Poverty and the Poorhouse By Tony Mansell Writing this article has been a sobering experience. I have developed a better understanding of those who were forced to seek relief, and the realisation that some of my ancestors were among those who entered the poorhouses, begging for help, has enhanced my empathy. Of course, there were…Continue Reading “Poverty and the Poorhouse”
Joseph Dingle v. Charles Rashleigh: Peeling back 250 years of myth By Lyndon Allen, 2026 The origins of the modern transformation of Charlestown are not rooted simply in aristocratic enterprise, but in the bleak realities of the eighteenth-century parish poor law system. Richard Larn records that Joseph Dingle was taken out of the St. Austell…Continue Reading “Joseph Dingle v. Charles Rashleigh: Peeling back 250 years of myth”
By Lyndon Allen To study the history of Par harbour, we first need to peer back through the mists of time to the port of St Blazey. It was here that ships came to the area of Par Beach. Around 400 years ago, it was a small, shallow estuary of the St Blazey (Par) River….Continue Reading “The History of the Port of Par”
Coroners’ Inquests By Bob Teague My general approach to research into Truro pubs has been to try to show how pubs are so tightly woven into the fabric of the community, reflecting everyday life, people and events locally, nationally and even internationally. That is as true today as it ever was. Truro’s pubs have, directly…Continue Reading “Truro Pubs – Coroners’ Inquests”
A Dame School (Thomas George Webster 1800-1886) By Tony Mansell Prior to the Elementary Education Act of 1870, 1 the state took no responsibility for schooling and those who wanted their children to receive lessons had to rely on charity or private arrangements. There appears to have been many small schools offering such a service…Continue Reading “Dame Schools as a part of the Cornish Education System”
By Tony Mansell Cornwall once had many railway branch lines but, sad to say, only a few remain. One that still operates is the Looe Valley Line but without the the need to transport minerals from Caradon to quayside, it would never have been built. Perhaps that statement is not entirely true: who knows whether…Continue Reading “Caradon to Looe Railway”