Cornwall's Hidden History Blog
In Cornwall the landscape around us is alive with stories. As a people we seem to have always formed a close relationship with the natural geology that surrounds us. Here it is nearly impossible for a rock to be just a rock! There is always a tale attached and sometimes more than one! Men-amber rock […]
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Winter, 1811 A gull’s wing tip topped the wave and just for a moment the air currents caught hold of its white feathers and the bird swung in the air, weightless as thistle-down. The sea twisted, turned and undulated but the stark unmoving line of the horizon didn’t alter. It was empty, a deep […]
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Carwynnen quoit has fallen more than once. It’s giant stones have been raised up again and again, the first time 5000 years ago, then again in the 19th century and the last time in 2014. Yes, unfortunately it has taken me this long to get around to visiting but the twisting back roads led me to a impressive […]
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One of my favourite walks takes me on a lovely loop from Trevalga along a stunning stretch of coastline up through Rocky Valley and back to Trevalga via Trethevy. The Rocky Valley walk is quite famous in these parts and it’s close proximity to the surfing mecca of Newquay means that it gets plenty of […]
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When exactly mankind first discovered the art of smelting metal is a mystery. But what we do know is that tin has always played a major part of the history of Cornwall and its people. Up until recent years it was a vital part of our economy and our culture. And perhaps one day it […]
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Isn’t it strange that you can see something a thousand times in your life and never really question what it is or why it is there? That was how I felt when one day I actually stopped and looked at the Killigrew Monument in the centre of Falmouth. When I got home I had a […]
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I went on a really wonderful walk the other day. The sun was shining. I was all alone. And there was so much history along the way that I am hard pressed to decide which part should be the subject of this piece of writing. This is Rogers Tower. And it has often been called a folly. […]
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John Knill loved St Ives. And more than 2oo years after his death St Ives is still remembering him. This rather eccentric philanthropist (sometimes smuggler) wanted to provide for the people he had grown so fond of. And to also guarantee that his name would be remembered for all time in the town that he made […]
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No one these days really knows what a collar stud is, let alone wears one but King George V certainly did and he is said to have kept his in a rather special place. Cornwall is not really known for its treasure troves, we live in hope of a discovery like Sutton Hoo to put […]
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Old buildings, I feel, always have a certain presence but ruined places somehow even more so. There is a special kind of mystery in a ruined place and I find myself drawn in and pisky-led. My rather over-active imagination can fill these ivy-clad, tumble-down spaces with life and lives that are entirely of my own invention. Maybe […]
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