Cornwall
Encyclopedia
Cornwall is a unitary authority
and ceremonial county
of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea
, to the south by the English Channel
, and to the east by the county of Devon
, over the River Tamar
. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of 3563 km² (1,376 sq mi). The administrative centre and only city
is Truro
.
The area now known as Cornwall was first inhabited in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic
periods. It continued to be occupied by Neolithic
and then Bronze Age
peoples, and later (in the Iron Age
) by Brythons with distinctive cultural relations to neighbouring Wales, Ireland and Brittany. There is little evidence that Roman rule
was effective west of Exeter
and few Roman remains have been found. Cornwall was a division of the Dumnonii
tribe—whose tribal centre was in the modern county of Devon—known as the Cornovii
, separated from Wales after the Battle of Deorham
, often coming into conflict with the expanding English kingdom of Wessex
before King Athelstan in AD 936 set the boundary between English and Cornish
at the Tamar. From the early Middle Ages, British language and culture was apparently shared by Brythons trading across both sides of the Channel, evidenced by the corresponding high medieval Breton
kingdoms of Domnonee and Cornouaille
and the Celtic Christianity
common to both territories.
Historically tin
mining was important in the Cornish economy, becoming significant during the Middle Ages and expanding greatly during the 19th century when rich copper mines were also in production. In the mid-nineteenth century, however, the tin and copper mines entered a period of decline. Subsequently china clay extraction became more important and metal mining had virtually ended by the 1990s. Traditionally fishing (particularly of pilchards), and agriculture (particularly of dairy products and vegetables), were the other important sectors of the economy. The railways led to the growth of tourism during the 20th century, however, Cornwall's economy
struggles after the decline of the mining
and fishing
industries. The area is noted for its wild moorland
landscapes, its extensive and varied coastline, its many place names derived from the Cornish language
, and its very mild climate.
Cornwall is the traditional homeland of the Cornish people and is recognised as one of the Celtic nations
, retaining a distinct cultural identity
that reflects its history
. Some people question the present constitutional status of Cornwall
, and a nationalist movement seeks greater autonomy
within the United Kingdom in the form of a devolved legislative assembly
, and greater recognition of the Cornish people as a national minority.
The name Cornwall comes from combining two different terms from separate languages. The Roman
term for the Celtic tribe which inhabited what is now Cornwall at the time of Roman rule in Britain, Cornovii
, came from a Brython
ic tribal name which gave modern Cornish
Kernow, also known as Corneu to the Brythons. This could be from either of two sources; the common Celtic
root cern, or the Latin cornu, both of which mean "horn" or "peninsula
", suggestive of the shape of Cornwall's landmass. There is a problem with this theory however. At least two other known Celtic tribes bore the name Cornovii, one tribe
in Caithness
which may also be considered a "headland" or "horn-land", yet another, the principal tribe known to the Romans as Cornovii lived in the West Midlands and Powys
areas, calling into question the derivation of the name from a peninsula (however, Celtic tribes were not necessarily permanently settled, and the Latin forms may be based on different British names). Another theory suggests that the name of the Cornovii tribes may well be connected to totemic worship
of the "horned god" such as the Gaulish Cernunnos
, or a similar totemic cult. Nevertheless, the Cornovii were sufficiently established in the present day area recognised as Cornwall for their territory to be recorded as Cornubia by 700 AD, and remained as such into the Middle Ages
. The Ravenna Cosmography
, of around 700, makes reference to Purocoronavis, (almost certainly a corruption of Durocornovium), 'a fort or walled settlement of the Cornovii', (unidentified, but possibly Tintagel
or Carn Brea
).
During the 6th and 7th centuries, the name Cornubia became corrupted by extensive changes in the Old English language
. The Anglo-Saxons
provided the suffix wealas
, meaning "foreigners", creating the term Corn-wealas, Cornouaille
in French – also the name of a corresponding Breton
colonial territory–and Cornugallia in medieval Latin. Some historians note that this was the word for Wales, however it is understood that the term applied instead to all Brythonic peoples and lands, who were considered foreign by the Anglo-Saxons. As Cornwall was known as West Wales and present-day Wales as North Wales during those times, the "Wales" meaning is probable.
and others, Cornwall in the Late Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-networked culture called the Atlantic Bronze Age
that also included the other Celtic nations
, England, France, Spain and Portugal where Celtic languages
developed with the Tartessian language
, which he claims was the first written Celtic language so far discovered. During the British Iron Age
Cornwall, like all of Britain south of the Firth of Forth
, was inhabited by the Celtic people known as the Britons
. The Celtic
British language spoken at the time eventually developed into several distinct tongues, including Cornish
. The first account of Cornwall comes from the Sicilian Greek historian Diodorus Siculus
(c. 90 BC – c. 30 BC), supposedly quoting or paraphrasing the fourth-century BC geographer Pytheas
, who had sailed to Britain:
The identity of these merchants is unknown. It has been theorised that they were Phoenicia
ns, but there is no evidence for this. (For further discussion of tin mining see the section on the economy below.)
There is a theory that silver was extracted from the copper ores of Cornwall in pre-Roman times, as silver is easily converted to its chloride (AgCl) by surface waters containing chlorine. After a period of Roman
rule, Cornwall reverted to rule by independent Celtic chieftains.
. There are no recorded charters or legal agreements showing Cornwall as part of Wessex. Furthermore, there is little economic, military, social, cultural or archaeological evidence that Wessex established control over Cornwall, although some historians, notably Michael Swanton
, and Malcolm Todd
assert to the contrary.
The Annales Cambriae
report that in 722 AD the Britons of Cornwall won a battle at Hehil
. It seems likely that the enemy the Cornish fought was West Saxons, as evidenced by the naming of King Ine of Wessex and his kinsman Nonna in reference to an earlier Battle of Lining in 710. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states in 815 (adjusted date) "& þy geare gehergade Ecgbryht cyning on West Walas from easteweardum oþ westewearde."..."and in this year king Ecgbryht raided in Cornwall from east to west." and thenceforth apparently held it as a ducatus or dukedom annexed to his regnum or kingdom of Wessex, but not wholly incorporated with it. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles states that in 825 (adjusted date) a battle was fought involving the "Welsh", presumably those of Cornwall, and the Defnas (men of Devon). It only states:- "The Westwealas (Cornish) and the Defnas (men of Devon) fought at Gafulforda". However, there is no mention of who won or who lost, whether the men of Cornwall and Devon were fighting each other or on the same side, and no mention of Egbert. This is the only record of this battle. In the same year Ecgbert, as a later document phrases it, "disposed of their territory as it seemed fit to him, giving a tenth part of it to God." In other words he incorporated Cornwall ecclesiastically with the West Saxon diocese of Sherborne, and endowed Ealhstan, his fighting bishop, who took part in the campaign, with an extensive Cornish estate consisting of Callington and Lawhitton
, both in the Tamar
valley, and Pawton near Padstow
.
In 838, the Cornish and their Danish allies were defeated by Egbert at Hengestesdune (Anglo-Saxon Chronicles): an unknown location (various places have been suggested over the years from Hengistbury Head
in Dorset and Hingston Down, Devon
to Hingston Down in Cornwall). In 875, the last recorded king of Cornwall, Dumgarth
, is said to have drowned. Around the 880s, Anglo-Saxons from Wessex had established modest land holdings in the eastern part of Cornwall; notably Alfred the Great
had acquired a few estates. William of Malmesbury
, writing around 1120, says that King Athelstan of England (924–939) fixed the boundary between English and Cornish people at the east bank of the River Tamar.
One interpretation of the Domesday Book is that by this time the native Cornish landowning class had been almost completely dispossessed and replaced by English landowners, the largest of whom was Harold Godwinson
himself. However, this is highly questionable: the Bodmin manumissions
show that two leading Cornish figures nominally had Saxon names, but these were both glossed with native Cornish names. This suggests that a mixing of populations and cultural syncretism occurred, as opposed to outright replacement of the original Cornish nobility.
However, soon after the Norman conquest
most of the land was seized and transferred into the hands of a new Breton-Norman aristocracy, with the lion's share going to Robert, Count of Mortain
, half-brother of King William
and the largest landholder in England after the king. Ultimately this aristocracy eventually became a Cornu-Norman ruling class, a phenomenon closely resembling the situation in the rest of England, and later in Ireland.
continued to be spoken and it acquired a number of characteristics establishing its identity as a separate language from Breton
. Cornwall showed a very different type of settlement pattern from that of Saxon Wessex and places continued, even after 1066, to be named in the Celtic Cornish tradition with Saxon architecture being uncommon. The earliest record for any Anglo-Saxon place names west of the Tamar is around 1040: they are particularly noticeable in the north-east of the county.
that it was customary in the Middle Ages to ascribe such geographical origins to saints. Some of these saints are not included in the early lists of saints.
