Bernard Deacon's Blog, page 23

Mawnan’s emigrants – triggering cultural transformation

Mawnan is now famed for the gardens that flourish on the south-facing slopes running down to the Helford estuary, places such as Glendurgan, Trebah and Carwinion. These were founded in the 1800s, often by various members of the Fox family from nearby Falmouth who built their country houses in this verdant parish blessed by mild … Continue reading Mawnan’s emigrants – triggering cultural transformation →

Mawgan in Pydar: Lanherne, London and leaving the shores

The secluded and wooded Vale of Lanherne running inland from Mawgan Porth is peaceful these days. But it was a political flashpoint in the late sixteenth century, regarded as the hotbed of Cornish Catholicism. This was the base of the Arundell family which attempted, ultimately without success, to keep the flag of Catholicism flying in … Continue reading Mawgan in Pydar: Lanherne, London and leaving the shores →

Mawgan in Menage and some transoceanic Cornish

Mining parishes may have supplied the bulk of Cornish emigrants but a farming parish such as Mawgan on the gateway to the Lizard peninsula also had its share of emigrants. Moreover, movers from a non-mining background were often more likely to make the move as part of a family group and more likely to perceive … Continue reading Mawgan in Menage and some transoceanic Cornish →

Launcells: crossing the border

Rivers can act as boundaries between culture areas. Or they can also bring people from either side of the river together. Launcells was a farming parish on the upper reaches of the River Tamar bordering Devon. The Tamar was just a small stream this far north and no barrier to communications. But did the border … Continue reading Launcells: crossing the border →

Polruan – a village of seafarers

The village of Polruan in Lanteglos by Fowey could in the 1800s lay claim to possessing the greatest collective knowledge of seafaring of any place in Cornwall, in relation to its size. Polruan’s association with the sea was a longstanding one, having sent a ship and 60 men to join the siege of Calais in … Continue reading Polruan – a village of seafarers →

Lanteglos by Camelford: making watches and watching the road

Camelford in the 1860s had not grown appreciably since the town was founded in the thirteenth century. Despite having two Members of Parliament before 1832, in the main its houses still fronted one long street and its population numbered hundreds rather than thousands. Nonetheless, Camelford resembled a town rather than a village in the variety … Continue reading Lanteglos by Camelford: making watches and watching the road →

An upper-class life

The parish of Lanteglos by Camelford offers a rare opportunity for us to peer into the life of a family from the landowning class, the small minority who were able to live off rents, dividends and the surplus created by the majority. Johanna Cecilia Frederica Ley was the first child of Edwin Ley and his … Continue reading An upper-class life →

Polperro: not just although mainly about the fishing

Lansallos parish contains part of the coastal village of Polperro (shared with the neighbouring parish of Talland). Now the epitome of a ‘quaint’ and picturesque Cornish village, Polperro in the 1800s was a self-contained and busy working village, its people earning their living mainly from fishing. Self-contained but hardly parochial or inward-looking. Jonathan Couch was … Continue reading Polperro: not just although mainly about the fishing →

Lanreath: the Giant’s Hedge and giant leaps

William Toms grew up on his father’s 150-200 acre farm at Bocaddon in Lanreath in east Cornwall. Bocaddon was found less than a mile north of the churchtown of Lanreath. However, between the two there lay the inscrutable feature of the Giant’s Hedge. This large earthwork had been built across the deep valleys that cut … Continue reading Lanreath: the Giant’s Hedge and giant leaps →

Lanlivery: attempts at catering and hints of the coming century

Lanlivery in mid-Cornwall was a parish of contrasts. Its boundaries encompassed the granite Helman Tor capped by its neolithic enclosure and the elusive Redmoor, often preceded by the adjective ‘mysterious’. But it also contained wooded valleys leading down to Lostwithiel and the River Fowey. Indeed, Lostwithiel had been carved out of Lanlivery in the medieval … Continue reading Lanlivery: attempts at catering and hints of the coming century →