Bernard Deacon's Blog, page 34

Transregional Cornish surnames: another example

Following up on the blog earlier this week about Cornish surnames from afar, the case of Kendall warrants a moment’s consideration. This surname is assumed to be derived from Kendal in the Lake District, in the furthermost northern reaches of England. By the nineteenth century it was most commonly found in Cumbria – no surprise …

Cornish surnames and long-distance migration

As we have seen before, surnames that originate in placenames can give us useful clues about the migration of people in the past. Contrary to popular myth, even in the medieval period there was considerable movement within the British Isles. In Cornwall, there are several surnames that are based on places to the east of …

Spelling variants and Cornish surnames: Cliffs and Curnows

Let’s catch up on a couple of surname queries, both of which involve spelling variants. The first is the name Cliff. There is general agreement that this is a topographical name, one taken from a feature in the landscape. The classic surname dictionary by P.H.Reaney confidently proclaims that Cliff and Clift are both variants of …

A surname puzzle from Cornwall

A recent enquiry about a surname deserves a wider audience. The name in question is Odiorne, one previously unknown to me. In the 1544 lay subsidies there was a William Odyhorne living in the small coastal parish of Sheviock. From 1589 onwards the surname appeared regularly in parish registers, dispersing from Sheviock, which looks to …

High status secular surnames in early modern Cornwall

If your name is Knight or Bishop does this mean you have a long-lost ancestor who was a mounted warrior or a bemitred ecclesiastic? Sadly, in most cases, the answer is no. In my The Surnames of Cornwall I opted for the possibility that these names might have been given to those who were servants …

The history of two Cornish surnames, one common and one rare

There were two enquiries this week about surnames from the opposite ends of the spectrum. One is in my surnames book; the other isn’t. One is very common; the other very rare. The two surnames are Roberts and Matta. I’ve mentioned both before in these blogs but let’s re-visit them. Robert was a personal name …

An old man in a hurry to depart

In 1886 the British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone was described as an ’old man in a hurry’ as he toiled without success to get his Irish Home Rule Bill through Parliament. Gladstone duly lost power but only finally retired in 1894, after another spell as Prime Minister and at the ripe age of 85. … Continue reading An old man in a hurry to depart →

Corruption in a Cornish borough

The following is an extract from Chapter 11 (The Borough) of The Real World of Poldark: Cornwall 1783-1820. The Reverend Richard Gurney, Vicar of Cuby, was at the centre of Tregony’s borough politics throughout the Poldark years. In 1792 he had been implicated in encouraging ‘mob uproar’. Three effigies representing gentlemen of Tregony who opposed … Continue reading Corruption in a Cornish borough →

Penvoze and Trezona: a study in contrasts

Two enquiries recently received offer the opportunity to show the contrasting history of Cornish surnames. Although one of these surnames flourished and the other did not, they are similar in that both originated in a Cornish placename. Penvoze, spelt Penfos before the early 1500s, existed in five separate locations from the Roseland peninsula as far … Continue reading Penvoze and Trezona: a study in contrasts →

More views of Cornwall 100 years ago

Here’s the second and final installment of the etchings of west Cornwall drawn by Donald Shaw MacLaughlan in 1919. The first is the most difficult to pin down. Those look like engine houses on the distant horizon. Or is it the monument on Carn Brea? The next etching was made near Gwinear. The final two … Continue reading More views of Cornwall 100 years ago →