A short history of Cornwall
“A good sword and a trusty hand!
A merry heart and true!
King James's men shall understand
What Cornish lads can do!
And have they fixed the where and when?
And shall Trelawny die?
Here's twenty thousand Cornish men
Will know the reason why!”
“The Song of the Western Man” by R. S. Hawker
(Popularly known as ‘Trelawny’ or ‘The Cornish Anthem’)
Introduction and early history
Cornwall is the south-western most county of the United Kingdom, the Tamar River providing a natural
border with Devon, its only neighbour. It is a rural county, with an area of 3,563 km2 and a population of
approximately 513,000. This gives it a population density of 144 people/km 2, ranking 41st out of the 48
counties in the UK.
Map of England showing Cornwall
Source: Wikipedia (2005)
[Long Picture Description: A map of England showing the administrative county boundaries, highlighting the
county of Cornwall at the tip of the south-west peninsula]
The large number of early archaeological sites in Cornwall provides evidence of occupation of Cornwall by
migrants from Europe and the Mediterranean from 8000BC. Around 800BC the Celts arrived across the
Channel, building costal forts and hill castles, some of which still survive. The Celtic life remained stable
throughout the Roman invasion, succumbing later to the Christian invasions from Wales and Ireland in 838.
However Cornish remained the most commonly spoken language until the 16th Century when King Edward
VI commanded that the Book of Common Prayer be introduced into Cornwall and that the Celtic Customs
and services in Latin be discontinued.
Tin mining
Diodorus Siculus recorded evidence of tin mining within the county as early as the 1st Century BC, and the
industry developed through the centuries. By the 1700s, tin and copper mining became the mainstay of
Cornish industry with hundreds of mines established, mostly in the west of Cornwall. A number of now
famous inventors in Cornwall helped the industry develop:
William Murdoch
Experimented with coal gas for lighting at his house in Redruth in 1792 forming the beginnings of today’s gas
industry
Sir Humphrey Davy
Invented the miner’s safety lamp in 1808
Richard Trevithick
Pioneered the steam railway in 1808 using high powered mine engines
Today, after years in which Cornish production of tin has become increasingly uneconomic, the tin mining
industry has disappeared. The last commercial mine, South Crofty, closed in 1998. One of the largest
working mines, Geevor, has now been turned into a tourist attraction, as a protected industrial heritage site.
China Clay mining
From the 1750s onwards, a second important mining industry developed in Cornwall. William Cookworth, a
Quaker apothecary, discovered deposits of kaolin, or china clay, near his home at Germoe in the west of the
county. He established a small factory producing items of porcelain, however the china clay was not of the
best quality, containing dark specs of mica that hindered the firing process.
Further deposits of china clay were discovered in the mid-Cornwall areas around St Austell. Analysis
confirmed that these deposits were of high quality and very extensive. By 1870, over 100,000 tons a year of
clay was extracted and exported to Europe, India and the USA. As well as the production of ceramics, china
clay was used in the manufacture of paper, and later in plastics, glass fibre, cosmetics, medicines and even
weed killers. The areas around St Austell are known for the tips, pits and lagoons on the landscape and
have been featured in many films.
The china clay industry remains and although production is at its highest ever level, the industry itself is
smaller today. Over 2,500 people remain employed within china clay works, with an estimated £120 million
being directed into the local economy every year. There remain sufficient reserves of china clay in the county
for production to continue for several hundred years.
Fishing
The final mainstay of Cornish industry has been fishing. As a county with an extensive coastline, many
residents of its smaller towns and villages owe their livelihood to fishing, particularly pilchards (a Cornish
term for sardines), crabs and mackerel. The number of people who now make a living from fishing in
Cornwall is small, but it remains an essential component of the Cornish way of life.
As a result of the decline in important Cornish industries, and other factors relating to its geography and
population, Cornwall is now one of the poorest counties in the UK, with West Cornwall in particular
experiencing high levels of poverty (Payne et al, 1996).
St Ives Harbour with Lifeboat
Source: Wikimedia Commons (2005a)
Assignment - Instructions
The European Union Objective One programme provides economic support for areas of the EU which have
a Gross Domestic Product lower than 75% of the European average. Cornwall has been allocated a
substantial grant from the Objective One programme and is making this money available to local
organisations and companies who wish to bid for it. This funding has been allocated to a local body which
will in turn award grants to companies and organisations in the county.
Read more information on the sorts of projects that this body will fund in the Grants and Loans section at
http://www.objectiveone.com/
Part 1: Develop a scenario
Develop a scenario in which you might wish to apply for funding to develop a business or project. The
scenario can be in any area you choose. For example, you might wish to establish a new business or grow
an existing one. Alternatively you might be requesting funding for a not-for-profit organisation, perhaps
providing training or support services for local people or for an environmental purpose.
Your scenario should be approximately half a page long, and should give an outline of what you intent to do,
the resources (people, premises, equipment) that will be required to do it, and what the expected outcomes
would be.
Part 2: Develop a business case.
Develop a two page business document to support your funding request. You will need to state how much
money you will require, show how it will be spent, and describe what the beneficial local impact (in terms of
jobs, inward investment, environmental benefits) etc will be.
As part of this work you may need to make a number of assumptions on areas such as costs. Based on your
reading, aim to choose reasonable figures and work with these. You will score good marks for a sensible
presentation of your case, rather than exact accuracy of your numbers.
Regenerating Cornwall
Cornwall, along with its south-west England neighbours has successfully developed itself into a high profile
tourist resort, bucking the trend of most other areas in the UK. A number of large developments have put
Cornwall ‘on the map’ as a holiday destination:
 The development of Newquay as an international centre for surfing competitions.
 The Tate St Ives Gallery, affiliated to its counterparts in London and Liverpool.
 The Eden Project, a spectacular ‘living theatre of plants and people’ created in a former china clay
pit, which opened in 2001 and has since received over a million visitors per year.
 The National Maritime Museum in Falmouth attracting over 750,000 visitors per year.
Objective One
The county has also been successful in attracting additional funding, particularly through the Objective One
programme of the European Union. This programme supports areas of Europe for which the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) is less than 75% of the European average. A total of approximately £300 million has been
committed to projects in Cornwall, most of which support growth in local business or infrastructure.
Examples of the types of projects that have been financed include:
 The Combined Universities in Cornwall project, a major higher education provider formed in
collaboration with a number of external universities (Plymouth and Exeter) and Cornish colleges. A
£55 million campus in west Cornwall provides teaching and accommodation facilities for thousands
of students. This gives local access to higher education in Cornwall for the first time. As a result,
academics are attracted to Cornwall, and Cornish students need no longer leave to go to university,
rarely to return to use their skills within the county.
 Financing for building and support work for Newquay airport, the major passenger and freight airport
in Cornwall. As a result, flights to and from Newquay have increased with destinations such as
London, Bristol, Leeds, Birmingham and the Isles of Scilly.
 Support for information and telecommunications infrastructure, such as the upgrading of telephone
networks in rural areas to broadband capacity, plugging homes and business in to high speed
internet access.
 Support for Cornish businesses looking to expand into UK markets and overseas.
Population and major towns
Cornwall remains a rural county with a total population of around half a million, distributed across its largest
towns (and single city, Truro) as shown below:
Town
Camborne / Redruth
St Austell
Falmouth
Truro
Penzance and Newlyn
Population (2001 census)
District Council
39,937
Kerrier
22,658
Restormel
21,635
Carrick
20,920
Carrick
20,255
Penwith
The five largest Cornish towns
Source: Cornwall County Council (2005)