When you need some inspiration - and something interesting to do out of the rain - call in to see the wonderful new exhibition at the Hayle Heritage Centre!
Close to Hayle railway station, and to the west of Copperhouse Pool (seen right), the Heritage Centre sits at what was once an industrial epicentre - foundries here exported their products across the globe. What is now a quiet, calm town once would have hummed with heavy industry and the coming-and-going of many boats on the waterways.
Perhaps the once global reach of this part of Cornwall imbued the locals with the sense of ambition and adventure which is evident in the stories within the new exhibition: Hayle Herstory - untold women's stories at the heart of a Cornish town.
With talents including silk-work, swimming, poetry, munitions manufacture and mining - plus many others - the exhibits here showcase a broad-spectrum appreciation for the work women were engaged with in Cornwall from the mid-eighteenth century onwards.
Through a local shop selling texts in Cornish, I had become aware of Henry Jenner and his talented wife, Kitty Lee Jenner, who had lived near to Hayle in their later years. So it was wonderful to find as part of this ensemble, an extract of the poetry of Kitty - see left - that makes me want to find out more...
It was also inspiring to see the dresses made by Jessie Power - one of the UKs oldest graduates at 88 years old - and some of the beautiful designs printed on silk by the artisans of the Crysede silk works (Newlyn & St Ives).
In the right-hand corner of the exhibition, some of the information I passed on to the Heritage Centre is incorporated in to the biography of Elizabeth Carne - geologist, banker, philanthropist and conchologist. The graphic designer had transformed my spreadsheet in to an attractive time line, and the
family tree for Elizabeth (which appears in my post here) is also on display. Hopefully the presence of some of the minerals from the Carne collection that appear adjacent will encourage people to find out more about this amazing lady.
Perhaps I'm biased (!) but this exhibition is both ambitious and enjoyable - there really is 'something for everyone' in the range of skills and interests represented here. The historical context is there, but doesn't dominate; what endures is the characters of the individuals represented here, and the amazing life stories that are shared.
Open until 22nd August 2024
With thanks to Laura and Daisy at Hayle Heritage Centre.