Saint Piran
, after whom Perranporth
is named, is generally regarded as the patron saint of Cornwall. However in early Norman times it is likely that Saint Michael the Archangel
was recognised as the patron saint and the title has also been claimed for Saint Petroc
.
The church in Cornwall until the time of Athelstan of Wessex observed more or less orthodox practices, being completely separate from the Anglo-Saxon church until then (and perhaps later). The See of Cornwall continued until much later: Bishop Conan
apparently in place previously, but (re-?) consecrated in 931 AD by Athelstan. However, it is unclear whether he was the sole Bishop for Cornwall or the leading Bishop in the area. The situation in Cornwall may have been somewhat similar to Wales where each major religious house corresponded to a cantref (this has the same meaning as Cornish keverang) both being under the supervision of a Bishop. However if this was so the status of keverangow before the time of King Athelstan is not recorded. However it can be inferred from the districts included at this period that the minimum number would be three: Triggshire; Wivelshire; and the remaining area. Penwith, Kerrier, Pydar and Powder meet at a central point (Scorrier
) which some have believed indicates a fourfold division imposed by Athelstan on a sub-kingdom.
s exist in Cornwall, each associated with a particular saint, though not always the same one as the dedication of the church.
Various kinds of religious houses existed in mediaeval Cornwall though none of them were nunneries; the benefices of the parishes were in many cases appropriated to religious houses within Cornwall or elsewhere in England or France.
. In 1548 the college at Glasney
, a centre of learning and study established by the Bishop of Exeter, had been closed and looted (many manuscripts and documents were destroyed) which aroused resentment among the Cornish. They, among other things, objected to the English language Book of Common Prayer
, protesting that the English language was still unknown to many at the time. The Prayer Book Rebellion was a cultural and social disaster for Cornwall; the reprisals taken by the forces of the Crown have been estimated to account for 10–11% of the civilian population of Cornwall. Culturally speaking, it saw the beginning of the slow decline of the Cornish language
.
From that time Christianity in Cornwall was in the main within the Church of England and subject to the national events which affected it in the next century and a half. Roman Catholicism never became extinct, though openly practised by very few; there were some converts to Puritanism, Anabaptism and Quakerism in certain areas though they suffered intermittent persecution which more or less came to an end in the reign of William and Mary. During the 18th century Cornish Anglicanism was very much in the same state as Anglicanism in most of England. Wesleyan Methodist missions began during John Wesley
's lifetime and had great success over a long period during which Methodism itself divided into a number of sects and established a definite separation from the Church of England.
From the early nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century Methodism
was the leading form of Christianity in Cornwall but it is now in decline. The Church of England was in the majority from the reign of Queen Elizabeth until the Methodist revival of the 19th century: before the Wesleyan missions dissenters were very few in Cornwall. The county remained within the Diocese of Exeter
until 1876 when the Anglican Diocese of Truro
was created (the first Bishop was appointed in 1877). Roman Catholicism was virtually extinct in Cornwall after the 17th century except for a few families such as the Arundells of Lanherne
. From the mid-19th century the church reestablished episcopal sees in England, one of these being at Plymouth
. Since then immigration to Cornwall has brought more Roman Catholics into the population.
Cornwall forms the tip of the south-west peninsula of the island of Great Britain, and is therefore exposed to the full force of the prevailing winds
that blow in from the Atlantic Ocean. The coastline is composed mainly of resistant rocks that give rise in many places to impressive cliffs. Cornwall has a border with only one other county, Devon
.
, part of the Atlantic Ocean, is more exposed and therefore has a wilder nature. The prosaically named High Cliff, between Boscastle
and St Gennys
, is the highest sheer-drop cliff in Cornwall at 223 metres (731.6 ft). However, there are also many extensive stretches of fine golden sand which form the beaches that are so important to the tourist industry, such as those at Bude
, Polzeath
, Watergate Bay
, Perranporth
, Porthtowan
, Fistral Beach
, Newquay
, St Agnes
, St Ives
, and on the south coast Gyllyngvase
beach in Falmouth
. There are two river estuaries on the north coast: Hayle Estuary
and the estuary of the River Camel
, which provides Padstow
and Rock
with a safe harbour.
The south coast, dubbed the "Cornish Riviera", is more sheltered and there are several broad estuaries offering safe anchorages, such as at Falmouth
and Fowey
. Beaches on the south coast usually consist of coarser sand and shingle, interspersed with rocky sections of wave-cut platform
. Also on the south coast, the picturesque fishing village of Polperro
, at the mouth of the Pol River, and the fishing port of Looe
on the River Looe
are both popular with tourists.
intrusions, such as Bodmin Moor
, which contains the highest land within Cornwall. From east to west, and with approximately descending altitude, these are Bodmin Moor, the area north of St Austell
, the area south of Camborne
, and the Penwith
or Land's End
peninsula. These intrusions are the central part of the granite outcrops that form the exposed parts of the Cornubian batholith
of south-west Britain, which also includes Dartmoor
to the east in Devon
and the Isles of Scilly
to the west, the latter now being partially submerged.
The intrusion of the granite into the surrounding sedimentary rocks gave rise to extensive metamorphism
and mineralisation, and this led to Cornwall being one of the most important mining areas in Europe until the early 20th century. It is thought tin
was mined here as early as the Bronze Age
, and copper, lead, zinc
and silver have all been mined in Cornwall
. Alteration of the granite also gave rise to extensive deposits of China Clay
, especially in the area to the north of St Austell
, and the extraction of this remains an important industry.
The uplands are surrounded by more fertile, mainly pastoral
farmland. Near the south coast, deep wooded valleys provide sheltered conditions for flora that like shade and a moist, mild climate. These areas lie mainly on Devonian
sandstone
and slate
. The north east of Cornwall lies on Carboniferous
rocks known as the Culm Measures
. In places these have been subjected to severe folding, as can be seen on the north coast near Crackington Haven
and in several other locations.
is unusual, in that it is mainland Britain's only example of an ophiolite, a section of oceanic crust now found on land. Much of the peninsula consists of the dark green and red Precambrian
serpentinite
, which forms spectacular cliffs, notably at Kynance Cove
, and carved and polished serpentine ornaments are sold in local gift shops. This ultramafic rock also forms a very infertile soil which covers the flat and marshy heaths of the interior of the peninsula. This is home to rare plants, such as the Cornish Heath
, which has been adopted as the county flower.
.
Botanists divide Cornwall and Scilly into two vice-counties: West (1) and East (2). The standard flora is by F. H. Davey Flora of Cornwall (1909). Davey was assisted by A. O. Hume and he thanks Hume, his companion on excursions in Cornwall and Devon, and for help in the compilation of that Flora, publication of which was financed by him.
Oceanic climate
(Köppen climate classification
: Cfb) and has the mildest and sunniest climate in the United Kingdom, as a result of its southerly latitude and the influence of the Gulf Stream
. The average annual temperature in Cornwall ranges from 11.6 °C (53 °F) on the Isles of Scilly
to 9.8 °C (50 °F) in the central uplands. Winters are amongst the warmest in the country due to the southerly latitude and moderating effects of the warm ocean currents, and frost and snow are very rare at the coast and are also rare in the central upland areas as well. Summers are however not as warm as other areas in southern England. Due to its proximity to the sea, Cornwall's weather can be relatively changeable.
Cornwall is one of the sunniest areas in the UK, with over 1541 hours of sunshine per year, with the highest average of 7.6 hours of sunshine per day in July. The moist, mild air coming from the south west brings higher amounts of rainfall than eastern Great Britain, at 1051 to 1290 mm (41.4 to 50.8 in) per year, however not as much as more northern areas of the west coast. The Isles of Scilly, for example, where there are on average less than 2 days of air frost per year, are in the USDA Hardiness zone
10, which is the only area in the UK that is in this zone and where there is on average less than 1 day of air temperature exceeding 30 °C per year, are in the AHS Heat Zone 1. Extreme temperatures in Cornwall are particularly rare, however extreme weather in the form of storms and floods is common.
