Cornwall's Hidden History Blog
“The seashore seems to be a potent spot for ghosts. Fishermen dread to walk anywhere near where a ship has foundered. The souls of drowned sailors are said to haunt such places and the ‘calling of the dead’ has frequently been heard . . .” James Turner, The Stone Peninsula, 1975. Fishermen and sailors are […]
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The tiny fort known as Little Dennis is probably the oldest building in the Falmouth area, apart from the ruin of Arwenack Manor perhaps, it was constructed by the Tudors nearly 500 years ago. Little Dennis was built straight onto the bedrock, close to the highwater line, looking out across the sweep of Falmouth Bay […]
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For Daphne du Maurier the house known as Menabilly was a home she treasured for more than 26 years. From the first moment she saw it until the day she died the house fascinated, inspired and captivated her. After years of planning and dreaming Menabilly near Gribbin Head in Cornwall finally became Du Maurier’s family […]
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“Cornwall is hollow. Centuries of mining has created a honeycomb network of tunnels that criss-cross beneath the beautiful Cornish landscape . . .” The evocative opening lines of Claire Wilson‘s book Hidden in Plain Sight hint at the strange subterranean world which her new collection of photographs reveals. A world hidden from view but one […]
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“Nare Head is over three hundred feet high and it’s cliffs bristle with slaty fangs . . .” AG Folliott-Stokes, 1928 Nare Head, the northern headland which guards the entrance to Gerrans Bay, is pretty imposing and the panoramic view from it’s rocky battlements remains one of my absolute favourites. Owned by the National Trust […]
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The scars left on the Cornish countryside by hundreds of years of mining were devastating. But fortunately in most places nature has reclaimed and revitalised the damaged often poisoned ground, miraculously creating some of our most peaceful and iconic landscapes. The transformation really can be astonishing. Sometimes, however, even nature can struggle to recover what’s […]
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