Despite up to 500 daily visitors (a few days even more) no-one noticed the deliberate (ahem) mistakes in my list of the 20 most common surnames in Victorian Cornwall. Where were the Jameses? In fact, they should have been found at number 11 in the list. And what about the Nicholls? Why hadn’t they appeared … Continue reading Apologies to the Jameses and Nicholls
Tag: James
St Levan: exceptions in the far west
The majority of men in Victorian Cornwall probably followed the same occupations as did their fathers. Moreover, the majority of those tended to stay in that occupation for the rest of their lives. However, the exact proportions may well have varied from place to place and from one occupation to the next. When complete, the … Continue reading St Levan: exceptions in the far west
From Probus School to India
In the summer of 1857 some native cavalrymen at Meerut, 40 miles north east of Delhi in India, rose in revolt against their British officers. The troops, employed by the East India Company had been enraged by rumours that evangelical British officers were plotting to replace Hinduism, Islam and other native religions with Christianity. Meanwhile, … Continue reading From Probus School to India
Mullion: the roundabout road to (and from) Camborne-Redruth
The rather over-the-top Marconi monument at Mullion In 1861 the residents of Mullion on the Lizard peninsula would never have guessed that the parish would take its place as one of the epicentres of modernity in the coming century. It was from this parish that Marconi transmitted the first transatlantic radio messages in 1901/02, following … Continue reading Mullion: the roundabout road to (and from) Camborne-Redruth
Pisky-led? Piskies and Cornish difference
Pixies or piskies are little people, about knee-high. They live in the otherworld and are usually invisible to humans. But if you look very carefully you might just spot them cavorting around in circles on a remote moor at the dead of night. Sometimes they will help farmers and others with their chores; sometimes they … Continue reading Pisky-led? Piskies and Cornish difference
Cornish studies resources 