again in the Assize roll numbered 117 in which the
borough is referred to as ‘Helleston’. The spelling reverts in
1356 to ‘Hellestona’ in the Exemplification for King Edward III
of the Proceedings of the Sessions in Eyre held in 1302. As we can see there
is no consistent official form of the spelling and to add to the confusion
the second charter of Queen Elizabeth dated 26th. January 1585 refers to both
‘Hellestone’ and ‘Hellestona’. This was probably an
error caused by the copying of sections of text from different documents without
the benefit of cross-referencing. An example of errors in documents that are
referring to Helston is found in a marginal heading on the charter of King
Charles I dated 8th. February 1641 in which the borough is referred to as
‘Hilleston’ and yet in the body of the document the spelling ‘Hellestona’
is used. During the 18th. Century the spelling reverts to ‘Helleston’
as can be found in the Charter of King George III dated 3rd. September 1774.
In closing I would add that while many of us know that Cornwall is the English
version of Kernow where did the word Cornwall come from? P. H. Reaney in ‘The
Origins of English PlaceNames’ offers this explanation on page 93 ‘Cornwall
is an Anglicized form of a Celtic tribal name with the addition of the Old
English element walh meaning "Briton, Welshman"’ For anyone
who is interested in the origins of English place names I recommend the excellent
‘A Dictionary of English Placenames’ by A.D.Mills and for Cornwall
in particular, the invaluable ‘Cornish Place-Names’ by O.J.Padel