The introduction of gunpowder for blasting – the first example supposedly in Gwinear in the 1670s – greatly speeded up the excavation of shafts and levels in the Cornish mines. Powder was used in a series of controlled explosions that advanced the rock face. Or often uncontrolled. The main problem was in providing a fuse … Continue reading Fuse works and the perils of powder
The Truro riot of 1796
Food riots, where crowds gathered to demand a supply of staple foodstuffs, reduce their price or prevent their export, became commonplace in Cornwall over the course of the 1700s. One of the most serious occurred at Truro in 1796. After this, one participant - John Hoskin, also known as 'Wild Cat', was hanged. Here's an … Continue reading The Truro riot of 1796
The mystery of the missing Irish
Recent blogs on this site have uncovered migrants from across the Channel who were living in Cornwall in the early 1500s. But what about migrants from the opposite direction, from across the Celtic Sea? There were a handful of people called Welshman in the early records, Walter and John Wylsheman at East Looe and another … Continue reading The mystery of the missing Irish
The Cornish at the Battle of Jutland
From the afternoon of 31st May 1916 into the following day British and German battlefleets clashed off Jutland in the North Sea. Over a hundred of the more than 6,000 from the Royal Navy who lost their lives came from Cornwall. It’s been estimated that three per cent of the British fleet at the Battle … Continue reading The Cornish at the Battle of Jutland
Boswell’s 1792 drinking tour of Cornwall
The following is an extract from Chapter 7 ('The plain an gwarry') of my The Real World of Poldark: Cornwall 1783-1820. Drink and the public house were accepted as central to popular culture in the eighteenth century. The involvement of publicans in the national sport of wrestling has already been noted. Many pubs would also … Continue reading Boswell’s 1792 drinking tour of Cornwall
The French connection
Last week we saw that Cornwall was the temporary home for many hundreds of young Bretons in the period from the 1460s to the 1540s. But Brittany was not the only country of origin for those who flocked to Cornwall in this period in search of work and a better life. While well over 95% … Continue reading The French connection
Goonhilly
Cornwall is a lot more than tourism as its history shows. On 65 hectares of the flat plateau of the Lizard peninsula at Goonhilly Downs there’s an unexpected listed building. This can be found in the shape of the first satellite dish built to receive the pathbreaking television images bounced across the Atlantic via Telstar … Continue reading Goonhilly
The Great Revival of 1814
The first major revivals took place at St Just in Penwith in 1782 and St Austell in 1785, indicating that Methodism in those places had already reached the numbers necessary to support the phenomenon. The two ‘great’ revivals of 1799 and 1814 burned across the land in mid and west Cornwall as village after village … Continue reading The Great Revival of 1814
Economic migrants from Brittany in early 16th century Cornwall
The lay subsidies of the early 1500s are lists of taxpayers. In the published versions (1524-25 and 1543-44) we find entries such as John Breton, at Truro in 1525. John was also classed as an ‘alien’. These entries therefore provide us with a valuable insight into the presence of Bretons in the Cornwall of the … Continue reading Economic migrants from Brittany in early 16th century Cornwall
The bells! The bells!
A sound that I’ve not heard for some time on my regular Sunday morning bike rides through the back lanes of Cornwall has been that of church bells. Social distancing has meant that the ringers cannot get together in the church towers to ring. Moreover, there’s been no Sunday services until recently, so the point … Continue reading The bells! The bells!
