Currently reading - add couple of titles for manual updating
People & Places
Welcome! Explore some places - new or known - and some of the lives lived in them in the last 200 years. Time Travel!
Camborne
Once the richest square mile in the world, Camborne has a phenomenal past & hopeful future. Engineers, pioneers & more!
8Crantock
Sitting to the south of the Gannel Estuary, Crantock feels timeless: & has one of the prettiest churchyards in Cornwall.
3Devoran
To the southwest of Truro, on the water, Devoran was once a busy port and is now a peaceful, pretty village.
1Falmouth
Falmouth is a historic port - ships from here travelled to all parts of the world - and is still a commercial centre.
1Penryn
Penryn is an ancient trading centre, which is often overlooked. It has a wealth of amazing architecture - and stories!
4Gunwalloe
A tiny hamlet on the Lizard, Gunwalloe church is a remote sanctuary on the sands. A beautiful churchyard surrounds it.
2Gwennap
This small hamlet has an amazing churchyard, containing many links to the intensive tin and copper mining in this area.
1Gwithian
Perched on the north coast, close to Hayle, the hamlet of Gwithian has many beautiful old buildings & views of the sea!
1Illogan
The village of Illogan spreads around the parish church funded by the Bassets of Tehidy, wealthy mineral-rights owners.
1Lelant
A small village, not far from St Ives, with beautiful coastal views and a long history of farming, fishing & shipping.
1Mabe
A tiny hamlet with an agricultural & industrial history. And there are two incredible ancient stones in the churchyard!
1Mithian
Perhaps most well known for it's church spire that is visible from Chiverton Cross! A community with a mining history.
1Perranzabuloe
The church here is the third dedicated to the Cornish Saint Piran - blown sand at Perranporth devoured the first two!
2Phillack & Hayle
A small village near to Hayle with beautiful sand dunes & with connections to Christianity for over 1000 years.
6Pool
Located between Redruth & Camborne, Pool was at the heart of Cornish mining and its associated industries.
2Redruth
Once the 'capital of Cornish mining' this market town retains many amazing buildings from its heyday of wealth.
16St Ives
Perhaps the best-known town in Cornwall, & home to many people with interesting life-stories who are less well known!
5Truro
The only city in Cornwall, Truro has an eclectic mix of building styles & much fascinating history to discover.
3Chacewater
The village of Chacewater - between Redruth & Truro - is steeped in mining history that was the mainstay of life here.
1
- Phillack & HayleGeologist, banker and philanthropist from Penzance Born: 1817, Phillack Died: 1873, Penzance Laid to rest: Phillack churchyard On a bright and windy day, a small group of us met at St Felicitas church, Phillack, to try and identify the family tomb of the Carne family. This Penzance-based family contains several prominent figures: the head, Joseph (1782-1858), had been the manager of the Cornish Copper Company in Hayle between 1807 and 1819, before subsequently moving to Penzance - living at Chapel House -to work in the family bank (Carne, Batten & Oxnam), established by his father. Joseph was also a founding member of the Cornwall Geological Society, and an elected Fellow of the Royal Society in London (1). His youngest daughter, Elizabeth (1817-1873), was the first female to publish in the Transactions of the Cornwall Geological Society (1), the first female to become an elected Member of that Society, and one of few women to be actively involved in Cornwall’s banking scene during the 1800s. Elizabeth was brought up in a devout Methodist family, and her empathy with those less well-off in the community is evident through both in her musings on society’s development in her published works (2), and in her philanthropic activity: she established three schools in the rural areas close to Penzance (3) to widen opportunities for the children of miners and farmers in the district. Our search for the Carne family resting place was aided by the wonderfully organised records in a folder in Phillack church. The family grave here would have been established whilst the family were living at Riviere House, Phillack (4): their fourth child, Elizabeth, died in 1818 aged four years. The same plot was then used for other close family members in the following years. Interestingly, Elizabeth Carne, geologist/banker, must