Cornwall's Hidden History Blog
The 22nd item on the running order of ITV’s News At Ten on the 10th December 1969 was a little odd to say the least. The news anchor, Reginald Bosanquet, who had been presenting the programme since it began two years earlier, introduced the story – it was about the elaborate funeral of a dog […]
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When most people think of a Cornish connection to the infamous mutiny on the Bounty they usually think of the unfortunate Captain William Bligh whose family was from St Tudy, near Bodmin. Very few realise that one of the main ring-leaders of those notorious events was also a Cornishman – Matthew Quintal. I first came […]
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The Cornish coast is well known as a graveyard for ships, dramatic tales of shipwreck and rescue were once very much a daily part of local lives. And, of course, these disasters were rarely without victims. But what happened to the unidentified drowned was not something that was or is comfortable to talk about. Until […]
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Reverend Robert Hawker, the eccentric vicar of Morwenstow, has become a much celebrated figure. He is perhaps best known as the author of Cornwall’s unofficial national anthem “Song of the Western Men”, better known as ‘Trelawney’, but he is also remembered for recording the dark tales of smugglers, wreckers and shipwrecks that occurred in his […]
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In 1890 there was a huge landslip on the north coast of Cornwall. This cliff fall was so dramatic, so catastrophic that it literally changed the face of the coastline and became known locally as ‘The Earthquake’. A name that that section of the coast retains to this day. Great fissures in the rock face […]
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The Iron Age Cornish (if we can affectionately call them that) were far more outward looking than we would perhaps assume. Their world, around 2000 years ago, was not confined to the granite peninsula that they called home. The profitable tin trade ensured that they made contact with civilisations from across the Irish Sea, into […]
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The jutting, rugged finger of rock known as Gurnard’s Head has to be one of my favourite places in Penwith. From its dramatic heights I have watched gannets diving for fish and seen sleepy seals bottling; sometimes I have picnicked on warm grass in golden, evening sunshine and sometimes hidden behind rocks slick with rain […]
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There are those that believe that the River Gannel is haunted. Strange and fearful noises have been heard rising from the waters with the incoming tide. Superstitious locals once thought that the sound was the cry of a troubled spirit and they named it the Crake. But what is the legend of the terrible Crake […]
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In around 1817 a surprising scene unfolded before a crowd of parishioners gathered in the churchyard of the peaceful village of Crantock. What happened that afternoon became the stuff of local legend and visitors to this quiet coastal church can still buy postcards relating the story to this day. This unusual episode is the hilarious […]
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Port Quin is a beautiful place, a picturesque little Cornish inlet. It is considered a safe habour, though somewhat shallow, with the rocks at its narrow entrance between Doyden Point and Kellan Head appearing to almost touch. Yet despite its sheltered position, and having Newquay and Padstow on one side and Port Isaac on the […]
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