Cornwall's Hidden History Blog
On the 29th May 1453 the last emperor of Byzantium fell in battle at Constantinople. Emperor Constantine Paleologus had been fighting the Turkish army led by Mehmet the Conqueror and his death marked the end of an ancient Royal Dynasty, of an empire that had lasted a thousand years and it forced his surviving family […]
Read More
In 1828, when he was just 22 years old, Isambard Kingdom Brunel stood on the banks of the Tamar at Saltash. Surveying the wide, tidal river he concluded that it was ‘much too wide to be worth having a bridge’. Some 20 years later however, he was to design the Royal Albert Bridge for that […]
Read More
Dodman Point is the highest headland on Cornwall’s south coast, standing at 374ft (114m) above the waves below. For centuries it has held a strategic and symbolic place in the hearts and minds of those that have lived close to it. Once a place of refuge for our ancient ancestors, the point has also been […]
Read More
For many years smuggling in Cornwall was regarded as an honourable profession and the men who practiced it were euphemistically called as ‘free traders’. In fact, these men and women were often ‘upstanding’ members of the community. A known smuggler in Falmouth, Isaac Cocart, was actually mayor of the town twice, as well as being […]
Read More
Hidden deep in woodland above the River Fowey is what remains of Largin Castle. It sits on the top of a steep ridge that towers above the Glynn Valley, and is the perfect spot for a defensive structure. But Largin was no Roman outpost or ‘motte and bailey’ affair. This ‘castle’ was built in the […]
Read More
The small village of Herodsfoot in Cornwall is doubly blessed. In fact it is one of only 14 villages in the entire UK with a very special claim. A miraculous claim to feel both doubly lucky and doubly thankful for. Over the past few years as a nation we have collectively marked so many terrible […]
Read More
We’ve all heard the stories. Strange goings-on, mysterious lights in the dead of night. Hidden passages and secret rooms. Smuggling is one of the things that Cornwall is most famous for – apart from the pasty and clotted cream, of course. The village of Polperro is a place steeped in smuggling history. Even today its […]
Read More
It seems to me that there is nothing quite as romantic as living on your own private island. Looe Island lies just one mile off the Cornish coast but feels a world away from the hustle and bustle of the busy summer seaside towns nearby. It is home to a breath-taking range of wildlife and […]
Read MoreIf you were going to build a monument, perhaps in commemoration of someone or for some religious purpose, you would build it to last wouldn’t you? And when you designed it you would make sure that it was beautiful and that it stood out from its surroundings. After all you would hope that your monument would last for a […]
Read More