Bernard Deacon's Blog, page 56

Warbstow Bury

One of Cornwall’s most impressive hillforts is Warbstow Bury in north Cornwall. Overlooking the River Ottery around a mile to the north, it’s easy to imagine Cornish warriors using this fort to look across the valley, monitoring events there in the 810s or thereabouts. That was when the English were settling the land north of … Continue reading Warbstow Bury

Three tricky Cornish surnames

Explanations for my next three rarer Cornish surnames are by no means clear-cut. Reep is a name found in Cornwall from at least the 1540s, with John Reep at Antony and Thomas Ryppe at St Germans, echoing the presence of the same name just across the Tamar in Devon. It’s claimed to be occupational, from …

Hooray, hooray! It’s St Piran’s Day

The actual St Piran, if there ever was one, proves to be a bit elusive. The cult of Piran was venerated at Perranzabuloe in the eleventh century and spread to other sites at an early date. But the Life of Piran, written in the 1200s, was plagiarised from the Life of the Irish saint Ciaran, … Continue reading Hooray, hooray! It’s St Piran’sDay

The lifestyle of the Celtic saints

Around 140 separate Celtic saints were venerated in Cornwall. Later, it was assumed most of them came from elsewhere, from Wales, Brittany or Ireland, even though many were in fact probably native to Cornwall. As time passed, saints became the object of local folklore. In imagining the histories of their saints, the Cornish revealed how … Continue reading The lifestyle of the Celticsaints

It's Celtic saints’ month

With St David’s Day tomorrow, St Piran’s on Thursday and St Patrick’s in a couple of weeks’ time, this has to be the month of the Celtic saints. To the greater glory of St Euny, my local saint, I shall be forced to devote the next three blogs to the subject. Who were the Celtic … Continue reading It's Celtic saints’month

A trio of Cornish surnames – from the transparent to the obscure

Polgrean is a Cornish placename meaning gravel pit. It’s hardly uncommon, cropping up in at least eight parishes from Ludgvan in the west to St Veep in the east. By 1861 Polgreans were confined largely to West Penwith, with just single Polgrean households at Falmouth and St Germans. But in the seventeenth century there were …

Geevor tin mine: its rise and fall

It’s almost thirty years since the pumps were turned off at Geevor at Pendeen and the mine was allowed to flood. Now the site of the one of the best museums and heritage centres in Cornwall, Geevor Tin Mines Limited came into being in 1911. The area had been mined for centuries prior to this. … Continue reading Geevor tin mine: its rise andfall

Stormy weather: past, present and future

It’s been henting down recently, with a succession of weather fronts, heavy rain and consistently strong winds reaching gale force at times. On the one hand there’s nothing new in this, as the hundreds of wrecks around Cornwall’s coast testify. These brought welcome temporary relief to coastal communities if they could succeed in snaffling away … Continue reading Stormy weather: past, present andfuture

The Black Prince. ‘Our’ first Duke of Cornwall

In 1337 King Edward III upgraded the existing earldom of Cornwall and made it into a duchy. He also established the convention that it would henceforth belong to the eldest son of the monarch. The recipient in 1337 and first Duke of Cornwall was the seven-year old Edward of Woodstock. On coming of age young … Continue reading The Black Prince. ‘Our’ first Duke ofCornwall

Locative Cornish surnames with a hint of mystery

While all three of the following surnames have their origin in placenames, or at least we assume they do, all three contain an element of mystery. It’s been suggested that Penver, which looks immaculately Cornish, has its origin in Penmear or Penmeur, meaning a large hill-top. The only problem with this interpretation is that no-one …