Bernard Deacon's Blog, page 8

Where did they go? The Cornish generation of 1850

Back in the mists of time – around 20 years ago – I began a long-term research project aiming to study the migration patterns of a single Cornish generation at a detailed individual level. It was based on a systematic sample of all children born in Cornwall in 1850 and still alive in 1861. The … Continue reading Where did they go? The Cornish generation of 1850 →

Cornwall’s First Golden Age – new edition out now

A new edition of Cornwall’s First Golden Age – the critical synthesis of the history of Cornwall in its period of independence and initial colonisation from the 400s to the 1100s – is now available, back by overwhelming public demand (or at least a handful of requests). Revised, considerably restructured and updated to include the … Continue reading Cornwall’s First Golden Age – new edition out now →

Population growth and gentrification, marine tourism and a 15th century social climber

Here’s the final set of brief summaries providing links to recent reviews of academic literature on Cornwall. You’re now (almost) up to speed. In an important article on contemporary Cornwall Joanie Willett shows how population growth and gentrification have failed to solve Cornwall’s endemic socio-economic difficulties while exacerbating a growing housing crisis and fragmenting local … Continue reading Population growth and gentrification, marine tourism and a 15th century social climber →

From Camborne to Cleckheaton – with family support

Sometimes in the past relationships broke down, as we saw in the case of Jenny Moore from Calstock. Sometimes, no doubt, the laconic entries of census enumerators and registrars may hide family quarrels underlying the departure of a family member. Yet, at other times, those same records can hint at a high level of support … Continue reading From Camborne to Cleckheaton – with family support →

Wrestling, life-struggle Cornwall and Daphne du Maurier

Have patience. Just one to go. The penultimate in my series of very short summaries of academic work on Cornwall linked to somewhat longer reviews. Mike Tripp recounts the nineteenth century rise and fall of Cornish wrestling, brought down mainly by emigration, depopulation and the practice of ‘faggoting’, or match-fixing. Ella Westland argues that in … Continue reading Wrestling, life-struggle Cornwall and Daphne du Maurier →

Sex and marriage in Victorian Britain

Married life can sometimes be difficult, in Victorian times as nowadays. In March 1869 Jenny Moore and Edward Bergner were married at St Philip’s Church, Dalston in London. Jenny was Cornish, born in 1850 at Gunnislake, next to the River Tamar, the daughter of a general merchant. But, on his death in the 1860s, his … Continue reading Sex and marriage in Victorian Britain →

Heraldry and medieval identity, the 1549 rising and choughs

Save yourself all the bother of having to read them – here’s the fifth instalment of very short summaries of some recent academic takes on Cornwall … Nigel Saul ascribes the Carminow family’s myth about their coat of arms to the family’s sixteenth century decline while going on to claim the Cornish identity was by … Continue reading Heraldry and medieval identity, the 1549 rising and choughs →

The steam engine, more on Gothic Cornwall and the Cornish dialect

The fourth in my series of one sentence (sometimes two) summaries of recent academic work on Cornwall … Mary O’Sullivan follows the money and tells us why the miners who were demonstrating in 1787 had a better grasp of economics than some mines adventurers of the time. Joan Passey is attracted by the ‘Cornish Gothic’ … Continue reading The steam engine, more on Gothic Cornwall and the Cornish dialect →

Gothic Cornwall, daffodil pickers and mining heritage

Impress your friends with your wide knowledge of recent academic work on Cornwall … Tanya Krzywinska and Ruth Heholt claim that Cornwall has inspired Gothic novelists and explain the composition of ‘Gothic Cornwall’, simultaneously exciting and disturbing, attractive yet terrifying. Constantine Manolchev presents the narrative of a daffodil picker from Bulgaria working on a Cornish … Continue reading Gothic Cornwall, daffodil pickers and mining heritage →

Book price changes and new editions

One of the threatened price hikes I warned of back in December is about to take place. The price of The Real World of Poldark will be going up by £1, from £9.99 to £10.99 within the next two or three days. For the moment I am holding the price of The Surnames of Cornwall … Continue reading Book price changes and new editions →