With the exception of the Isles of Scilly
, Cornwall is now governed by a unitary authority
known as Cornwall Council which is based in Truro
. Cornwall's Courts of Justice are also located in Truro.
The Isles of Scilly form part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall and have, at times, been served by the same county administration. However, since 1890 they have been administered by their own unitary authority
, now known as the Council of the Isles of Scilly. They are still grouped with Cornwall for other administrative purposes, such as the National Health Service
and Devon and Cornwall Police
.
Prior to reorganisation on 1 April 2009, council functions throughout the rest of Cornwall were organised on a two-tier basis, with a county council and district councils for the six districts of Caradon
, Carrick
, Kerrier
, North Cornwall
, Penwith
, and Restormel
. While projected to streamline services, cut red tape and save around £17 million a year, the reorganisation was met with wide opposition, with a poll in 2008 giving a result of 89% disapproval from Cornish residents.
The first elections for the new unitary authority were held on 4 June 2009. The new council has 123 seats; the largest party is the Conservative Party
with 50, followed by the Liberal Democrats
with 38, Independents with 32 and Mebyon Kernow
with 3 seats.
Prior to the creation of the new unitary council, the former county council had 82 seats, the majority of which were held by the Liberal Democrats, elected at the 2005 county council elections
. The six former districts in Cornwall had a total of 249 council seats, and the numerically largest groups represented on them were Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, and Independents.
Parliamentary constituencies
Following a review by the Boundary Commission for England taking effect at the 2010 general election, Cornwall is divided into six county constituencies to elect MPs to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
Before the 2010 boundary changes there were five constituencies in Cornwall, all of which were won by Liberal Democrats
in the 2005 general election
. However, at the 2010 general election Liberal Democrat candidates won three constituencies and Conservative
candidates won three constituencies (see also 2010 United Kingdom general election result in Cornwall
).
Until 1832, Cornwall had 44 MPs-–more than any other county-–reflecting the importance of tin to the Crown. Most of the increase came between 1529 and 1584 after which there was no change until 1832.
The chief registered parties contesting elections in Cornwall are Conservatives, Greens
, Labour
, Liberal Democrats, Mebyon Kernow
, Liberal Party and the United Kingdom Independence Party
(UKIP).
In July 2007, Conservative leader David Cameron
appointed Mark Prisk
to the newly created post of Shadow Minister for Cornwall.
. Cornwall Council's February 2003 MORI poll showed 55% in favour of an elected, fully devolved regional assembly for Cornwall and 13% against. (Previous result: 46% in favour in 2002). The Cornish Constitutional Convention advocates the creation of a Cornish Assembly
, along the lines of the National Assembly for Wales
, Scottish Assembly
and Northern Ireland Assembly
. In 2001 it presented a petition to the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair
, calling for the change. It is claimed that many of the residents are calling for a high degree of autonomy within England, or a split from England, creating a fifth home nation of the United Kingdom. and/or a separate Cornish Development Agency, a result of discontent with the South West Regional Development Agency. It is also maintained by some that Cornwall already is a nation separate from England and that the Stannary Parliament, which has not been dissolved, could be recognised, achieving these goals by recognising the currently ignored status of Cornwall rather than making changes.
, formed in 1951, and the Cornish Nationalist Party
. In addition to the political parties, there are various interest groups such as the Cornish Stannary Parliament
and the Celtic League
. In November 2000, the Cornish Constitutional Convention was formed to campaign for a Cornish Assembly. It is a cross-party organisation including representatives from the private, public, and voluntary sectors, of all political parties and none. Between 5 March 2000 and December 2001, the campaign collected the signatures of 41,650 Cornish residents endorsing the declaration for a devolved regional Cornish Assembly, along with 8,896 signatories from outside Cornwall.
, a Duchy
, i.e. the Duchy of Cornwall
established in 1337 by Edward III of England
for his son, Edward, Prince of Wales
, or another constitutional entity of the United Kingdom is a complex one. In recent years there has been cross-party recognition of the issue at least as far as the calls for a Cornish Assembly
are concerned. In addition there are also groups and individuals, including the Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament
, the Cornish Constitutional Convention
, and John Angarrack
, who reject the present constitutional status of Cornwall, denying the legality of Cornwall's current administration as a county of England, and Cornwall's relationship to the Duchy of Cornwall.
, leader of the Conservative Party
, in a departure from the Conservative Party's traditionally unionist
stance, appointed Cornishman Mark Prisk
, MP for Hertford, Hertfordshire, England, as "Shadow Minister for Cornwall". This appointment was called "the fictional minister for Cornwall", by a Liberal Democrat MP, as there was no government minister to shadow. The post was not continued following the 2010 election, and no longer exists. The Liberal Democrats
recognise Cornwall's claims for greater autonomy, as do the Liberal Party
.
An additional political issue is the recognition of the Cornish people
as a minority.
, the Celtic League
and the International Celtic Congress
, as one of the six Celtic nations
, alongside Brittany
, Ireland
, the Isle of Man
, Scotland
and Wales
. Alongside Asturias
and Galicia, Cornwall is also recognised as one of the eight Celtic nations by the Isle of Man Government
and the Welsh Government. Cornwall is represented, as one of the Celtic nations, at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient
, an annual celebration of Celtic culture held in Brittany.
Cornwall Council consider Cornwall's unique cultural heritage and distinctiveness to be one of the area's major assets. They see Cornwall's language; landscape; Celtic identity; political history; patterns of settlement; maritime tradition; industrial heritage; and non-conformist tradition, to be among the features comprising its "distinctive" culture. However, it is uncertain how many of the people living in Cornwall consider themselves to be Cornish; results from different surveys (including the national census) have varied. In the 2001 census, 7 percent of people in Cornwall identified themselves as Cornish, rather than British or English. However, activists have argued that this underestimated the true number as there was no explicit "Cornish" option included in the official census form. Subsequent surveys have suggested that as many as 44 percent identify as Cornish. Many people in Cornwall say that this issue would be resolved if a Cornish option became available on the census. The question and content recommendations for the 2011 Census provide an explanation of the process of selecting an ethnic identity which is relevant to the understanding of the often quoted figure of 37,000 who claim Cornish identity.
On 12 July 2005 Andrew George MP put forward proposals in the House of Commons for a version of devolution for Cornwall which he debated with the minister Jim Fitzpatrick, speaking on behalf of the Government.
Cornwall's only city, and the home of the council headquarters, is Truro
. Nearby Falmouth
is notable as a port, while the ports at Penzance
, the most westerly town in England, St Ives
and Padstow
have declined. Newquay
on the north coast is famous for its beaches and is a popular surfing destination, as is Bude
further north. St Austell
is Cornwall's largest town and is larger than the capital Truro
, and a centre of the china clay industry. Redruth
and Camborne
together form the largest urban area in Cornwall, and both towns were significant as centres of the global tin mining industry.
Cornwall borders the county of Devon
at the River Tamar. Major road links between Cornwall and the rest of Great Britain are the A38
which crosses the Tamar at Plymouth
via the Tamar Bridge
and the town of Saltash
, the A39 road
(Atlantic Highway) from Barnstaple
, passing through North Cornwall
to end eventually in Falmouth
, and the A30
which crosses the border south of Launceston. Torpoint Ferry
also links Plymouth with the town of Torpoint
on the opposite side of the Hamoaze
. A rail bridge, the Royal Albert Bridge
, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
(1859) provides the only other major transport link. The major city of Plymouth being the nearest large urban centre to east Cornwall makes it an important location for such services as hospitals, department stores, road and rail transport, and cultural venues.
Newquay Cornwall International Airport
provides an airlink to the rest of the UK, Ireland and Europe, as does Plymouth City Airport
in Devon.
Cardiff
and Swansea
, across the Bristol Channel, are connected to Cornwall by ferry, usually to Padstow. Swansea
in particular has several boat companies who can arrange boat trips to north Cornwall, which allow the traveller to pass by the north Cornish coastline, including Tintagel Castle
and Padstow harbour. Very occasionally, the Waverley
and Balmoral paddle steamers cruise from Swansea or Bristol
to Padstow.
The Isles of Scilly
are served by ferry (from Penzance), helicopter (Penzance Heliport
) and fixed wing aeroplane (Land's End Airport
, near St Just) and from Newquay Airport. Further flights to St. Mary's Airport, Isles of Scilly, are available from Exeter International Airport
in Devon.
