NEWSLETTER
January 2012
Our Place on the Internet
www.calh.co.uk
CORNWALL
ASSOCIATION OF
LOCAL HISTORIANS
Chairman’s Letter
St Stephen’s Day 2011 ….
…written after we attended Midnight Mass
on Christmas Eve and the vicarage party on
St Stephen’s Day…and now a new year
begins.
First, many thanks to all the officers and
committee members for their hard work
during 2011, especially to Veronica Chesher
and ‘Bill’ Glanville who did not seek reelection to the committee at the AGM, and
to thank them for their contribution over so
many years not only to CALH but to local
history in Cornwall.
This year, 2012, will be an important one for
CALH.
We must have more of our
members taking an active part in the
running of the Association. Committee
members and officers who have ‘served
their time’ must be replaced from within the
membership. In particular Pam Lomax has
said that she is seeking to give up her
editorship of the Journal in 2012. I pay
tribute to Pam who has taken the Journal
into the 21st century and produces a
publication of a high standard which
broadens our perspective of local history in
Cornwall.
John and Hilary Ballard have also said that
they wish to retire as events organisers this
year. I hope that members will support the
February conference which they have
organised and which contains such an
interesting diversity of subjects within a
common theme. In particular Hilary and
John have secured two speakers of local,
national and international stature, Professor
Nicholas Orme and Professor Anthony
Fletcher.
Finally, a personal ‘thank you’ to Rob Lyle
for producing the newsletter (and his timely
and courteous reminders!) and to Hazel
Harradence and those who organise the
distribution.
Your Chairman
Colin Edwards
(01872) 501 727
Aspects of
Education in Cornwall
Going to School in Medieval Cornwall –
Prof. Nicholas Orme
Trist & His School in Veryan –
Christine Edwards
Silvanus Trevail and the Technical School –
Hazel Harradence
Windsor – The Smugglers School –
Carole Vivian
19th – 20th Century Newquay Schools Marilyn Thompson et al
Liskeard Grammar Schools –
Tony Wood
Literacy in Cornwall: Emigrants’ Letters Moira Tangye
Experiences in Childhood –
Prof. Anthony Fletcher
CALH Conference
Kilbirnie Hotel
Narrowcliff Road, Newquay
Sat & Sun, 4-5 February
Booking deadline 23 January – forms on-line
CALH Membership Changes
AUTUMN CONFERENCE 2012
Membership categories and annual
subscription rates have changed. They now
are:
The Autumn Conference this year will be
held on Saturday, 20 October, at the
Kilbirnie Hotel, Newquay at 10:30am.
Ordinary Members
Ordinary members are individuals who
receive one copy of the Journal and
Newsletter, may attend all activities, be a
member of the Management Committee,
vote at the Annual General Meeting, and
apply for a loan under the CALH Book
Loan scheme. They may also bring one
guest to any CALH activities subject to
sufficient spaces being available for full
members. The cost is £15.
The 2011 Autumn Conference with AGM
was a tremendous success with a quarter of
our members and their guests attending.
There was something of interest for
everyone and we have decided to do a
repeat programme – featuring presentations
by our own members.
Joint Members
Joint members are two people who reside at
the same address and receive a single copy
of the Journal and Newsletter. They may
attend all activities, be members of the
Management Committee, vote at the Annual
General Meeting, and apply for a loan under
the Book Loan scheme. They may also each
bring one guest to any CALH activities
subject to sufficient space being available
for full members. The cost is £25.
Corporate Members
Corporate Members receive one copy of the
Journal and Newsletter, may have a
designated member join the Committee and
vote at the Annual General Meeting. They
may also send the representative and up to
five other members of their organisation to
our activities, subject to sufficient places
being available for full members. Corporate
Members are not eligible for our book loan
scheme. The cost is £15.
New this year are membership numbers to
give each member a unique identifier.
Everyone has been sent a letter advising of
these changes. All are also invited to use the
standing order mandate sent with the recent
letter.
Please check that you have made the correct
subscription payment and, if by standing
order in the past, instructed your bank to
update the amount.
Hugh Hedderly
Hon. Treasurer
We wish to involve more of you this time
around, so this is an invitation for you or
your group to give us a short address on a
historical research topic of your choice.
This is YOUR chance to tell us about your
research or something of historical interest.
Perhaps there will be another member who
can advance your research. If you have a
subject you wish to expound upon, please
give Joan Webb, our Hon. Secretary, a ring
at (01208) 851498.
Newspaper Archive On-Line
The British Newspaper Archive is moving
rapidly ahead with its digitisation of 40
million newspaper pages from the British
Library’s vast collection which includes
dozens of papers that covered Cornwall
through the years.
You can search the collection for free by
almost any term (name, location, newspaper
etc.) and purchase quality prints of articles
you desire for your research.
In addition, the archive is now sending out a
newsletter to keep researchers abreast of the
digitisation project as well as interesting
findings among the newspapers.
The
archive can be
found at:
http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/
Sign up for the newsletter at:
info@britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk. Keep
up with developments on their Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/TheBritishNew
spaperArchive
Budget Cuts Slash Research
Hours
Cornwall Council budget cuts have slashed
access to Cornish archives and research
resources by reducing staff hours and
cutting opening times by 23 percent.
Cornwall Record Office will now be closed
the first full calendar week of each month.
