Cornwall's Hidden History Blog
According to local legend in 1895 Mevagissey became the first place in Cornwall, maybe even one of the first places in the UK, to have electric street lighting. Amazingly the harbour’s new power station was run entirely on pilchard oil. But this innovation is actually less surprising once you learn that this small fishing community […]
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When South Crofty tin mine closed in 1998 a gaping hole was left in our community, not only for the miners and their families but for the whole of Cornwall. It was the end of an era. In recent years the Canadian company, Strongbow Exploration, has made positive steps towards re-opening this iconic mine. But […]
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In 1848 the author Catherine Crowe published a book called The Night Side of Nature, it was an exploration of ‘ghosts and ghost seers’. The book quickly became a bestseller and interestingly it introduced its readers to a new word – Poltergeist. Originating in Germany in the mid-19th century poltergeist came from poltern meaning to […]
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The deeply wooded banks of the upper reaches of the River Fal are a quiet, sparsely populated place. A place where the pace of life can seems as timeless as the stealthy creep of the tide over the mudflats. There are many hidden corners in this part of Cornwall, places where you can escape the […]
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Beside the dead-end road to Restronguet Barton near Mylor, tucked away under trees and painted bright white, there is a stone cross. This small monument was erected here in 1948 by a group of Ukrainians who had been living and working in the area in the post-war era. This cross was as much a symbol […]
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With so many well known prehistoric sites on Bodmin Moor and Penwith it is easy to imagine that the central region in between, around Falmouth, Redruth and Truro, is devoid of ancient monuments. However, they are there if you know where to look. Rather than standing alone with a backdrop of dramatic moorland, these relics […]
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The Helford River is fringed by beautiful ancient woodland. Dominated by oak trees, each of these woods has its own name and its own history. There is Bonallack, Bosahan, Calamansack, Carminowe, Merthen and Roskymmer, old Cornish names that dance on the tongue. Most remain untouched, home to rabbits, the odd deer and perhaps a clamour […]
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In a copse of trees known as the Rookery not far from the city of Truro there is a large granite column called the Pencalenick Obelisk. This isolated stone pillar has been the cause of speculation and rumour for more than a hundred years, since those who remember why it was built have all gone. […]
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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 […]
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Truro sits in the heart of Cornwall – our only city and our most populous area. These days it is home to Cornwall’s cathedral and a multitude of shops as well as a theatre and the Royal Cornwall Museum. But what lies beneath the buildings and carparks and what lurks in quiet side-streets, forgotten by […]
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