‘History repeats itself’ is one of those truisms much loved by journalists. But it’s less often resorted to by historians. Nonetheless, when delving into the past we can sometimes encounter the unexpected. We then realise that contemporary concerns may not be quite as novel as we’d assumed.
Take, for example, a meeting of Truro Rural District Council on 10th March 1920. Complaints were made that ‘at Perranporth people were acquiring houses to let to visitors, while workingmen were unable to get homes’. Meanwhile, at St Mawes a mother and ten children lived in one small bedroom while other houses were ‘not in use one night a month’. The councillors decided to write to the Ministry of Health to ask if ‘action could be taken to remedy this’.
What the West Briton called ‘house farming’ is our ‘buy to let’. Clearly, former generations were already aware of the downside of relying on tourism. What is more surprising is that, over a century later, politicians are still unable or unwilling to find solutions to the problems of second homes and over-tourism.
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Cornish studies resources 