The rest of the month, the CRO will be
open Tuesday through Friday 9 am to 4:30
pm.
On a trial basis, the CRO will be open one
Saturday each month from 10 am to 1 pm.
The Cornish Studies Library in Redruth will
now be closed all day every Wednesday and
Saturday afternoons after 1 p.m.
Deborah Tritton, head of the CRO, says the
closed week will be used as a “collections
week,” allowing the staff to catalogue more
of the collection (35% remains uncatalogued) and other work with the
archives.
The reduced hours make it all the more
essential to book your research visit ahead
and to pre-order any documents you need.
You can locate documents either through
the National Archives search engine,
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/
or through the CRO web page http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?p
age=15977
Bullmore, Grose & Sobey Papers
A small but significant collection of 130
documents dating from 1692 to 1932 from
three west Cornwall families has been
catalogued and is now available for research
at the CRO.
Donated by the late Bill Grose, the papers
from the Grose, Bullmore and Sobey
families relate mostly to Newlyin East, St
Columb Minor, Crantock and St Kew.
Cornish Studies Marks 10 Years
The Cornish Studies Library in Redruth
marked its 10th anniversary in October, with
special exhibitions and a day of celebration.
The Cornwall Centre now holds nearly
40,000 books and pamphlets about
Cornwall, the largest collection anywhere.
Ellis Photo Collection On-Line
Thanks to the efforts of staff and volunteers
at the Cornish Studies library, images from
the George Ellis collection continue to be
added to the on-line image bank at:
www.cornwallphotoimagebank.org.uk
The Cornwell Centre acquired the collection
of over 100,000 glass plate negatives in the
early 1980s following Ellis’ retirement. Over
1,000 are now viewable on-line.
Courtney Library Hours
The Courtney Library in the Royal
Institution of Cornwall in Truro has already
been forced to reduce its hours. The library
is open 3 days a week – Tuesday,
Wednesday and Friday from 10 am to 1 pm
and from 2 pm to 4 pm. It is also open on
Saturday’s from 10 am to 1 pm.
The Courtney is closed Monday, Thursday
and Sunday.
It is especially important to book ahead if
you intend to do research in the Courtney -call the Librarian on: (01872) 242 786 or Email: ric@royalcornwallmuseum.org.uk
CALH Part of British Association
CALH is a member of the British
Association of Local Historians, which
makes our members eligible for BALH
events.
Visit
their
webpage
at
www.balh.co.uk
or
www.calh.co.uk
calendar page for events.
CALH Calendar of Events
Cornwall Centre
19 January (Thurs) – CALH Committee
meeting – 4:45 pm, CRO, Truro.
30 January – 11 February (Mon-Sat) –
Photo exhibition by Camborne & Redruth
Camera Club.
23 January (Sun) – Deadline for booking
to attend the CALH Conference in
February. Forms on-line. www.calh.co.uk
4-5 February (Sat-Sun) – CALH Annual
Conference – A two-day conference
focusing on Education in Cornwall from
medieval times to the 20th century. In
addition to leading experts, there will be a
members symposium on Sunday afternoon.
Please bring brief accounts of personal
research in the area of ‘education’ to share.
Kilbirnie Hotel, Newquay.
1 March (Thurs) – CALH Spring Journal
Deadline – pamlomax@aol.com .
14 February (Tues) – Pirates of the
Cornish Seas – Half-term children’s chance
to hear piratical tales of buried treasure in
Cornwall and learn swashbuckling skills.
10:30 am – 12 noon. Free event, but
advance booking is essential.
21 February – 2 March (Tues-Fri) –
Holding Movements: describing the
farm. An exhibition by artist Janet McEwan.
Cornwall Record Office
12 April (Thurs) – CALH Committee
meeting – 4:45 pm , CRO, Truro.
3-6 January (Tues-Fri) – Record office
closed for “collections week” due to budget
cuts.
12 May (Sat) - CALH Day Out –
Portscatho. Details & booking form with
spring journal or on-line.
14 – January (Sat) – Record office OPEN
10 am to 1 pm.
5 July (Thurs) – CALH Committee
meeting – 4:45 p.m., CRO, Truro.
7-10 February (Tues-Fri) – Record office
closed due to budget cuts.
18 February (Sat) – Record Office OPEN
10 am to 1 pm.
Historical Association, Cornwall
All lectures in Council Chambers, County Hall, Truro
– start at 7 pm
27 January (Fri) – How Did Science
Operate in Victorian Cornwall? – Dr.
Simon Naylor, U. of Exeter in Cornwall.
24 February (Fri) – Prayers, Charms &
Spells: the Church’s Attitude to Magic
1200-1500 – Dr. Catherine Ryder, U. of
Exeter.
30 March (Fri) – Living with Biblical
Imagery in Tudor & Stuart England –
Dr. Tara Hamling, U. of Birmingham and
Fellow of the Shakespeare Institute.
6-9 March (Tues-Fri) – Record office
closed due to budget cuts.
17 March (Sat) – Record office OPEN 10
am to 1 pm.
3-6 April (Tues-Fri) – Record office closed
due to budget cuts.
14 April (Sat) – Record office OPEN 10
am to 1 pm.
8-11 May (Tues-Fri) – Record office closed
due to budget cuts.
19 May (Sat) – Record office OPEN 10
am to 1 p.m.
Newsletter Editor: Robert Lyle
rhl@lylespride.com