Nineteenth century Mylor on the west bank of the Fal estuary was a relatively diverse parish. Although there were no mines in the parish only about a quarter of the men were employed in farming, while a third earned their living directly or indirectly from the sea or the estuary, as mariners, fishermen, oyster dredgers … Continue reading Mylor: Wales or New South Wales?
Category: emigration
Mullion: the roundabout road to (and from) Camborne-Redruth
The rather over-the-top Marconi monument at Mullion In 1861 the residents of Mullion on the Lizard peninsula would never have guessed that the parish would take its place as one of the epicentres of modernity in the coming century. It was from this parish that Marconi transmitted the first transatlantic radio messages in 1901/02, following … Continue reading Mullion: the roundabout road to (and from) Camborne-Redruth
Minster: coast, customers and Canada
Minster includes the northern side of the village of Boscastle within its boundaries. Now a tourist honey-pot, Boscastle was a quiet and remote village in 1861. Although the parish of Minster had 500 inhabitants in that year it only gives us three cases for the Victorian Lives database. The harbour at Boscastle in the 1890s … Continue reading Minster: coast, customers and Canada
Michaelstow: stay around or seek new ground? Contrasting lives from a farming community
Michaelstow is one of those often-overlooked farming parishes of north Cornwall, in this case situated just south of the small town of Camelford. In the 1800s its people got their living mainly from the farms of the parish, with little to interrupt the annual round of ploughing, sowing and harvesting as one year segued drowsily … Continue reading Michaelstow: stay around or seek new ground? Contrasting lives from a farming community
Menheniot: gateway to the world
Menheniot, to the south-east of Liskeard in east Cornwall, was a boom and bust parish of the mid-Victorian period. The population soared by almost 60 per cent in the 1840s before peaking in the early 1860s. It then fell by over a half in the next 30 years. People were attracted to the parish by … Continue reading Menheniot: gateway to the world
Mawnan’s emigrants – triggering cultural transformation
Mawnan is now famed for the gardens that flourish on the south-facing slopes running down to the Helford estuary, places such as Glendurgan, Trebah and Carwinion. These were founded in the 1800s, often by various members of the Fox family from nearby Falmouth who built their country houses in this verdant parish blessed by mild … Continue reading Mawnan’s emigrants – triggering cultural transformation
Mawgan in Pydar: Lanherne, London and leaving the shores
Lanherne House The secluded and wooded Vale of Lanherne running inland from Mawgan Porth is peaceful these days. But it was a political flashpoint in the late sixteenth century, regarded as the hotbed of Cornish Catholicism. This was the base of the Arundell family which attempted, ultimately without success, to keep the flag of Catholicism … Continue reading Mawgan in Pydar: Lanherne, London and leaving the shores
Mawgan in Menage and some transoceanic Cornish
Mining parishes may have supplied the bulk of Cornish emigrants but a farming parish such as Mawgan on the gateway to the Lizard peninsula also had its share of emigrants. Moreover, movers from a non-mining background were often more likely to make the move as part of a family group and more likely to perceive … Continue reading Mawgan in Menage and some transoceanic Cornish
Cornish studies resources 