have initially been given a different name; she was born in 1817, before the death of her older sister, then presumably ‘inherited’ the name Elizabeth after her sibling’s death. This would partly explain why the younger Elizabeth has more given names than any of her siblings: she was baptised in May 1820, at Phillack, with the name Elizabeth Catherine Thomas Carne. Perhaps her baptism was delayed due to mourning for her sister. The Carne family grave is located in Section E, plot no. 52 – close to the old vestry building built in to the wall alongside the road. It is a prominent granite chest tomb, which was entirely overgrown by ivy and brambles, and surrounded by a tall, decaying ironwork fence. Initial clearance of the well-established brambles revealed only some fine-grained grey granite, and marble plates with no apparent inscription. Then, as more brambles were cleared and pulled out from between the railings, the first glimpse of the name ‘Carne’ appeared on an oval disc attached to the western side of the tomb. Once cleared, this turned out to be a plaque – albeit stained by lichen growth and marred by ivy roots - commemorating Elizabeth, with the words: In Memory of Elizabeth T Carne Daughter of Joseph and Mary Carne Who died September 7th 1873 Aged 55 years Deeply Loved and Mourned Soon afterwards, well-preserved lettering on the eastern end of the granite tomb turned-up a surprise; an inscription to Caroline Carne, the elder sister (by two years) of Elizabeth, who had lived with Elizabeth at the family home in Penzance, and kept house for their father after their mother passed away in 1835. Caroline was not listed in the church records, so we will advise them of this addition in the near future. The inscription reads: In loving memory of Caroline Carne Daughter of Joseph and Mary Carne Born April 3rd, 1815 Fell asleep October 17th 1900 Thy presence is fullness of joy Caroline was the last surviving child of Joseph and Mary; according to Jill George (5), she remained living at the family home on Chapel Street, Penzance, up until her death, aged 75. Further clearing exposed a large, loose oval plaque on the top of the tomb, which had seemingly once been fitted on the south side. It is weathered, and difficult to read, but commemorates the two children of Joseph and Mary - Elizabeth (1814-1818) and George (1821-1822) - who died in infancy; the latter was born and died in Penzance, though was evidently laid to rest here. Another plaque, for Joseph (1782-1858) and his wife Mary (1777-1835) must be either missing or not yet located, as their names are listed in the Church records. When we had finished our hour or so of work, it was rewarding to see the shape of the granite tomb through the surrounding fences...and a cubic metre of cut vegetation in the bag we had bought with us! Further attention can now focus on clearing the remainder of the greenery and cleaning/repairing the tomb. Though the dates on the inscriptions here are from a century or more ago, the achievements of Elizabeth Carne – a published scientific and social science author (1,2) and bank manager - shine through to the present day. At a time when both these fields were overwhelmingly dominated by men, her adeptness in analysing scientific and financial data must have helped to redefine society’s perceptions of the abilities of females. She helped to break the domestic mould to which all women at that time were expected to conform, and show that intellect, excellence and good judgement were traits not bound by gender. Our appreciation of her talents is, likewise, not bound or diminished by the passage of time. References: 1 https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Dictionary_of_National_Biography,_1885- 1900/Carne,_Elizabeth_Catherine_Thomas 2 ‘Three Months' Rest at Pau in the Winter and Spring of 1859,’ using pseudonym of John Altrayd Wittitterly (1860) ‘Country Towns and the place they fill in Modern Civilisation,’ (1868) ‘England's Three Wants,’ an anonymous book, (1871) ‘The Realm of Truth,’ 1873. 3 https://www.howold.co/person/elizabeth-carne/biography?utm_content=cmp-true 4 https://britishlistedbuildings.co.uk/101310600-riviere-house-hayle#.ZEe0V87MLIU 5 The Light Among Us – Jill George, with John Durring. Pub. 2022, Atmosphere Press
