Housing and population: how Cornwall compares

From 2011 to 2018 the number of people in Cornwall grew from 534,000 to an estimated 566,000. This was a faster rate of growth than the other parts of Great Britain. The number of houses built in Cornwall grew even faster. Interestingly, while the growth in the number of dwellings in England was less than … Continue reading Housing and population: how Cornwall compares →

A disturbance at Camborne in 1874

Camborne in the 1870s, a time of economic depression, could be a rough place. Here’s one incident reported in the West Briton of March 26th, 1874. A man named Webster, a resident of Crowan, who has not the reputation of being the quietest character in the neighbourhood, and who, on account of certain pugilistic propensities, … Continue reading A disturbance at Camborne in 1874 →

Rare Cornish surnames explained. Perhaps.

Edward Bickerley was buried at St Ives in 1854. A few years later the only three Bickerley households appearing in the 1861 census were found less than ten miles to the east, at Gwinear. Was this distinctively Cornish yet very rare family name a respelling of Bickley (from the placename in Devon)? There were early … Continue reading Rare Cornish surnames explained. Perhaps. →

A.L.Rowse

What is it about mid-Cornwall that produces such prolific authors? The Hocking siblings, from St Stephen in Brannel, wrote almost 200 novels. A century later Alan Kent, who grew up in the clay country, is giving us scores of novels, plays, poems and histories. Not to mention Jack Clemo and Anne Treneer. And then there … Continue reading A.L.Rowse →

Christmas offer

Stuck for something to buy that Cornish relative this Christmas? What better present could there be for someone of Cornish descent than a copy of the best-selling The Surnames of Cornwall? Moreover, as a pre-Christmas treat the ebook version of this will soon be available at the reduced price of £4.99 ($6.46/AU$9.47). And don't forget … Continue reading Christmas offer →

Cornish surname conundrums and questions

What's the origin of these three rare Cornish surnames? The first Drowns were recorded close to the Tamar at Stoke Climsland and Lezant in 1544. Then a smattering of people with this surname popped up at various places across Cornwall in the later 1500s and 1600s in no particular pattern. Either the first Drowns were … Continue reading Cornish surname conundrums and questions →

When Cornwall had 44 MPs

Before 1821 Cornwall was properly represented, with 44 MPs, only one fewer than Scotland. All but two of them represented boroughs, each returning two members. The franchise in those days was ambiguous, being based on vaguely worded medieval or sixteenth-century charters. Basically, the vote was restricted to the householders of certain properties or the mayor … Continue reading When Cornwall had 44 MPs →

Castle an Dinas

Castle an Dinas in mid-Cornwall is one of our most impressive hillforts. The hill, around 700 feet above sea level and with commanding views, was already important for people in the neolithic period, before 2500BC. They had erected two barrows on the hilltop to house their dead. Then, in the late Bronze Age, around 1500-800BC, … Continue reading Castle an Dinas →

Tanners, talkers and trappers? Three Cornish nicknames.

These three rare Cornish surnames originated in nicknames or occupational names. Croggon is usually assumed to come for the Cornish word croghen (leather or skin) and be a name for a tanner. Its connection with Grampound’s tanning industry and its concentration in Grampound and Creed until the 1800s look to prove the point. The only … Continue reading Tanners, talkers and trappers? Three Cornish nicknames. →

Agricultural depression in Cornwall

In the 1870s, farmers across Britain began to suffer from falling grain prices as imports started to flood in from the prairies of North America. As farmers struggled, demands for rent reductions mounted. Cornwall was actually one of the places where rents declined far less than average. This can be explained by the extra competition … Continue reading Agricultural depression in Cornwall →