Saint Piran's Flag is regarded by many as the national flag of Cornwall, and an emblem of the Cornish people; and by others as the county flag. The banner of Saint Piran
is a white cross on a black background. Saint Piran is supposed to have adopted these two colours from seeing the white tin in the black coals and ashes during his supposed discovery of tin. Davies Gilbert
in 1826 described it as anciently the flag of St Piran and the banner of Cornwall, and another history of 1880 said that: "The white cross of St. Piran was the ancient banner of the Cornish people." The Cornish flag is an exact reverse of the former Breton
national flag (black cross) and is known by the same name "Kroaz Du".
There are also claims that the patron saint of Cornwall is Saint Michael or Saint Petroc
, but Saint Piran is by far the most popular of the three and his emblem is internationally recognised as the flag of Cornwall. St Piran's Day (5 March) is celebrated by the Cornish diaspora around the world.
Historically mining of tin (and later also of copper) was important in the Cornish economy. The first reference to this appears to be by Pytheas: see above. Julius Caesar
was the last classical writer to mention the tin
trade, which appears to have declined during the Roman occupation. The tin trade revived in the Middle Ages, and the Cornish Rebellion of 1497
is attributed to tin miners. In the mid-nineteenth century, however, the tin trade again fell into decline.
Today, the Cornish economy depends heavily on its tourist industry, which makes up around a quarter of the economy. The official measures of deprivation and poverty at district and 'sub-ward' level show that there is great variation in poverty and prosperity in Cornwall with some areas among the poorest in England and others among the top half in prosperity. For example, the ranking of 32,482 sub-wards in England in the index of multiple deprivation (2006) ranged from 819th (part of Penzance East) to 30,899th (part of Saltash Burraton in Caradon), where the lower number represents the greater deprivation.
Cornwall is one of four UK areas that qualify for poverty-related grants from the EU: it was granted Objective 1 status by the European Commission
, followed by a further round of funding known as 'Convergence Funding'.
and Celtic Sea
, Cornwall has many miles of beaches and cliffs; the South West Coast Path
follows a complete circuit of both coasts. Other tourist attractions include moorland, country gardens, museums, historic and prehistoric sites, and wooded valleys. Five million tourists visit Cornwall each year, mostly drawn from within the UK. Visitors to Cornwall are served by airports at Newquay
and Plymouth
, whilst private jets, charters and helicopters are also served by Perranporth
airfield; nightsleeper and daily rail services run between Cornwall, London and other regions of the UK.
Newquay
and Porthtowan
are popular destinations for surfers. In recent years, the Eden Project
near St Austell
has been a major financial success, drawing one in eight of Cornwall's visitors.
Other industries are fishing
, although this has been significantly re-structured by EU fishing policies (the Southwest Handline Fishermen's Association has started to revive the fishing industry), and agriculture, which has also declined significantly. Mining of tin and copper was also an industry, but today the derelict mine workings survive only as a World Heritage Site
. However, the Camborne School of Mines
, which was relocated to Penryn
in 2004, is still a world centre of excellence in the field of mining and applied geology and the grant of World Heritage status has attracted funding for conservation and heritage tourism. China clay extraction has also been an important industry in the St Austell area, but this sector has been in decline, and this, coupled with increased mechanisation, has led to a decrease in employment in this sector.
and has a relatively high level of population growth. At 11.2% in the 1980s and 5.3% in the 1990s, it has the fifth highest population growth of the English counties. The natural change has been a small population decline, and the population increase is due to inward migration into Cornwall. According to the 1991 census, the population was 469,800.
Cornwall has a relatively high retired population, with 22.9% of pensionable age, compared with 20.3% for the United Kingdom. This may be due to a combination of Cornwall's rural and coastal geography increasing its popularity as a retirement location, and outward migration of younger residents to more economically diverse areas. Inward migration of pensioners from southern England to Cornwall, and outward migration of young Cornish people, are persistent concerns.
(a former sixth form college), Cornwall College
(occupying the former home of the Camborne School of Mines) and Truro College
. The Isles of Scilly only has one school while the former Restormel district has the highest school population, and school year sizes are around 200, with none above 270.
Higher education is provided by University College Falmouth
, the University of Exeter
(including Camborne School of Mines
), the Combined Universities in Cornwall
, and by Truro College, Penwith College (which combined in 2008 to make Truro and Penwith College
) and Cornwall College.
may be seen on road signs and is spoken fluently by a small minority of people.
The Cornish language is closely related to the other Brythonic languages
of Welsh
and Breton
, and less so to the Goidelic languages
of Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx
. The language continued to function visibly as a community language in parts of Cornwall until the late 18th century. Some children used the language to converse in, and families used it as a language of the home through the 19th and possibly into the 20th century. Some elderly speakers were known to be still living into the 20th century including one still alive in 1914. There has been a revival of the language since Henry Jenner
's Handbook of the Cornish Language was published in 1904. A study in 2000 suggested that there were around 300 people who spoke Cornish fluently. Cornish however had no legal status in the UK until 2002. Nevertheless, the language is taught in about twelve primary schools, and occasionally used in religious and civic ceremonies. In 2002 Cornish was officially recognised as a UK minority language and in 2005 it received limited Government funding. A Standard Written Form
was agreed in 2008.
Several Cornish mining words are still in use in English language mining terminology, such as costean
, gunnies
, vug
, kibbal, gossan
and kieve.
Four of the current members in the Parliament of the United Kingdom
, Andrew George, MP for St Ives
, Dan Rogerson
, MP for North Cornwall
, Stephen Gilbert
, MP for St Austell and Newquay
, and Sarah Newton
, MP for Truro and Falmouth
repeated their Parliamentary oaths in Cornish.
Since the 19th century, Cornwall, with its unspoilt maritime scenery and strong light, has sustained a vibrant visual art scene of international renown. Artistic activity within Cornwall was initially centred on the art-colony of Newlyn
, most active at the turn of the 20th century. This Newlyn School
is associated with the names: Stanhope Forbes
, Elizabeth Forbes, Norman Garstin
and Lamorna Birch
. Modernist writers such as D. H. Lawrence
and Virginia Woolf
lived in Cornwall between the wars, and Ben Nicholson
, the painter, having visited in the 1920s came to live in St Ives with his then wife, the sculptor Barbara Hepworth
, at the outbreak of the second world war. They were later joined by the Russian emigrant Naum Gabo
, and other artists. These included Peter Lanyon
, Terry Frost
, Patrick Heron
, Bryan Wynter
and Roger Hilton
. St Ives also houses the Leach Pottery, where Bernard Leach
, and his followers championed Japanese inspired studio pottery. Much of this modernist work can be seen in Tate St Ives
. The Newlyn Society and Penwith Society of Arts continue to be active, and contemporary visual art is documented in a dedicated online journal.
tradition which has survived into the present and is well known for its unusual folk survivals such as Mummers Play
s, the Furry Dance
in Helston
played by the famous Helston Town Band
, and Obby Oss in Padstow
.
As in other former mining districts of Britain, male voice choirs and Brass Band
s, e.g. Brass on the Grass concerts during the summer at Constantine
, are still very popular in Cornwall: Cornwall also has around 40 brass bands, including the six-times National Champions of Great Britain, Camborne Youth Band, and the bands of Lanner and St Dennis.
Cornish players are regular participants in inter-Celtic festivals, and Cornwall itself has several lively inter-Celtic festivals such as Perranporth
's Lowender Peran folk festival.
On a more modern note, contemporary musician Richard D. James
(also known as Aphex Twin) grew up in Cornwall, as did Luke Vibert
and Alex Parks
winner of Fame Academy
2003. Roger Taylor, the drummer from the band Queen
was also raised in the county, and currently lives not far from Falmouth
. The American singer/songwriter Tori Amos
now resides predominantly in North Cornwall not far from Bude with her family.
author of many novels and works of literary criticism lived in Fowey: his novels are mainly set in Cornwall. Daphne du Maurier
lived at Menabilly
near Fowey and many of her novels had Cornish settings, including Rebecca
, Jamaica Inn
, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel
, and The House on the Strand
. She is also noted for writing Vanishing Cornwall. Cornwall provided the inspiration for The Birds
, one of her terrifying series of short stories, made famous as a film by Alfred Hitchcock
.
Medieval Cornwall is the setting of the trilogy by Monica Furlong
, Wise Child, Juniper, and Colman, as well as part of Charles Kingsley's Hereward the Wake
.