- TruroThe beautiful park near Malpas is built on land reclaimed from the Truro River, a project that, upon its suggestion, was deemed 'almost impossible'. Today, it is a well-used facility for the people of Truro, and further afield. Read about it's inception, and the family it is named after, at: Boscawen Park, Truro - from waste-tip to wonderful (attendservices.co.uk)
- Phillack & HayleThe extensive park at the Copperhouse end of Hayle – nearest to the A30 – is a wonderful asset to the area. With a children’s play park, extensive open grassed area and a skate park, it has appeal to all ages in the community. It also has a link to the other major landmark at this end of Hayle; the large, derelict mill just behind the Lidl supermarket. A large proportion of the land for the park was donated by the family of Henry Hosken, whose family were connected with flour milling in the town for several hundred years. The mill building seen today was built in 1852 by Henry’s grandfather, William Hosken; the date and his initials can be seen through the scaffold fence! A fire destroyed a previous mill on the site in that year, and the family rebuilt the mill larger than it had previously been. Penmare House – once set to the west of the park area, was demolished in 2004 to make way for development - including Penmare Close & Penmare Court. This is where the Hosken family lived for several generations. A stone with the name of the house on has been inset at the edge of the development. When William Hosken passed away, his son Samuel took over the business, and went in to partnership with two other families to create the milling conglomerate Hosken, Trevithick & Polkinghorn – the initials HTP were a familiar site on flour-distribution vehicles in the area through to the 1920s. Samuel’s eldest son, Henry, was born in 1865 at Penmare House, and lived and worked in Hayle for most of his life, accruing much respect and renown in the commercial and agricultural sectors (1). Samuel passed away in 1898, and is buried at Phillack church, alongside his wife, Mary Cardell, and his parents. Henry married in 1893 (to Louie Evans Harvey from Sennen) and the couple had one child – Leonard Henry – born in 1903. After Henry passed away, his family made a donation of 2 acres of land for the creation of a park in 1948 - a lasting legacy that brings enjoyment to local residents and visitors alike. The gates to the park host two plaques: one commemorates the gift of land from the Hosken family, and the opening of the park by HRH Duke of Edinburgh (on 30th October 1952, the year that Queen Elizabeth came to the throne) in his capacity as the President of the National Playing Fields Association. The other records the dedication of the gates to Mabel Hosking, wife of the donor, Mr T G Hosking. Thomas George Hosking had been born at Trevarnon Farm, near Gwithian, in 1880, the youngest of four children, and the only surviving son, of Thomas and Jane Hosking. He was living at Trevarnon in 1908, when he married Mary Mabel Williams from Fore Street, Phillack - the daughter of an outfitter - at Phillack church. Both he and Mabel were 28 at the time of their marriage. Later, the couple moved to Godrevy Farm, near to the lighthouse, where their daughter Rona Jean was born in October 1913. She was baptised in December of that year, the delay perhaps indicating that she or Mabel were unwell in the months after her birth. Sadly, Rona died aged only 6 years old in 1920. Thomas Hosking’s wife, Mabel, passed away in October 1951, and the gift of the park gates was officially donated by Mr T G Hosking almost exactly one year later. In the newspaper report of the park’s opening, it is not clear if Mr Hosking was present, but the report does record that he also gave a gift of swings for the park, in memory of his daughter, Rona Jean. (2) Mabel, Rona and Thomas are all laid to rest in Phillack churchyard, just up the hill from the park; a photo of their resting place is shown to the right. The skate park facility was built with funds from the Jamie Farrar Memorial Fund, money that was raised by Jamie’s family and friends after his death in a traffic accident in 2002 near Loggans Moor, aged only 12. Jamie is also commemorated by the naming of a road: a development of houses offered for rent by the Penwith Housing Association, just up the hill from the park, was named Farrar Close in his memory. References: (1) The Royal Cornwall Gazette, Falmouth Packet & General Advertiser - 29th September, 1898 (2) West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser - 6th November, 1952