Helman Tor

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”

Tony Mansell continues this series with an article about this charming Cornish village where his wife was born and where his family lived for many years. Mention the little village of Mithian (1) and most folk will think of the Rose in Vale Country House Hotel or its gem of a pub, the Miners Arms….Continue Reading “Mysterious Mithian”

The top photograph is the first view of Blackwater gained when travelling westwards (Photo: Clive Benney)   Tony Mansell’s second article in this series places a magnifying glass over the village of Blackwater where he attended primary school, broke his leg in the playground and regularly “raided” the local shop for sweets on his long…Continue Reading “Blackwater”

For 2 years, I went to university in Oxford. Home to 175,000 people, it’s overflowing with students, home to three universities and dozens of shops. There are tourists galore lining up to buy their “University of Oxford” hoodies, Oxford snow globes, and Oxford magnets. I’m used to tourists, but, as a girl who has spent…Continue Reading “Stars and bluebells”

With the help of his grandmother’s memoirs, Rob Evans tells the story of a charming little village on the south coast of Cornwall. Possibly best-known for its little railway, it is surely one of Cornwall’s jewels in its crown. Pentewan is situated on the south coast of Cornwall, four miles from St Austell and two…Continue Reading “Pentewan”

Following his articles about Barripper and Kehelland, David Oates now moves slightly east to introduce us to the third element in his trilogy – Troon. Set high on a hill above Camborne, Troon is unusual in Cornwall where large villages are not common in the way that they are in other parts of the country….Continue Reading “Troon”