A rural parish to the east of Penzance and Marazion, Perranuthnoe is now merely a place to ‘escape the hustle and bustle of everyday life … [an] ideal destination for a coastal retreat’, its heritage forgotten, its history unlamented. That’s a far cry from Victorian days when the parish was better known for its mines … Continue reading Perranuthnoe: what to do when the bal is scat
Month: July 2022
Perranarworthal: fitting engines and feeding boarders
We arrive at the three parishes named after Perran, who has become Cornwall’s patron saint. Perranarworthal (Perran at the manor of Arworthal, meaning by the marsh), on the western bank of the Fal estuary upriver from Penryn, was one of Cornwall’s more industrial parishes in Victorian times. It was here that the Foxes had financed … Continue reading Perranarworthal: fitting engines and feeding boarders
Penzance: my brother was a baron
Among the roughly 4,500 Cornish men and women captured in the Victorian Lives database it’s not that common to come across someone with connections reaching into the Privy Council and the heart of the British establishment. But that’s exactly what we find in Penzance. In 1850 Louise d’Este Courtney was born at New Street, Penzance, … Continue reading Penzance: my brother was a baron
Migration from Mount’s Bay
The neighbouring parishes of Penzance and Paul were among Cornwall’s most populous in the Victorian period. That also means they provided more children for the Victorian Lives database, in fact a total of 133. Of those, just over three quarters (102) have been traced through to 1891 or their death. (Health warning: those of a … Continue reading Migration from Mount’s Bay
Penzance’s ‘truly independent cordwainers’
Penzance was a diverse place, containing a variety of occupations. The largest occupational sector in the town was craftsmen, accounting for almost a half of the adult men. Indeed, this was the largest of any Cornish parish in 1861. Among them were shoemakers. The shoemakers of Penzance had been described in1845 as ‘the bravest of … Continue reading Penzance’s ‘truly independent cordwainers’
Pelynt: ‘we’ll cross the Tamar, land to land’
From the fisherfolk of Newlyn and Mousehole we head eastwards to the farmers and farm labourers of Pelynt. In the 1800s this parish may have seemed to have been quietly minding its own business cruising along in the backwaters of history. However, these years saw the reputation of its favourite son rapidly gather pace. For … Continue reading Pelynt: ‘we’ll cross the Tamar, land to land’
Newlyn: fish hawkers and octogenarians
In May 1871 the Great Exhibition opened its doors in London. The Crystal Palace constructed in Hyde Park was the wonder of its age, a giant greenhouse containing exhibits from around the globe as Victorians revelled in their technical wizardry and the bounties of free trade (and colonialism). Meanwhile, 256 miles away, an old lady … Continue reading Newlyn: fish hawkers and octogenarians
Mousehole: a culture’s final resting place?
Mousehole, in Paul parish bordering the west side of Mount’s Bay, is now stuffed full of holiday cottages and second homes and more than half-dead in winter. It’s somehow fitting that this place could lay claim to be the location of the death of an entire culture. Christmas at Mousehole, when the lights bring life … Continue reading Mousehole: a culture’s final resting place?
Padstow: saints but no sinners
Some have argued that Christianity first arrived in Cornwall in Roman times from Ireland (others prefer Gaul or the south east of Britain). Several ‘saints’ later venerated in Cornwall had connections with Ireland. One was Petroc, who was supposed to have studied in Ireland and who gave his name to Petrocstow, also known in Cornish … Continue reading Padstow: saints but no sinners
North Tamerton: farmers and a pharmacist
Another day, another north Cornish border parish. To the north of North Petherwin, North Tamerton was also a farming parish. Indeed, all four of the Victorian Lives sample who were children there in 1861 were sons and daughters of farmers. Again, none of the four moved far. Philip Symons is a good example. Philip’s father, … Continue reading North Tamerton: farmers and a pharmacist
Cornish studies resources 