Conan Doyle
's The Adventure of the Devil's Foot
featuring Sherlock Holmes
is set in Cornwall. Winston Graham
's series Poldark
, Kate Tremayne
's Adam Loveday
series, Susan Cooper
's novels Over Sea, Under Stone
and Greenwitch, and Mary Wesley
's The Camomile Lawn
are all set in Cornwall. Writing under the pseudonym of Alexander Kent, Douglas Reeman
sets parts of his Richard Bolitho
and Adam Bolitho series in the Cornwall of the late 18th and the early 19th centuries, particularly in Falmouth
.
Hammond Innes
's novel, The Killer Mine; Charles de Lint
's novel The Little Country; and Chapters 24 and 25 of J. K. Rowling
's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows take place in Cornwall (the Harry Potter story at Shell Cottage, which is on the beach outside the fictional village of Tinworth in Cornwall). Elizabeth George
's mystery, Careless in Red, takes place on the Cornish coast.
Author David Cornwell, who writes espionage novels under the name John le Carré
, lives and writes in Cornwall. Nobel Prize-winning
novelist William Golding
was born in St Columb Minor
in 1911, and returned to live near Truro from 1985 until his death in 1993. D. H. Lawrence
spent a short time living in Cornwall. Rosamunde Pilcher
grew up in Cornwall, and several of her books take place there.
The late Poet Laureate
Sir John Betjeman
was famously fond of Cornwall and it featured prominently in his poetry. He is buried in the churchyard at St Enodoc's Church, Trebetherick.
Charles Causley
, the poet, was born in Launceston and is perhaps the best known of Cornish poets. Jack Clemo
and the scholar A. L. Rowse
were also notable Cornishmen known for their poetry; The Rev. R. S. Hawker of Morwenstow wrote some poetry which was very popular in the Victorian period. The Scottish poet W. S. Graham
lived in West Cornwall from 1944 until his death in 1986.
The poet Laurence Binyon
wrote "For the Fallen" (first published in 1914) while sitting on the cliffs between Pentire Point
and The Rumps and a stone plaque was erected in 2001 to commemorate the fact. The plaque bears the inscription "FOR THE FALLEN / Composed on these cliffs, 1914". The plaque also bears below this the fourth stanza (sometimes referred to as "The Ode"
) of the poem:
s such as the Ordinalia
during the Middle Ages. Many are still extant, and provide valuable information about the Cornish language. See also Cornish literature
Prolific writer Colin Wilson
, best known for his debut work The Outsider
(1956) and for The Mind Parasites
(1967), lives in Gorran Haven
, a little village on the southern Cornish coast, not far from Mevagissey
and St Austell
. A. L. Rowse
, the historian and poet, was born near St Austell. The writer D. M. Thomas
was born in Redruth but lived and worked in Australia and the United States before returning to his native Cornwall. He has written novels, poetry, and other works, including translations from Russian.
Thomas Hardy
's drama The Queen of Cornwall (1923) is a version of the Tristan story; the second act of Richard Wagner
's opera Tristan und Isolde
takes place in Cornwall, as do Gilbert and Sullivan
's operettas The Pirates of Penzance
and Ruddigore
. A level of Tomb Raider: Legend, a game dealing with Arthurian Legend, takes place in Cornwall at a tacky museum above King Arthur's tomb.
The fairy tale Jack the Giant Killer
takes place in Cornwall.
With its comparatively small, and largely rural population, major contribution by the Cornish to national sport in the United Kingdom
has been limited. There are no teams affiliated to the Cornwall County Football Association
that play in the Football League
of England and Wales
, and the Cornwall County Cricket Club
plays as one of the minor counties of English cricket
. Viewed as an "important identifier of ethnic affiliation", rugby union
has become a sport strongly tied to notions of Cornishness, and since the 20th century, rugby union in Cornwall has emerged as one of,the most popular spectator and team sports in Cornwall (perhaps the most popular), with professional Cornish rugby footballers being described as a "formidable force", "naturally independent, both in thought and deed, yet paradoxically staunch English patriots whose top players have represented England with pride and passion". In 1985, sports journalist Alan Gibson
made a direct connection between love of rugby in Cornwall and the ancient parish games of hurling and wrestling that existed for centuries before rugby officially began. Among Cornwall's native sports are a distinctive form of Celtic wrestling related to Breton
wrestling, and Cornish hurling, a kind of mediaeval football played with a silver ball (distinct from Irish Hurling
). Cornish Wrestling
is Cornwall's oldest sport and as Cornwall's native tradition it has travelled the world to places like Victoria, Australia and Grass Valley, California
following the miners and gold rushes. Cornish hurling now takes place at St. Columb Major, St Ives
, and less frequently at Bodmin
.
Due to its long coastline, various maritime sports are popular in Cornwall, notably sailing and surfing
. International events in both are held in Cornwall. Cornwall hosted the Inter-Celtic Watersports Festival in 2006. Surfing in particular is very popular, as locations such as Bude
and Newquay
offer some of the best surf in the UK. Pilot gig
rowing has been popular for many years and the World championships takes place annually on the Isles of Scilly
. On 2 September 2007, 300 surfers at Polzeath
beach set a new world record for the highest number of surfers riding the same wave as part of the Global Surf Challenge and part of a project called Earthwave to raise awareness about global warming
.
(also known as "five hundred") is a popular card game
in Cornwall. It is normally a game for four players consisting of two teams. Its origins are unclear but some claim it is a Cornish game. There are several leagues in Cornwall at present. Whist and pub quizzes are also popular.
is the largest fishing port in the UK by value of fish landed. Television chef Rick Stein
has long operated a fish restaurant in Padstow
for this reason, and Jamie Oliver
recently chose to open his second restaurant, Fifteen, in Watergate Bay
near Newquay
. MasterChef host and founder of Smiths of Smithfield, John Torode
, in 2007 purchased Seiners in Perranporth
. One famous local fish dish is Stargazy pie
, a fish-based pie in which the heads of the fish stick through the piecrust, as though "star-gazing". The pie is cooked as part of traditional celebrations for Tom Bawcock's Eve, but is not generally eaten at any other time.
Cornwall is perhaps best known though for its pasties
, a savoury dish made with pastry. Today's pasties usually contain a filling of beef steak, onion, potato and swede
with salt and white pepper, but historically pasties had a variety of different fillings. "Turmut, 'tates and mate" (i.e. Turnip, potatoes and meat) describes a filling once very common. For instance, the licky pasty contained mostly leeks, and the herb pasty contained watercress, parsley, and shallots. Pasties are often locally referred to as oggies. Historically, pasties were also often made with sweet fillings such as jam, apple and blackberry, plums or cherries.
The wet climate and relatively poor soil of Cornwall make it unsuitable for growing many arable crops. However, it is ideal for growing the rich grass required for dairying, leading to the production of Cornwall's other famous export, clotted cream
. This forms the basis for many local specialities including Cornish fudge
and Cornish ice cream
. Cornish clotted cream has Protected Geographical Status
under EU law, and cannot be made anywhere else. Its principal manufacturer is Rodda's, based at Scorrier
.
Local cakes and desserts include Saffron cake
, Cornish heavy (hevva) cake
, Cornish fairings
biscuits, figgy 'obbin, scones (often served with jam and clotted cream) and whortleberry pie.
There are also many types of beers brewed in Cornwall – those produced by Sharp's Brewery, Skinner's Brewery and St Austell Brewery
are the best-known – including stout
s, ale
s and other beer types. There is some small scale production of wine, mead
and cider
.
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
and ceremonial county
Ceremonial counties of England
The ceremonial counties are areas of England to which are appointed a Lord Lieutenant, and are defined by the government as counties and areas for the purposes of the Lieutenancies Act 1997 with reference to the metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England and Lieutenancies Act 1997...
of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea
Celtic Sea
The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany...
, to the south by the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
, and to the east by the county of Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, over the River Tamar
River Tamar
The Tamar is a river in South West England, that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall . It is one of several British rivers whose ancient name is assumed to be derived from a prehistoric river word apparently meaning "dark flowing" and which it shares with the River Thames.The...
. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of 3563 km² (1,376 sq mi). The administrative centre and only city
City status in the United Kingdom
City status in the United Kingdom is granted by the British monarch to a select group of communities. The holding of city status gives a settlement no special rights other than that of calling itself a "city". Nonetheless, this appellation carries its own prestige and, consequently, competitions...
is Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
.
