With the recent success of the Cornish film Bait, it’s an appropriate time to remember an unwarrantably obscure Cornishman. Henry Lovell Goldsworthy Gurney was born on February 14th, 1793 at Padstow and died at Bude as Sir Goldsworthy Gurney on February 28th, 1875. Gurney’s connection with the dramatic arts is via his improvement of stage … Continue reading Goldsworthy Gurney, the inventor of limelight
Category: social history
Cornwall’s literary and philosophical societies
Currently, Cornwall’s largest museum, the Royal Cornwall Museum at Truro, is temporarily closed to the public. This is the result of ‘continued reduction in grants and consistently low visitor numbers’. The museum’s origins date back more than 200 years. On the 5th February 1818 a number of gentlemen met together at Truro Library. From that … Continue reading Cornwall’s literary and philosophical societies
An eighteenth-century Cornish strongman
In 1758 the Universal Magazine published an account from William Borlase which related the ‘manners of the inhabitants of Cornwall’. Among several far-fetched stories it included the following as an example of the strength of Cornish people … A Cornish wain On Tuesday March 22,1757, John Chilew [normally spelt Chellew] of the parish of Ludgvan, … Continue reading An eighteenth-century Cornish strongman
Cholera in Cornwall: the Victorians’ coronavirus
Not strictly Victorian perhaps, as it preceded Victoria’s reign by five years. As if the endemic typhoid, typhus and dysentery, not to mention the measles, mumps and whooping cough that every year cut a swathe through thousands of infants, were not enough, in 1832 cholera arrived in Cornwall. Outbreaks periodically panicked local authorities into the … Continue reading Cholera in Cornwall: the Victorians’ coronavirus
Who was Bishop Colenso?
Christian missionaries don’t get such a good press these days, often viewed as merely an arm of western colonialism, accompanying the trader and the soldier. But some missionaries broke the mould. One was John Colenso, born at St Austell on January 24th, 1814. The Colensos were actually a Penzance family. John’s father was a mine … Continue reading Who was Bishop Colenso?
Who were the richest families of late Victorian Cornwall?
In 1885 a letter appeared in the West Briton listing what were claimed to be the 27 richest men in Cornwall with their reputed incomes. Here’s the richest nine. (For a rough modern equivalent of the income multiply the figures by 120). NameHouseAnnual incomeThomas Charles Agar-RobartesLanhydrock£75,000John Charles WilliamsCaerhayes£60,000Evelyn BoscawenTregothnan£50,000Duke of Cornwall£40,000Gustavus BassetTehidy£32,000William Henry EdgcumbeMount Edgcumbe£30,000Thomas … Continue reading Who were the richest families of late Victorian Cornwall?
The fall of the Arundells of Lanherne
By the end of the fifteenth century the Arundell family of Lanherne at St Mawgan had climbed to the top of Cornwall’s pecking order. Yet, by the 1600s the family was declining fast. The reason was simple enough. Their stubborn commitment to Roman Catholicism after the Reformation of the 1540s made them suspect in the … Continue reading The fall of the Arundells of Lanherne
Cornish towns in 1698
Celia Fiennes journeyed through Cornwall on horseback in 1698. In her journal she provided brief accounts of some of the towns she saw. Having endured an hour-long crossing of the Tamar on the Cremyll ferry, she took the southern route to the west. She seems to have been most impressed, and a little scared, by … Continue reading Cornish towns in 1698
Trouble at mine
On New Year's Day in 1872 the miners at Wheal Basset near Redruth decided to take a day's holiday. The following day the mine captain - Abraham James - fined them 2/6 each, the equivalent of around 10% of their weekly wage. All hands at the mine then struck work in protest. The West Briton … Continue reading Trouble at mine
Who was Tom Bawcock?
Today at Mousehole people celebrate Tom Bawcock’s Eve. Children parade, paper lanterns aloft. Traditional songs such as ‘Tom Bawcock’s Eve’ are sung, starry-gazy pie will be eaten. This age-old festival has its roots extending deep into the past. But how deep? The event is said to commemorate the actions of Tom Bawcock, a fisherman who … Continue reading Who was Tom Bawcock?
Cornish studies resources 