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Cornwall ...
Everyone who has a sense of place and history enters Cornwall from England with the feeling of crossing a cultural border.
Despite the communications and transport revolution, international media and the inward migration of the twentieth century, Cornwall remains nevertheless decidedly special.
Cornwall's name is probably the tribal name "Cornovii" meaning the "horn people" - most likely deriving from their location at the south western end of Britain. The Anglo-Saxons added "Wealas'' (or "Welsh")
meaning "foreigners". This has been commonly misconstrued as the "Welsh of the West", though a true Cornishman will avow that the Cornish are distinct (though related) to the other Celtic nations.
The number of early archaeological sites in Cornwall is evidence of long occupation dating back to the Early Stone Age. A new group of people came to Britain from Europe around 8,000 BC and some found their way to Cornwall. By 4,500
BC new migrants arrived from the Mediterranean and stayed - one of their settlements remains on Carn Brea, near Redruth. Bronze Age village remains have been found upon Bodmin Moor and in West Penwith.
Around 800 BC the people called Celts by the Romans arrived from across the Channel, and they are usually considered to be the real ancestors of today's Cornish, Welsh and Breton people. 800 years of Celtic life was hardly disturbed
by the Roman invasion, but the English invaders who followed brought with them a new language and whole new way of life, forcing Celtic life and language to retreat westwards - leaving Wales and Cornwall as its last retreats. Ironically
perhaps, it was this act of invasion which in effect clearly defined Cornwall from that point in time as different from England. |
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The most obvious historic relics to be noticed in the Cornish landscape are the engine houses of old mines. It is not known when minerals were first extracted in Cornwall, but Bronze Age settlers found tin and began
trading in it. After centuries of processing tin taken from the mud of streams and by crushing tin bearing rock to powder, the quest for the many valuable metals to be found underground in Cornwall really began in the 14th and 15th
centuries, and despite the
"Tin Crisis" in the 1980s South Crofty Mine at Camborne is still working - the only working tin mine in the UK!
Cornish Miners are renowned the world over for their skill and expertise, and "wherever you go in the world, if the hole is deep enough, there will be a Cornish Miner at the the bottom of it!".
Camborne
School of Mines is still the best mining university in the world. |
During the mining boom of the 1600s and 1700s Cornwall was at the forefront of industrialisation. Richard Trevithick, born in Illogan in 1771, became the true father of the world's transport revolution when he succeeded in running a steam
car up Camborne Hill on Christmas Eve 1801. William Murdoch, a Scottish engineer came to Cornwall to supervise the installation of steam engines and became the first person to light his house in Redruth by gas in 1784, effectively providing
the foundation of the world's gas industry. Murdoch originally tried to set up gas lights in London but was refused permission, so he went to the second wealthiest town in the Uk - Redruth!
The 20th century saw Cornwall's heavy engineering industry in slow decline, and the growth of light industry. Its young people were forced to leave for higher education and many did not return. The railway era brought holiday makers to
its magnificent miles of coast and stunning beaches. Towns such as Newquay, Bude, Falmouth and Penzance, responded, providing hotels and guest-houses. Improved trunk roads brought easier access for the import of goods once provided locally,
but also for the export of local products.
Today, Cornwall is a Duchy (not a County) famed for it's creative communities. Artists of every ilk, authors (e.g. John Le Carre), musicians (Roger Taylor of Queen), comedians (Dawn French and Lenny Henry) and actors from every
aspect of the media.
As an escape, Cornwall is perfect for getting away from the everyday niggles and hassles of life and has a much slower pace of life than most people in the UK experience. Everything in Cornwall is done "Dreckly" -
a bit like the Mexican concept of "mañana", but not so frantic!
Chill out, relax and enjoy some stunning scenery.
Take a look at Cornwall Cam to see for yourself. |
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 Cornwall - where the sun comes early and stays late. 
All the wonders of Cornwall are only a short drive away!
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