Emily Thornhill reflects on religious sites in the first article in her new series for Cornish Story exploring place through photography. ‘God’s Little Acre’ is a study of the tiny and often forgotten Anglican churches and chapels of Cornwall, that reside in the most secluded of places. Serving sometimes only handfuls of people, these intricate…Continue Reading “God’s Little Acre”
Malcolm Gould writes about the historical impact of mining on a remote area that has been totally deindustrialised with the passage of time. By the 13th Century the Cornish tin industry was already an important part of the local landscape within the area surrounding Gunwen and Helman Tor. A substantial amount of tin came from…Continue Reading “Mining in the Helman Tor Area”
Colin C. Short writes the first of a short series of articles by different authors relating to the cultural heritage of the Helman Tor area of Mid-Cornwall. A succession of buildings from four different branches of Methodism creates a series of overlapping spiritual landscapes in the parishes adjacent to Helman Tor – roughly the parishes…Continue Reading “The Spiritual Landscape of the Helman Tor Area: Chapels and Meeting Places”
Madeleine Midgley writes about her forthcoming publication exploring the visit to Penzance in 1925 by J.A. Rogers, the prominent African-American writer, that is being launched in October this year by Cornish Story as part of Black History month at the Institute of Cornish Studies. Joel Augustus Rogers, more widely known as J.A. Rogers (1880-1966) was a…Continue Reading “J.A. Rogers in Penzance”
In 2019 Melissa Watt, a Public History student at Penryn Campus, was on a placement scheme with Cornish Story researching the contemporary and historical significance of the Cornish pasty. Her work was presented in the form of a film entitled ‘Pasties, People and Politics: Deconstructing the Cornish Identity’ . The film now on Youtube was…Continue Reading “Pasties, People and Politics: Deconstructing the Cornish Identity”
From Beltane bonfires to Samhain dancing, there has been a resurgence in traditional Celtic rituals across both Cornwall and the western world. Perform a quick Instagram search for the Celtic holiday of #Imbolc and you will come across almost 100,000 photos including candle-adorned altars, floral offerings and old-fashioned herbal tinctures. It is not just seasonal…Continue Reading “The Rise of Celtic Rituals in the 21st Century: Lessons for Cornish Heritage”