The area now known as Cornwall was first inhabited in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic
Mesolithic
The Mesolithic is an archaeological concept used to refer to certain groups of archaeological cultures defined as falling between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic....
periods. It continued to be occupied by Neolithic
Prehistoric Britain
For the purposes of this article, Prehistoric Britain is that period of time between the first arrival of humans on the land mass now known as Great Britain and the start of recorded British history...
and then Bronze Age
Bronze Age Britain
Bronze Age Britain refers to the period of British history that spanned from c. 2,500 until c. 800 BC. Lasting for approximately 1700 years, it was preceded by the era of Neolithic Britain and was in turn followed by the era of Iron Age Britain...
peoples, and later (in the Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
) by Brythons with distinctive cultural relations to neighbouring Wales, Ireland and Brittany. There is little evidence that Roman rule
Roman Britain
Roman Britain was the part of the island of Great Britain controlled by the Roman Empire from AD 43 until ca. AD 410.The Romans referred to the imperial province as Britannia, which eventually comprised all of the island of Great Britain south of the fluid frontier with Caledonia...
was effective west of Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...
and few Roman remains have been found. Cornwall was a division of the Dumnonii
Dumnonii
The Dumnonii or Dumnones were a British Celtic tribe who inhabited Dumnonia, the area now known as Devon and Cornwall in the farther parts of the South West peninsula of Britain, from at least the Iron Age up to the early Saxon period...
tribe—whose tribal centre was in the modern county of Devon—known as the Cornovii
Cornovii (Cornish)
The Cornovii were a Celtic tribe who inhabited the far South West peninsula of Great Britain, during the Iron Age, Roman and post-Roman periods and gave their name to Cornwall or Kernow....
, separated from Wales after the Battle of Deorham
Battle of Deorham
The Battle of Deorham or Dyrham was fought in 577 between the West Saxons under Ceawlin and Cuthwine and the Britons of the West Country. The location, Deorham, is usually taken to refer to Dyrham in South Gloucestershire. The battle was a major victory for the West Saxons, who took three important...
, often coming into conflict with the expanding English kingdom of Wessex
Wessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
before King Athelstan in AD 936 set the boundary between English and Cornish
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
at the Tamar. From the early Middle Ages, British language and culture was apparently shared by Brythons trading across both sides of the Channel, evidenced by the corresponding high medieval Breton
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
kingdoms of Domnonee and Cornouaille
Cornouaille
Cornouaille is a historic region in Brittany, in northwest France. The name is identical to the French name for the Duchy of Cornwall, since the area was settled by migrant princes from Cornwall...
and the Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity
Celtic Christianity or Insular Christianity refers broadly to certain features of Christianity that were common, or held to be common, across the Celtic-speaking world during the Early Middle Ages...
common to both territories.
Historically tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
mining was important in the Cornish economy, becoming significant during the Middle Ages and expanding greatly during the 19th century when rich copper mines were also in production. In the mid-nineteenth century, however, the tin and copper mines entered a period of decline. Subsequently china clay extraction became more important and metal mining had virtually ended by the 1990s. Traditionally fishing (particularly of pilchards), and agriculture (particularly of dairy products and vegetables), were the other important sectors of the economy. The railways led to the growth of tourism during the 20th century, however, Cornwall's economy
Economy of Cornwall
The economy of Cornwall, in England, is largely dependent upon agriculture followed by tourism. Cornwall is one of the poorest areas in the United Kingdom with a GDP of 62% of the national average, and is one of four UK areas that qualifies for poverty-related grants from the EU...
struggles after the decline of the mining
Mining in Cornwall
Mining in Cornwall and Devon began in the early Bronze Age approximately 2,150 BC and ended with the South Crofty tin mine in Cornwall closing in 1998...
and fishing
Fishing in Cornwall
Fishing in Cornwall has traditionally been one of the main elements of the economy. Pilchard fishing and processing was a thriving industry in Cornwall from around 1750 to around 1880, after which it went into an almost terminal decline. During the 20th century the varieties of fish taken became...
industries. The area is noted for its wild moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
landscapes, its extensive and varied coastline, its many place names derived from the Cornish language
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
, and its very mild climate.
Cornwall is the traditional homeland of the Cornish people and is recognised as one of the Celtic nations
Celtic nations
The Celtic nations are territories in North-West Europe in which that area's own Celtic languages and some cultural traits have survived.The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common traditional identity and culture and are identified with a traditional...
, retaining a distinct cultural identity
Culture of Cornwall
The culture of Cornwall forms part of the culture of the United Kingdom, but has some distinct customs, traditions and peculiarities. Cornwall, a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county of England, a duchy, and a Celtic nation, has many strong local traditions...
that reflects its history
History of Cornwall
The history of Cornwall begins with the pre-Roman inhabitants, including speakers of a Celtic language that would develop into Brythonic and Cornish. Cornwall was part of the territory of the tribe of the Dumnonii. After a period of Roman rule, Cornwall reverted to rule by independent...
. Some people question the present constitutional status of Cornwall
Constitutional status of Cornwall
Cornwall is currently administered as a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England.However, a number of organisations and individuals question the constitutional basis for the administration of Cornwall as part of England, arguing that the Duchy Charters of 1337 place the governance of...
, and a nationalist movement seeks greater autonomy
Autonomy
Autonomy is a concept found in moral, political and bioethical philosophy. Within these contexts, it is the capacity of a rational individual to make an informed, un-coerced decision...
within the United Kingdom in the form of a devolved legislative assembly
Cornish Assembly
The Cornish Assembly is a proposed devolved regional assembly for Cornwall in the United Kingdom along the lines of the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly.-Overview:...
, and greater recognition of the Cornish people as a national minority.
Toponymy
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
term for the Celtic tribe which inhabited what is now Cornwall at the time of Roman rule in Britain, Cornovii
Cornovii (Cornish)
The Cornovii were a Celtic tribe who inhabited the far South West peninsula of Great Britain, during the Iron Age, Roman and post-Roman periods and gave their name to Cornwall or Kernow....
, came from a Brython
Brython
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
ic tribal name which gave modern Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
Kernow, also known as Corneu to the Brythons. This could be from either of two sources; the common Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
root cern, or the Latin cornu, both of which mean "horn" or "peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
", suggestive of the shape of Cornwall's landmass. There is a problem with this theory however. At least two other known Celtic tribes bore the name Cornovii, one tribe
Cornovii (Caithness)
The Cornovii were a people of ancient Britain, known only from a single mention of them by the geographer Ptolemy c. 150. From his description, their territory is reliably known to have been at the northern tip of Scotland, in Caithness. Ptolemy does not provide them with a town or principal place....
in Caithness
Caithness
Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is...
which may also be considered a "headland" or "horn-land", yet another, the principal tribe known to the Romans as Cornovii lived in the West Midlands and Powys
Powys
Powys is a local-government county and preserved county in Wales.-Geography:Powys covers the historic counties of Montgomeryshire and Radnorshire, most of Brecknockshire , and a small part of Denbighshire — an area of 5,179 km², making it the largest county in Wales by land area.It is...
areas, calling into question the derivation of the name from a peninsula (however, Celtic tribes were not necessarily permanently settled, and the Latin forms may be based on different British names). Another theory suggests that the name of the Cornovii tribes may well be connected to totemic worship
Totem
A totem is a stipulated ancestor of a group of people, such as a family, clan, group, lineage, or tribe.Totems support larger groups than the individual person. In kinship and descent, if the apical ancestor of a clan is nonhuman, it is called a totem...
of the "horned god" such as the Gaulish Cernunnos
Cernunnos
Cernunnos is the conventional name given in Celtic studies to depictions of the horned god of Celtic polytheism. The name itself is only attested once, on the 1st-century Pillar of the Boatmen, but depictions of a horned or antlered figure, often seated in a "lotus position" and often associated...
, or a similar totemic cult. Nevertheless, the Cornovii were sufficiently established in the present day area recognised as Cornwall for their territory to be recorded as Cornubia by 700 AD, and remained as such into the Middle Ages
England in the Middle Ages
England in the Middle Ages concerns the history of England during the Medieval period — from the end of Roman rule in Britain through to the Early Modern period...
. The Ravenna Cosmography
Ravenna Cosmography
The Ravenna Cosmography was compiled by an anonymous cleric in Ravenna around AD 700. It consists of a list of place-names covering the world from India to Ireland. Textual evidence indicates that the author frequently used maps as his source....
, of around 700, makes reference to Purocoronavis, (almost certainly a corruption of Durocornovium), 'a fort or walled settlement of the Cornovii', (unidentified, but possibly Tintagel
Tintagel
Tintagel is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The population of the parish is 1,820 people, and the area of the parish is ....
or Carn Brea
Carn Brea
Carn Brea is a civil parish and hilltop site in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The hilltop site is situated approximately one mile southwest of Redruth.-Neolithic settlement:...
