The Dairy School at Blackwater in 1916 – local girl Olive James on the left. Dairy Schools were once an important part of rural life: they fulfilled a need and were gone by the 1930s. Considering that, perhaps it is not surprising that few have even heard of their existence. The Technical Instruction Act…Continue Reading “Dairy Schools”
The Church of St Gwinear Tucked away in a fold of the land just inland from the north coast, lies a church that bears a dedication to one of those wild Irish rovers who supposedly brought Christianity to Cornwall. To stand there, today, is to be part of that ancient past. Through…Continue Reading “The Church of St Gwinear – a Poem by David Oates”
Tithe Map 1844 Killagorden has always been a fascination for me, especially when I was young. What was up that long drive on the back road from Idless and Polquick? It seemed to me that many Idless villagers spoke of it in somewhat hushed tones which enhanced the mystery for a child. When walking…Continue Reading “Killagorden (Rosedale) Idless, Truro”
Another poem from the pen and voice of one of Cornwall’s foremost poets National Minority Audio Click above to listen National Minority A powerful sun rose and stretched, Pushing back the clothes of cloud With which the old Earth wraps Herself to sleep in the doorway Of orbit’s midnight and early hours…Continue Reading “National Minority – A Poem by Bert Biscoe”
Little did I think as I watched the television drama Banished, that I would one day write about one of my relatives who experienced the same sentence as those featured in that series. The compelling serial, a fact-based, fictional account of life in an Australian penal colony, was based in Botany Bay whereas Charles Mansell…Continue Reading “Notoriously Bad Was He”
John Hockin’s corn store along the Strand, Bude. Alan McIntosh brings us the story of how the members of the Edwards family progressed from being lowly employed labourers to owning businesses involved in the early development of Bude’s trade. Research shows that the Edwards family probably came to Cornwall by links with the…Continue Reading “From Fuzzy Down to Busy Town”