Headstone 374
~ Granite ~ Tombchest with contoured edge and brick sides
- Parkins Prynn 1777 – 19 April 1838
- Aged 61 years
- Captain of Royal Navy
- of West Looe
- Parish Records show
- Surname spelt Prynn
- Talland Church Marriage
- Parkins Prynn to Lucy Collins
- 18 March 1805
- Sons Headstone 375
- Daughter Headstone 376
- Daughter Headstone 362
- Brother Headstone 374
Will of Parkins Prynn, Captain in His Majesty’s Royal Navy, of West Looe, proved 28 August 1838. PROB 11/1899/450 National Archives.
Parkins Prynn, in later years sometimes miss-spelt as Prynne, was a Retired Commander when he died: his stone is marked Capt., and his Will is entitled Esquire Capt. R.N. He is referred to as Captain in the Will.
Ancestry Records – show Parkins Prynn, son of Samuel & Eliza Prynn, baptised at Talland on 8 June 1777. His parents Ledger Stone 34 is situated in the north aisle of Talland church. Talland Parish records show Parkins Prynn, followed in his father’s footsteps and became churchwarden in 1822.
From the Royal Cornwall Gazette newspaper report, of the funeral of decorated son, Lieutenant Colonel Prynne (John Bassett Prynn 1827-1875), who was interred in Chatham Cemetery with full military honours: “it is reported that his father, Capt. Prynne, (sic) R.N of West Looe, was twice wounded at Trafalgar, October 1805“, just months after his marriage, aged 28 years.
“Portrait of Parkin Prynn, believed to have be painted after his appointment to Retired Commander on 15 December 1830 (the dress uniform befits this position).”
submitted by the great great grand-daughter of Parkins Prynn
The Battle of the Nile took place in August 1798 and Parkins Prynn was not there. The confusion is that he was in the Egyptian Campaign of 1801 at Aboukir as a Lieutenant on H.M.S. Braakel. He was ashore with the troops at the battles of Mandora on 13th March and Alexandria on the 21st. Afterwards he served in gunboats up the Nile to capture Cairo in late June. In common with all officers he received a Gold Medal from the Grand Seignior.
Research conducted & submitted by family member. Gratefully received.
The historian James Derriman writes that his 3-times great uncle, Lieut. Parkins Prynn, R.N, a some point, held a commanding position of the ‘Polperro Sea Fencibles’. A large number of Polperro fishermen enlisted in the Sea Fencibles during the Napoleonic wars defending the south coast of Cornwall against the French Revolution, between the coastal points of Dodman and Rame Head, operating between 1802-1810.
‘The Sea Fencibles of Polperro’ – Polperro Family History Society-J2
On leaving the Royal Navy due to ill health he joined the Sea Fencibles in July 1807, first serving at Dover then at Teignmouth. When this service was disbanded in 1811 he was appointed as a serving Lieutenant in charge of three men at the signal station at Penhale, East Looe, where he remained until the end of the war in 1815.
The Nelson Dispatch – journal of The Nelson Society – Vol.6 Part.8 – “Commander Parkins Prynn – Trafalgar Veteran” Capt. Hugh Owen + Topographical and Historical Sketches of the Boroughs of East and West Looe in the County of Cornwall, 1823 by Thomas Bond. Submitted by Descendant of Parkins Prynn
Commander P. Prynn entered the service in 1793. As Mid. served at the capture of a Dutch squadron at the Cape of Good Hope by Lord Keith in 1795. Lieut., 1800. Lieut. in the [H.M.S] Braakel in the expedition to Egypt in 1801, and served on shore in the actions of the 13th and 21st March. [2nd] Lieut. in H.M.S Achilles [74 guns] at Trafalgar, 1805—wounded. Retired Commander, 1830. Died at West Looe, 1838
The Trafalgar Roll – Officers who participated in the Glorious Victory of the 21st October 1805, Col R H Mackenzie
Suddenly, at West Looe, on the 19th instant, [died of a ruptured aortic aneurysm], Parkins Prynn, Esq., Late a Commander in Majesty’s Navy. In the service of his country, he was distinguished as a gallant Officer and was universally respected by those with whom he served. In private life his worth was fully appreciated as a fond husband, an affectionate parent, and a sincere friend.
Weekly Dispatch (London) 29 April 1838
Darloe House, in West Looe, (known as Captain’s House) dates back to the 1800s, when it was built for Lieutenant Parkins Prynn, a local naval officer.
Carla Jones Estate Agents 20 Feb 2023
Parkins Prynn & Lucy Collins (1785-1862) had twelve children (5 boys & 7 girls, inc twins).
The eldest two sons, Parkins Prynn[e] (1810-1830) & George Francis Prynn[e] (1812-1830) are remembered with a headstone next to his tomb chest. Their eldest daughter Elizabeth Robins Prynn (1815-1874) married Joseph Hearle (1814-1891); their family cross is found close by.
Talland Church Headstones 
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