).
During the 6th and 7th centuries, the name Cornubia became corrupted by extensive changes in the Old English language
Old English language
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons and their descendants in parts of what are now England and southeastern Scotland between at least the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century...
. The Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxons
Anglo-Saxon is a term used by historians to designate the Germanic tribes who invaded and settled the south and east of Great Britain beginning in the early 5th century AD, and the period from their creation of the English nation to the Norman conquest. The Anglo-Saxon Era denotes the period of...
provided the suffix wealas
Walha
Walhaz is a reconstructed Proto-Germanic word, meaning "foreigner", "stranger", "Roman", "Romance-speaker", or "Celtic-speaker". The adjective derived from this word can be found in , Old High German walhisk, meaning "Romance", in Old English welisċ, wælisċ, wilisċ, meaning "Romano-British" and in...
, meaning "foreigners", creating the term Corn-wealas, Cornouaille
Cornouaille
Cornouaille is a historic region in Brittany, in northwest France. The name is identical to the French name for the Duchy of Cornwall, since the area was settled by migrant princes from Cornwall...
in French – also the name of a corresponding Breton
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
colonial territory–and Cornugallia in medieval Latin. Some historians note that this was the word for Wales, however it is understood that the term applied instead to all Brythonic peoples and lands, who were considered foreign by the Anglo-Saxons. As Cornwall was known as West Wales and present-day Wales as North Wales during those times, the "Wales" meaning is probable.
History
Prehistory, Roman and post-Roman periods
The present human history of Cornwall begins with the reoccupation of Britain after the last Ice Age. According to John T. KochJohn T. Koch
Professor John T. Koch is an American academic, historian and linguist who specializes in Celtic studies, especially prehistory and the early Middle Ages....
and others, Cornwall in the Late Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-networked culture called the Atlantic Bronze Age
Atlantic Bronze Age
The Atlantic Bronze Age is a cultural complex of the Bronze Age period of approximately 1300–700 BC that includes different cultures in Portugal, Andalusia, Galicia, Armorica and the British Isles.-Trade:...
that also included the other Celtic nations
Celtic nations
The Celtic nations are territories in North-West Europe in which that area's own Celtic languages and some cultural traits have survived.The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common traditional identity and culture and are identified with a traditional...
, England, France, Spain and Portugal where Celtic languages
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
developed with the Tartessian language
Tartessian language
The Tartessian language is the extinct Paleohispanic language of inscriptions in the Southwestern script found in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula: mainly in the south of Portugal , but also in Spain . There are 95 of these inscriptions with the longest having 82 readable signs...
, which he claims was the first written Celtic language so far discovered. During the British Iron Age
British Iron Age
The British Iron Age is a conventional name used in the archaeology of Great Britain, referring to the prehistoric and protohistoric phases of the Iron-Age culture of the main island and the smaller islands, typically excluding prehistoric Ireland, and which had an independent Iron Age culture of...
Cornwall, like all of Britain south of the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
, was inhabited by the Celtic people known as the Britons
Britons (historical)
The Britons were the Celtic people culturally dominating Great Britain from the Iron Age through the Early Middle Ages. They spoke the Insular Celtic language known as British or Brythonic...
. The Celtic
Celtic languages
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
British language spoken at the time eventually developed into several distinct tongues, including Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
. The first account of Cornwall comes from the Sicilian Greek historian Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
(c. 90 BC – c. 30 BC), supposedly quoting or paraphrasing the fourth-century BC geographer Pytheas
Pytheas
Pytheas of Massalia or Massilia , was a Greek geographer and explorer from the Greek colony, Massalia . He made a voyage of exploration to northwestern Europe at about 325 BC. He travelled around and visited a considerable part of Great Britain...
, who had sailed to Britain:
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
ns, but there is no evidence for this. (For further discussion of tin mining see the section on the economy below.)
There is a theory that silver was extracted from the copper ores of Cornwall in pre-Roman times, as silver is easily converted to its chloride (AgCl) by surface waters containing chlorine. After a period of Roman
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
rule, Cornwall reverted to rule by independent Celtic chieftains.
Conflict with Wessex
The chronology of English dominance over Cornwall is unclear. In the 8th century Cornwall came into conflict with the expanding kingdom of WessexWessex
The Kingdom of Wessex or Kingdom of the West Saxons was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the West Saxons, in South West England, from the 6th century, until the emergence of a united English state in the 10th century, under the Wessex dynasty. It was to be an earldom after Canute the Great's conquest...
. There are no recorded charters or legal agreements showing Cornwall as part of Wessex. Furthermore, there is little economic, military, social, cultural or archaeological evidence that Wessex established control over Cornwall, although some historians, notably Michael Swanton
Michael Swanton
Michael James Swanton is a British literary critic, translator, archaeologist and historian specializing in Old English literature and the Anglo-Saxon period....
, and Malcolm Todd
Malcolm Todd
Malcolm Todd FSA is a British historian and archaeologist with an interest in the interaction between the Roman Empire and Western Europe....
assert to the contrary.
The Annales Cambriae
Annales Cambriae
Annales Cambriae, or The Annals of Wales, is the name given to a complex of Cambro-Latin chronicles deriving ultimately from a text compiled from diverse sources at St David's in Dyfed, Wales, not later than the 10th century...
report that in 722 AD the Britons of Cornwall won a battle at Hehil
Battle of Hehil
The Battle of Hehil was a battle won by a British force, probably against the Anglo-Saxons of Wessex in the year 721 or 722. The location is unknown, except that it was apud Cornuenses ....
. It seems likely that the enemy the Cornish fought was West Saxons, as evidenced by the naming of King Ine of Wessex and his kinsman Nonna in reference to an earlier Battle of Lining in 710. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle states in 815 (adjusted date) "& þy geare gehergade Ecgbryht cyning on West Walas from easteweardum oþ westewearde."..."and in this year king Ecgbryht raided in Cornwall from east to west." and thenceforth apparently held it as a ducatus or dukedom annexed to his regnum or kingdom of Wessex, but not wholly incorporated with it. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles states that in 825 (adjusted date) a battle was fought involving the "Welsh", presumably those of Cornwall, and the Defnas (men of Devon). It only states:- "The Westwealas (Cornish) and the Defnas (men of Devon) fought at Gafulforda". However, there is no mention of who won or who lost, whether the men of Cornwall and Devon were fighting each other or on the same side, and no mention of Egbert. This is the only record of this battle. In the same year Ecgbert, as a later document phrases it, "disposed of their territory as it seemed fit to him, giving a tenth part of it to God." In other words he incorporated Cornwall ecclesiastically with the West Saxon diocese of Sherborne, and endowed Ealhstan, his fighting bishop, who took part in the campaign, with an extensive Cornish estate consisting of Callington and Lawhitton
Lawhitton
Lawhitton is a civil parish and village in east Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated two miles southwest of Launceston and half-a-mile west of Cornwall's border with Devon at the River Tamar....
, both in the Tamar
River Tamar
The Tamar is a river in South West England, that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall . It is one of several British rivers whose ancient name is assumed to be derived from a prehistoric river word apparently meaning "dark flowing" and which it shares with the River Thames.The...
valley, and Pawton near Padstow
Padstow
Padstow is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately five miles northwest of Wadebridge, ten miles northwest of Bodmin and ten miles northeast of Newquay...
.
In 838, the Cornish and their Danish allies were defeated by Egbert at Hengestesdune (Anglo-Saxon Chronicles): an unknown location (various places have been suggested over the years from Hengistbury Head
Hengistbury Head
Hengistbury Head is a headland jutting into the English Channel between Bournemouth and Milford on Sea in the English county of Dorset.At the end is a spit which creates the narrow entrance to Christchurch Harbour.-Location:...
in Dorset and Hingston Down, Devon
Hingston Down, Devon
Hingston Down is a hill spur approximately one mile east of Moretonhampstead and 10 miles west of Exeter in Devon. Some historians now claim that this was the site of the 838 battle between a Cornish/Danish alliance against the West Saxons rather than at the site at Hingston Down near Callington,...
to Hingston Down in Cornwall). In 875, the last recorded king of Cornwall, Dumgarth
Donyarth
King Donyarth is thought to have been a 9th century King of Cornwall, now part of the United Kingdom.He is known solely from an inscription on King Doniert's Stone, a 9th century cross shaft which stands in St Cleer parish in Cornwall. His social status is not recorded there...
