Bernard Deacon's Blog, page 40

Some Devon placenames that became Cornish surnames

Several surnames derived from placenames not found in Cornwall have either become numerous here or largely confined to Cornwall over the centuries. These have to all intents and purposes become Cornish surnames. some, such as Chesterfield or Kendal, may have origins many hundreds of miles away, but the largest number, as we might expect, originated …

Seine fishing: picturesque and profit-seeking

Cornish fishing is suddenly all over the news. Disappointment over the result of the Brexit deal promises difficult times to come. Meanwhile, almost every evening we’re fed a diet of documentaries about fishermen in Cornwall. Pondering on this I realised that there haven’t been many blogs about fishing on this site (for an exception see … Continue reading Seine fishing: picturesque and profit-seeking →

Cornwall’s first true railway?

Which was Cornwall’s first railway? The first steam-powered railway was the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway of 1834. But it’s been argued that the accolade must go instead to the Redruth and Chacewater Railway. This opened on January 30th, 1826 and the wagons running on it had flanged wheels, like railway carriages nowadays. This contrasted with … Continue reading Cornwall’s first true railway? →

A tale of toponyms

In The Surnames of Cornwall I reported that by the 1600s around a third of people in Cornwall possessed what I termed ‘local’ surnames. This included surnames from a specific place (sometimes called locative surnames) and surnames from more general landscape features (such as Hill or Green). On this website I pointed out that by … Continue reading A tale of toponyms →

Carbis Bay in 1891: de-industrialised and older, but still local

In 1861 the small community of Carbis Bay had been thriving, its young residents working in the nearby tin mines. A generation later in 1891 the mines had closed and the community been decimated. The 103 inhabitants of 1861 had fallen to a mere 45, living in 13 households. There was only one man left … Continue reading Carbis Bay in 1891: de-industrialised and older, but still local →

Peter Lanyon’s insider modernism

The St Ives school of modern art was dominated numerically by temporary residents. However, one of its central and most talented figures was locally born Peter Lanyon (1918-64). According to Andrew Causey’s biography of Lanyon, his method was ‘one of sublimation, where the figure disappears into landscape’. For Lanyon, the landscape was not the object … Continue reading Peter Lanyon’s insider modernism →

More surname puzzles

The surname dictionaries are singularly unhelpful when it comes to the origin of Bice, Bilkey and Boase, all found in Cornwall in the early 1500s and all three dispersing by the 1600s. Bice and Bilkey do not appear in Reaney’s dictionary of surnames while Boase is implicitly regarded as a variant of Boyse or Boyce. …

Were Cornish kings will o’ the wisps?

Search online for ‘kings of Cornwall’ and you’ll find impressive lists of Cornish kings in its period of independence and even afterwards down to the 1000s. The only problem is that most of these kings reside only as names in ambiguous Welsh genealogical lists. Although resting on earlier but now lost texts, these bare roll … Continue reading Were Cornish kings will o’ the wisps? →

Carbis Bay in 1861: industrial, local and young

Carbis Bay is in the news. But what was the place like 150 years ago? We can find out from the census of 1861. For a start there was no such address in the census books. There was Carbis, sometimes called Carbis Water, running along the road to St Ives and Carbis Valley, heading down … Continue reading Carbis Bay in 1861: industrial, local and young →

Concentrated surnames

Some surnames become more concentrated over time, multiplying in certain districts. Others remain few in number, quietly plodding their way down through the centuries. Here are a couple of Cornish examples, one from the west and the other from the east. The name Berryman or Berriman is particularly associated with West Penwith. In 1861, 64 …