Memorial plaque on the Plume of Feathers pub, Pool. Now part of a popular walking tour[1] It’s around 7am on August 15, 1883. On 190 Fathom at Wheal Agar, off Agar Road, Pool, the night core is waiting to come to grass[2]. Unlike the nearby Dolcoath Mine, there’s no Man Engine here. Ingress to…Continue Reading “The Wheal Agar Disaster of 1883”
This is a Cornish Story, a story of the old wooden ships and the iron men who sailed them. It is also a story of a small fleet of Cornish ships from Fowey and of my own family’s maritime heritage. We have all seen those captivating old Victorian images of Cornwall featuring harbour scenes with…Continue Reading “Wooden Ships and Iron Men”
My name is Sue Ward, and I grew up in Melbourne Australia with what I would later learn was a Cornish surname, Tonkin. I was approaching my 40th birthday when I asked my father about our heritage. His reply was vague and trailed off into silence when I realised that ‘Definitely a little bit Scottish…Continue Reading “William Tonkin (1827-1895) my great-great grandfather”
Oh, ye who never knew the joys, try it! Remember Redruth Market, there you can have all in perfection and in no town in the kingdom is there greater abundance or quality… ~ a London gentleman, 1778 …the absurd notion which is held by the illiterate… ~ Cornish Telegraph, 21 October 1857, p2 …Continue Reading “Two Shillings and Sixpence: A Cornish Wife Sale”
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”
Someone once said, “If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.” Honestly, I don’t think we, as a society, know what hardship is. When I was a child we had little money, even though both my parents worked and had relatively good jobs. My father was an alcoholic and…Continue Reading “It’s a hard-knock life”