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!
The Falmouth ‘Mutiny’ of 1810
‘serious spirit of insubordination’ On October 24, 1810, customs officers boarded the two Falmouth packets Prince Adolphus and Duke of Marlborough, which were about to leave port for the Mediterranean and Lisbon. They broke open the chests of the seamen, confiscating any ‘private ventures’ that they discovered. Enraged, the two crews refused to put to … Continue reading The Falmouth ‘Mutiny’ of 1810
Places and surnames: why do some produce lots and others few?
Apologies in advance for a rather rushed surnames blog this week. I’ve been nursing an ailing desktop computer and it’s finally given up the ghost and about to depart for the great computer scrapyard in the sky (actually to be reborn via recycling). This has forced me to use a small laptop before I can … Continue reading Places and surnames: why do some produce lots and others few?
Portreath harbour
As the production of copper from the central mining district around Camborne and Redruth soared in the eighteenth century local mine investors and landlords were confronted by transport bottlenecks. It was becoming ever more difficult to import enough coal to feed the growing number of steam engines, or to export the copper ore quickly and … Continue reading Portreath harbour
Worst in Britain? Cornish roads 200 years ago
Maybe it was the penny-pinching of the parishes who were responsible for the upkeep of the roads. Maybe it was a question of Cornwall’s hilly topography. But contemporaries were agreed; Cornwall’s roads were atrocious. In 1754 a writer in the Gentleman’s Magazine concluded that: Cornwall, I believe, at present has the worst roads in all … Continue reading Worst in Britain? Cornish roads 200 years ago
Different spellings, same roots – Lawry/Lowry/Lory
The surnames Lawry and Lowry are both diminutives of the first name Lawrence. Adding -y to the first syllable of a male name was a popular device when forming surnames in medieval and early modern Cornwall, for example Eddy, Davy, Harry and, of course, Lawry. While Lowry was the preferred spelling in the north of … Continue reading Different spellings, same roots – Lawry/Lowry/Lory
St Neot church windows
In the last years of the Catholic church’s primacy in England there was a boom in church building and restoration. Cornwall too had its share of church re-building beginning in the 1400s. Bodmin, the largest church, was rebuilt between 1469 and 1491. St Mary Magdalene at Launceston is another major example, rebuilt between 1511 and … Continue reading St Neot church windows
‘Little huts’: housing in the late 1700s
In the fictional universe of Poldark, Demelza had lived in a ‘tiny, crowded cottage’ before being whisked away by Ross. But exactly how rough and rudimentary were the cottages in which folk like Demelza and her family had to live? Fortunately, we possess several descriptions of the cottages of the labouring poor in these years. … Continue reading ‘Little huts’: housing in the late 1700s
Trevithick: an iconic surname with multiple origins
This week ought to have seen the annual Trevithick Day, when Camborne celebrates its most famous son. By the middle of the 1800s Trevithick was a surname found in the greatest numbers in the Central Mining District of Camborne-Redruth, particularly in Camborne. Richard Trevithick had himself been born at Tregajorran, actually in Illogan parish, but … Continue reading Trevithick: an iconic surname with multiple origins
Cornish studies resources 