This week sees the anniversary of the first battle of the Cornish army in the seventeenth century civil wars – the battle of Braddock Down. In the autumn of 1642 when the wars began it wasn’t at all certain who would rally Cornwall behind them. Would it be Royalists or Parliamentarians? The greater gentry in … Continue reading The battle of Braddock Down
Three surnames from the Fal district
The nineteenth century distribution of a surname is sometimes a good guide to its point of origin, sometimes less so. Take the following three names, which are all likely to have begun life in the district around the Fal estuary in south Cornwall. Mankee was a name associated entirely with west Cornwall in 1861, with … Continue reading Three surnames from the Fal district
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?
Socialism in Edwardian Cornwall
It’s not generally well-known that Truro and Camborne were relatively early centres of socialist activism. In May 1904 W.A.Phillips, standing ‘boldly as a representative of the workers and a Social Democrat’ was elected to Truro Town Council in a by-election in Truro East. This was the first council seat won by a socialist west of … Continue reading Socialism in Edwardian Cornwall
Cornish surnames where the spelling obscures the origin
Sometimes the changing spellings of surnames can tend to confuse us. The first example is fairly obvious. The name Lidgey began life in the early 1600s in Redruth and on the Lizard (where it was more likely to be Ludgy). It doesn’t take a great deal of detective work to find the placename Lidgey at … Continue reading Cornish surnames where the spelling obscures the origin
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
More Cornish surname puzzles
Actually, two of the following are not too puzzling. Their point of origin seems clear enough even if their later geography is less so. Keskeys is the most straightforward. It clearly originated in the place of the same name in St Erth parish. That was spelt Caerskes in 1363, which takes us closer to the … Continue reading More Cornish surname puzzles
Fishy business: research on Cornwall’s inshore fisheries
Two relatively recent articles on the Cornish inshore fisheries and the men employed in them are reviewed here. The first looks at access to healthcare and identifies the constraints facing ‘fishers’. The second contrasts the Cornish inshore fisheries with the coastal fisheries of Tuscany. It identifies the strategies employed by the small-scale fishing sector in … Continue reading Fishy business: research on Cornwall’s inshore fisheries
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
Cornish studies resources 