NEWSLETTER
November 2014
Our Place on the Internet
www.calh.co.uk
CORNWALL
ASSOCIATION OF
LOCAL HISTORIANS
Chairman’s Letter
What a wonderful summer we have had,
and not only the weather: John and Hilary
have done us proud in the organising of this
year's outings. All four, spread evenly
around Cornwall, were well supported. If
you were unable to attend, I strongly
recommend you try to do so next year. Not
only will you learn something about an area
you may not have visited before but also, by
looking at new areas, you can compare the
differences and similarities with the area you
are working on.
By the time you read this we will have held
the autumn conference organised by our
secretary Joan Webb. I feel confident we
will have had a really enjoyable and
informative day looking at the Cornish and
South Africa. The next big event in CALH's
calendar will be the February weekend,
(booking forms enclosed).
Don't forget to book in good time as it
looks like being a splendid event with some
very prestigious speakers. The topic is
"Cornwall in the reign of Elizabeth 1" and
we will be looking at various aspects of life
in the 16th century including where they
lived, what they ate and what they wore!! It
looks like being a very enjoyable and
informative weekend. I hope to see you
there.
Now the weather has broken it is time to sit
down and start writing those articles,
however short or long, for next year's
journal. They need to be sent to our editor
Jeremy before the end of January so he has
plenty of time to plan the layout of the
Spring Journal. The success of our society
is up to you, the membership. If YOU don't
contribute articles there will be no journal, if
YOU don't attend meetings there will be no
meetings organised. I believe our society
has an important part to play in the
encouragement of local history studies and,
thanks to Jo Mattingly, we also have a voice
within the British Association of Local
Historians.
(continued on next page)
AGM
10:45 am – Business & Future of
the Association –
Decide on next year’s dues, elect
officers and committee members,
and review the budget. Have a say!
All welcome at no charge.
11:45 am
Conference
Cornwall In the Reign of
Elizabeth I
Fascinating Topics:
11
*Food in Elizabethan Times
*What Happened to Catholic Churches?
*Music in Elizabethan Cornwall
*Cornish Houses in her Reign
*Wrecking in Newquay without Wrecks
* Pendennis, Pirates and Petticoats
And Much More
Great Presenters:
Nicholas Orme, Oliver Padel, Jo Mattingly,
Mike O’Connor, Eric Berry, Sara Paston
Williams, Paul Cockerham, And Many More
Kilbirnie Hotel
Newquay
7 & 8 February 2015
th
th
Saturday & Sunday
(Booking form enclosed or on-line)
(Chairman’s letter continued)
We also have a role in ensuring that future
policy decisions made by Cornwall Council
do not encroach on our ability to study the
historical records that are held in their care.
The Cornwall Record Office will be moving
to Redruth in the not too distant future and
will be housed under the same roof as the
Local Studies Library and the Archaeology
Unit (now called the Historic Environment
Services). It will be good to have all three
departments in the same building, although
it will involve a longer drive for many of us.
What I do worry about are the provisions
that will be made, during this mammoth
move, for those of us who use the resources
on a regular basis. As you know, Deborah
Tritton is a member of our committee, and
she will keep us informed of what is going
on within CRO, whilst we can discuss the
needs of researchers directly with her. My
thanks to all the committee for the hard
work they put in on behalf of our society. I
wish you all a very Happy Christmas and
hope to see you at Newquay in 2015!!!
Your Chairman
Carole Vivian
(01503) 272 309
Carolevivian309@btinternet.com
Time to Pay!
The 2015 membership subscription
becomes due on 1st January 2015.
The rates: Ordinary members - £15 Joint
members - £25 Corporate members - £15
If you pay by standing order please check
with your bank that you are paying the
correct amount (CALH cannot do this on
your behalf).
If you pay annually, please send a cheque
together with your name and address to:
CALH Hon. Treasurer, 77 Bodrigan Road,
Looe, Cornwall, PL13 1EH
(Supply a stamped, addressed envelope if you require
a receipt)
If we have not received payment by 15th
February 2015, your membership will
end.
