Cornwall's Hidden History Blog
The artist Albert Reuss was one of many Jewish refugees who fled Nazi occupied Europe and the terrible violence of the Holocaust to the safety of the United Kingdom. However it was a chance meeting with a Cornish Quaker that not only brought about that escape but also meant that Albert and his wife were […]
Read More
For many visitors and local people alike the little lake known as Swanpool just outside of Falmouth is a favourite place for a stroll. For generations it has been a popular spot to bring the little ones to feed the ducks and to stretch your legs before heading to the beach. However, this coastal lagoon […]
Read More
For hundreds of years damaged reputations were avenged and arguments were settled with a duel. Whether with sword or pistol challenging your enemy to a one on one contest was thought by many to be an honourable way to assuage your hurt feelings and answer a perceived slight. After coming across a couple of almost […]
Read More
It would of course be unfair to blame just one man for the death of King Charles I but the Cornishman Hugh Peter may well have played a significant role in the monarch’s downfall. He was certainly guilty of stirring up malicious, regicidal feelings towards the king, encouraging Parliament to inflict the ultimate punishment on […]
Read More
Tangier Island is a wild, marshy landmass in Chesapeake Bay, Virginia on the east coast of America. The tiny population of around 500 people survives mainly on fishing, harvesting crabs and oysters and, in recent years, tourism. It is a remote, isolated community, cut off from the mainland for centuries. The islanders have developed their […]
Read More
The English Civil War was a conflict that divided a nation, tore families and communities apart and resulted in the death of an estimated 200,000 people making it the bloodiest war ever fought on British soil. On the 16th May 1643 about half a mile from the town of Stratton one of the most important […]
Read More
The hamlet of Golden near Probus consists of little more than a farm and a Tudor manor house. Tucked away down a narrow dead-end road at first glance there seems little reason to visit. In fact, I was only drawn there by chance having seen a medieval ‘chapel’ marked on the OS map. Stepping out […]
Read More
The Keigwin Arms, once known as Keigwin Manor, stands in the heart of Mousehole and is reputedly the oldest building in this historic fishing village. It is much photographed because of its age and elegant façade but this particular house also has many interesting tales to tell. It has seen a great deal over the […]
Read More
On 19th July 1545 the Mary Rose, the pride and joy of King Henry VIII and the flagship of the Royal Navy, sank during the Battle of the Solent. Of the roughly 500 crew on board only 34 would survive. It was a national disaster and a serious embrassment for the Crown. It is said […]
Read More
In July 1815 the captured Napoleon Bonaparte was waiting to hear his fate on board HMS Bellerophon. After his escape from Elba the previous year and subsequent defeat at Waterloo the British Government was debating what should be done with the ex-emperor. He had arrived at Plymouth Sound on the 26th July but his presence […]
Read More