PHILLACK

Phillack.

A village on the north side of the Hayle estuary, stretching from the mouth of the Hayle river at Riviere Towans, northwards to Godrevy Point. This was where John Hockin left a farm called Caleane, adjoining Gwithian, in the parish of Camborne, bought some land at Godrevy, and settled there. He was a well known Hurler, and once, aged 19, carried off the ball from Four Borough Downs at an "Out-ball", and brought it himself to Camborne in opposition to a vast number of horsemen and footmen. His issue were 9 children. He was buried at Gwithian on the 15th of April, 1706. The eldest son of his first son John, was to purchase in 1754, from Henry, Baron Arundel of Wardour, the lease for three lives of presentation to the rectory of Phillack, with the chapelry of Gwithian. His second son, Thomas, was the one who caused the family to later receive a Grant of Arms from the Queen.

Map details based on the "AA New Book of the Road", 4th. ed.c.Reader's Digest Association Ltd..

For a closer view :-

Map details based on the "AA New Book of the Road", 4th. ed.c.Reader's Digest Association Ltd..

The majority of the descendants of John the Hurler, were to be prolific, were to live in many instances to great ages and there were to be remarkably few children lost at or soon after birth. There were also to be a considerable proportion of males among st these offspring, giving rise to many branches of the family. This, coupled with the family fondness for certain christian names - John, William and Richard, was to lead to a bewildering array of relatives. There was a case of two female Hockins, mother and daughter, marrying two male Hockins, father and son, but the daughter married her UNCLE, and her mother married the daughter's cousin! In this move, the females regained their Hockin surname, and probably created considerable family confusion as well.

There were Hockins as rector of Phillack, until 1922, and there have been quite a number in the Church elsewhere - Stithians, Okehampton, Lydford, Blackawton, Exeter, etc.. The multitude of male Hockins spread throughout the professions - several took up Law, and were established as Solicitors in Truro, Launceston, Dartmouth, Falmouth and in more recent times, in Manchester; also in the LNWR at Sheffield. Some went into the H.East India Co. others into the Army and Navy. one in the latter rising to Rear Admiral. One was a ship's Captain in the P&O Co., another a Mining engineer, and several ,including some of the rectors of Phillack, became landed proprietors of property abroad, and so became considerable travellers, resulting in a number of the children being born in various foreign countries. One became surgeon at Barts, emigrated to Australia, and practiced there. Yet another Robert Hichens Hockin, found himself in 1883, at Fort Edmonton in NW Canada, at the age of 23. Frederick Hockin, rector of Phillack in the early 1800's managed to get married at Valetta, in Malta, but was in his parish, when he died in1856.

A sad number didn't survive the Great War, including a descendant of the Australian surgeon, thus cutting off several of the family lines. A famous Hockin in the West Country at the present time, is Bruce Hockin, who in May, has just retired from HTV (West) in Bristol, having been their senior presenter for 30 years. His has been a well known and very popular presence on our TV screens, and in events in this part of the world. His family are connected through the Dartmouth solicitors' branch of the Hockin line.

Probably the most famous of the Hockin exploits is that which resulted in the family, being granted arms, by the Queen.