Your Treasurer
Hugh Hedderly
2015 Programmes Shaping Up
Our programme of Study Days for next year
is taking shape. We hope to include:1. Chairman’s Day at Pelynt – The
Buller Family and Pelynt in prehistoric times
2. A Day at Porthleven
3. A Day at Tremough, organised by
Gary Tregidga.
4. A Day in ‘North Cornwall’. We are
thinking of Marhamchurch,
Launcells, Poundstock or
Kilkhampton.
Our Spring Conference in 2016 is likely to
be on the weather, a look at how the
vagaries of the British climate have affected
Cornwall over the centuries. We hope to
include contributions from members with
examples they have encountered in their
researches. This topic promises to be very
wide and we welcome any contributions or
suggestions.
Your Events Secretaries
Hilary & John Ballard
trewhiddle@gmail.com
Archives & Libraries Available
The National Archives has launched a
campaign to make researchers aware of the
huge array of specialist libraries available
across the UK.
They have assembled a list of 35 research
libraries which are accessible both on-line
and in person.
At a time when libraries are working
towards collaboration while dealing with
increased financial pressures, researchers
need to be aware of collections which exist
in a range of different libraries and how to
obtain access to them, says the Archives.
http://www.history.ac.uk/historyonline/libraries
The week of 10-14 November has been
designed National Explore Your Archives
Week.
CRO Accessions Grow
The Cornwall Record Office has received
over 50 accessions this summer. The largest
is a copy of the Menheniot tithe map, which
measures 2.8m by 3.6m. This map was
surveyed by Messrs Henry Crispin junior
and Richard Davie Gould and is drawn in
ink and watercolour on linen-backed paper.
Despite being nearly 175 years old it has
suffered very little damage and is in better
condition than the copy of the same map
which was already held and digitised. It was,
however, covered in dog hair so during the
September collections week one of the
archive assistants lovingly cleaned it using a
museum-grade vacuum cleaner. She then
made it a calico bag and shelved it safely in
the strongrooms (reference P144/27/3).
The smallest document received is a
Methodist class ticket dated December
1816. It measures less than 8cm x 5 cm and
is printed with a Bible verse. The name
Mary Harvey has been written on it. It’s not
known for certain which society this is for,
but it could be Redruth Wesleyan. Given its
size and ephemeral nature it is amazing that
it has survived (reference X1416/1).
Many of the records received, such as the
minutes for the last three years of Penryn
Borough Council and the first 25 years of
Penryn Town Council brought in recently
by the Mayor of Penryn (references BPENR
and PRTC), come from their original creator
or their successors. Others reach the CRO
by far more circuitous routes.
The most travelled document has to be a
letter, originally sent by Richard Hoblyn in
London to John Treis, steward, at Antony
House near Torpoint in the summer of 1687
(reference AD2328). This was found in a
bag of mixed documents purchased from a
junk shop in New Zealand which was then
acquired by a lady who took it into her local
archive at Hawick in the Scottish Borders.
Here she was astounded to be greeted by
someone who not only knew where Antony
House was, but had been to dinner there
with the owners! (Paul Brough, formerly
Historic Collections Manager for Cornwall,
is now archive manager at the Heritage Hub
in Hawick). The letter was then safely
conveyed back to Cornwall!
Kresen Kernow Moving Ahead
The consultation process on the building
plans for the new archive centre in Redruth
is coming to an end, although there are still
two drop-in sessions in early November:
Tuesday 4th November at Callington
Town Hall, and Thursday 6th November
at Helston Museum.
These events will run from 2:30pm-7:30pm,
and will provide information about the
plans and a chance to feed back. Some of
the project team will also be on hand to
answer questions and provide more details.
If you are not able to attend the events, you
will still be able to find out more and
comment via the Kresen Kernow web page
www.cornwall.gov.uk/kresenkernow.
RIC Digitising Photo Collection
One of the most important photographic
collections in Cornwall is starting to be
digitised.
