The so-called English Civil War was a traumatic period in Britain’s history and, here, Tony Mansell brings us his thoughts of a great Cornishman who played his part in protecting his country from the new order. I don’t suppose that the Reverend Robert Stephen Hawker would be included in any list of great poets…Continue Reading “At Stamford He Fought and at Lansdowne He Fell”
Collated by these organisations with photographs provided by many people and to them we give our thanks (see credits). The Tea Treat Wasn’t it yesterday we marched with the band? A straggling group proclaiming its faith. Girls in smart dresses and boys in best suits and ladies who made it a fashion parade….Continue Reading “Cornish Tea Treats – a photographic collection”
Lime kilns are an important part of our industrial history and most Cornish coastal or river communities would have had at least one with the resultant product used locally. They were mostly stone structures and their purpose was to convert limestone to quicklime, mainly for the construction and agricultural industries. It is difficult to be…Continue Reading “Cornish Lime Kilns”
Researched and compiled by Tony Mansell, Bard of Gorsedh Kernow and a member of St Agnes Old Cornwall Society. Updated 2022 Revised but not updated: March 2025 Introduction From An account of all inns, taverns and ale houses in the kingdom, we find that in 1577, the ale taverns in St Agnes…Continue Reading “A Compilation of Taverns, Inns and Public Houses of St Agnes Parish”
Tony Mansell is in frivolous mood as he brings us another slice of brass band history involving our hero, Billy Annear. It’s from an article from the Cornish Telegraph of the 14th of August 1913 and is very heavily garnished with Cornish dialect. You may recall The Extraordinary Band Contest, an article involving the…Continue Reading “Billy at the Band Contest”
An almshouse is defined as “a unit of residential accommodation (usually a house or flat) which belongs to a charity, is provided exclusively to meet the charity’s purposes (for example, the relief of financial need or infirmity) and is occupied or is available for occupation under a licence by a qualified beneficiary”1. The Henry Williams…Continue Reading “The Pydar Street Almshouses”