The Royal Institution of Cornwall (RIC),
with a grant of over £95,000, is scanning all
of its mining photos – about 20% of the
collection.
The mining photographs provide evidence
of some of the earliest photographic
techniques, particularly those related to
underground photography and they provide
an
important
insight
into
the
industrialisation of Cornwall, the UK and
the world in the 19th century. Due to their
fragile nature, many of these images have
not been publicly accessible in the past.
Museum Director Ian Wall says the
collection, while the most requested, has
been extremely restricted so its full potential
as a resource “has been unrealised.”
He says the grant will enable the RIC to get
this important part of the collection
“catalogued and re-packaged.” When it is
done in two years, the photos will be
available to research on line & purchase
copies. The grant is from the Museums
Association’s Esmèe Fairbairn Fund. Until
April, all RIC photo searches are suspended.
CALH Calendar of Events
Cornwall Record Office
13 Nov (Thurs) – CALH Committee
Meeting – 4:45 pm, CRO, Truro
4-7 Nov (Tues-Fri) – CRO Closed for
Collection Work
2015
15 Jan (Thurs) – CALH Committee
Meeting – 4:45 pm, CRO, Truro
11-14 Nov (Tues-Fri) – National Explore
Your Archive Week – A great time to
explore our Cornish archives
7-8 Feb (Sat-Sun) – AGM & Spring
Conference – Cornwall in the Reign
of Elizabeth I – Exciting programme
and top-flight presenters. Full details and
booking form included with this newsletter
and available on our webpage. Book early as
this promises to be a sell-out. Booking
deadline: 30th January.
15 Nov (Sat) – CRO Open Saturday –
10 am to 1 pm
Around Cornwall
1 Nov (Sat) - What’s Your View of
Cornwall’s Past and Future? – The
Institute of Cornish Studies invites everyone
to come and tell your view of Cornwall’s
history and its future. Refreshments and a
pasty lunch will be provided for participants.
County Hall, Truro, 10 am to 4 pm
8 Nov (Sat) – Winter Festival, Old
Cornwall Societies – Program includes:
Recorders’ meeting with Merv Davey,
Parade of banners from St Mary’s Church.
Launceston College Samba Band, Hilary
Keam - dialect stories, JDACC Brass Band,
Readings from the works of Charles Causley
by Jane Nancarrow, The Lucy Burrow
family folk group. Pasty & snack, £6. Book
with I. Corkell, Hon Secretary FOCS,
Fieldways, Tregenna Lane, Camborne,
TR14 7QT Telephone 01209 714037 email
corkengine@talktalk.net Lanceston Town
Hall, 10:30 am – 5 pm
27 June, 2015 (Sat) – Summer Festival,
Federation of Old Cornwall Societies –
Annual festival involving all 43 member Old
Cornwall Societies in the Duchy plus many
other Cornish associations and societies,
including CALH and our chair Carole
Vivian. Public Hall, Liskeard. 10 am to 5 pm
21 Nov (Fri) - ‘Kids Takeover’ - The
Record Office will be run by a group of year
6 children from Truro Prep School (with a
little help from us)!
2-5 Dec (Tues-Fri) – CRO Closed for
Collection Work
13 Dec (Sat) – CRO Open Saturday –
10 am to 1 pm
2015
6-9 January (Tues-Fri) – CRO Closed for
Collection Work
17 Jan (Sat) – CRO Open Saturday –
10 am to 1 pm
3-6 February (Tues-Fri) – CRO Closed for
Collection Work
14 February (Sat) – CRO Open Saturday –
10 am to 1 pm
Cornish Studies Library Redruth
29 Nov (Sat) – Christmas Activities - To
tie in with the switching on of the Christmas
lights in Redruth, the Cornish Studies
Library will open a new Christmas
exhibition as well as holding a free
Christmas storytelling session. There will be
more information regarding this nearer the
time. Pre-booking for the storytelling is
essential on 01209 216 760. The exhibition
will run until December 31st.
Newsletter Editor: Robert Lyle
rhl@lylespride.com