, is said to have drowned. Around the 880s, Anglo-Saxons from Wessex had established modest land holdings in the eastern part of Cornwall; notably Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
had acquired a few estates. William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury
William of Malmesbury was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. C. Warren Hollister so ranks him among the most talented generation of writers of history since Bede, "a gifted historical scholar and an omnivorous reader, impressively well versed in the literature of classical,...
, writing around 1120, says that King Athelstan of England (924–939) fixed the boundary between English and Cornish people at the east bank of the River Tamar.
Norman period
Harold Godwinson
Harold Godwinson was the last Anglo-Saxon King of England.It could be argued that Edgar the Atheling, who was proclaimed as king by the witan but never crowned, was really the last Anglo-Saxon king...
himself. However, this is highly questionable: the Bodmin manumissions
Bodmin manumissions
The Bodmin manumissions or Bodmin Gospels is a manuscript supposed to be of the 9th century. The document is of interest to language scholars as it contains writing in Latin, Saxon and Cornish texts....
show that two leading Cornish figures nominally had Saxon names, but these were both glossed with native Cornish names. This suggests that a mixing of populations and cultural syncretism occurred, as opposed to outright replacement of the original Cornish nobility.
However, soon after the Norman conquest
Norman conquest of England
The Norman conquest of England began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of England by William, Duke of Normandy. William became known as William the Conqueror after his victory at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, defeating King Harold II of England...
most of the land was seized and transferred into the hands of a new Breton-Norman aristocracy, with the lion's share going to Robert, Count of Mortain
Robert, Count of Mortain
Robert, Count of Mortain, 1st Earl of Cornwall was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother of William I of England. Robert was the son of Herluin de Conteville and Herleva of Falaise and was full brother to Odo of Bayeux. The exact year of Robert's birth is unknown Robert, Count of Mortain, 1st...
, half-brother of King William
William I of England
William I , also known as William the Conqueror , was the first Norman King of England from Christmas 1066 until his death. He was also Duke of Normandy from 3 July 1035 until his death, under the name William II...
and the largest landholder in England after the king. Ultimately this aristocracy eventually became a Cornu-Norman ruling class, a phenomenon closely resembling the situation in the rest of England, and later in Ireland.
Later medieval administration and society
Subsequently, however, Norman absentee landlords became replaced by a new Cornu-Norman elite. These families eventually became the new ruling class of Cornwall (typically speaking Norman French, Cornish, Latin and eventually English), many becoming involved in the operation of the Stannary Parliament system, Earldom and eventually the Duchy. The Cornish languageCornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
continued to be spoken and it acquired a number of characteristics establishing its identity as a separate language from Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
. Cornwall showed a very different type of settlement pattern from that of Saxon Wessex and places continued, even after 1066, to be named in the Celtic Cornish tradition with Saxon architecture being uncommon. The earliest record for any Anglo-Saxon place names west of the Tamar is around 1040: they are particularly noticeable in the north-east of the county.
Christianity in Cornwall
Many place names in Cornwall are associated with Christian missionaries described as coming from Ireland and Wales in the fifth century AD and usually called saints (See List of Cornish saints). The historicity of some of these missionaries is problematic and it has been pointed out by Canon DobleGilbert Hunter Doble
Gilbert Hunter Doble was an Anglican priest and Cornish historian and hagiographer.-Early life:G. H. Doble was born at Penzance, Cornwall on 26 November 1880. His father, John Medley Doble shared his enthusiasm for archaeology and local studies with his sons. He was a scholar of Exeter College,...
that it was customary in the Middle Ages to ascribe such geographical origins to saints. Some of these saints are not included in the early lists of saints.
Saint Piran
Saint Piran
Saint Piran or Perran is an early 6th century Cornish abbot and saint, supposedly of Irish origin....
, after whom Perranporth
Perranporth
Perranporth is a small seaside resort on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is southwest of Newquay and northwest of Truro. Perranporth and its long beach face the Atlantic Ocean....
is named, is generally regarded as the patron saint of Cornwall. However in early Norman times it is likely that Saint Michael the Archangel
Michael (archangel)
Michael , Micha'el or Mîkhā'ēl; , Mikhaḗl; or Míchaël; , Mīkhā'īl) is an archangel in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic teachings. Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Lutherans refer to him as Saint Michael the Archangel and also simply as Saint Michael...
was recognised as the patron saint and the title has also been claimed for Saint Petroc
Saint Petroc
Saint Petroc is a 6th century Celtic Christian saint. He was born in Wales but primarily ministered to the Britons of Dumnonia which included the modern counties of Devon , Cornwall , and parts of Somerset and Dorset...
.
The Church in Cornwall in Celtic and Anglo-Saxon times
Conan of Cornwall
Conan was a medieval Bishop of Cornwall.He was nominated about 926 by King Athelstan. He was consecrated before 931. He died between 937 and 955.-References:...
apparently in place previously, but (re-?) consecrated in 931 AD by Athelstan. However, it is unclear whether he was the sole Bishop for Cornwall or the leading Bishop in the area. The situation in Cornwall may have been somewhat similar to Wales where each major religious house corresponded to a cantref (this has the same meaning as Cornish keverang) both being under the supervision of a Bishop. However if this was so the status of keverangow before the time of King Athelstan is not recorded. However it can be inferred from the districts included at this period that the minimum number would be three: Triggshire; Wivelshire; and the remaining area. Penwith, Kerrier, Pydar and Powder meet at a central point (Scorrier
Scorrier
Scorrier is a village in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. It is about 2 miles northeast of the centre of Redruth and 3 miles south-east of the coast at Porthtowan, on the A30 road at the junction of the A3047 road that leads west to Camborne and the B3298 road south to Carharrack...
) which some have believed indicates a fourfold division imposed by Athelstan on a sub-kingdom.
Middle Ages
It is notable that in Cornwall that most of the parish churches in existence in Norman times were generally not in the larger settlements and that the medieval towns which developed thereafter usually had only a chapel of ease with the right of burial remaining at the ancient parish church. Over a hundred holy wellHoly well
A holy well, or sacred spring, is a small body of water emerging from underground and revered either in a Pagan or Christian context, often both. Holy wells were frequently pagan sacred sites that later became Christianized. The term 'holy well' is commonly employed to refer to any water source of...
s exist in Cornwall, each associated with a particular saint, though not always the same one as the dedication of the church.
Various kinds of religious houses existed in mediaeval Cornwall though none of them were nunneries; the benefices of the parishes were in many cases appropriated to religious houses within Cornwall or elsewhere in England or France.
Religious history from the Reformation to the Victorian period
In the sixteenth century there was some violent resistance to the replacement of Catholicism with Protestantism in the Prayer Book RebellionPrayer Book Rebellion
The Prayer Book Rebellion, Prayer Book Revolt, Prayer Book Rising, Western Rising or Western Rebellion was a popular revolt in Cornwall and Devon, in 1549. In 1549 the Book of Common Prayer, presenting the theology of the English Reformation, was introduced...
. In 1548 the college at Glasney
Glasney College
Glasney College was founded in 1265 at Penryn, Cornwall, by Bishop Bronescombe and was a centre of ecclesiastical power in medieval Cornwall and probably the best known and most important of Cornwall's religious institutions.-History:...
, a centre of learning and study established by the Bishop of Exeter, had been closed and looted (many manuscripts and documents were destroyed) which aroused resentment among the Cornish. They, among other things, objected to the English language Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
, protesting that the English language was still unknown to many at the time. The Prayer Book Rebellion was a cultural and social disaster for Cornwall; the reprisals taken by the forces of the Crown have been estimated to account for 10–11% of the civilian population of Cornwall. Culturally speaking, it saw the beginning of the slow decline of the Cornish language
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
.
From that time Christianity in Cornwall was in the main within the Church of England and subject to the national events which affected it in the next century and a half. Roman Catholicism never became extinct, though openly practised by very few; there were some converts to Puritanism, Anabaptism and Quakerism in certain areas though they suffered intermittent persecution which more or less came to an end in the reign of William and Mary. During the 18th century Cornish Anglicanism was very much in the same state as Anglicanism in most of England. Wesleyan Methodist missions began during John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
's lifetime and had great success over a long period during which Methodism itself divided into a number of sects and established a definite separation from the Church of England.
From the early nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
was the leading form of Christianity in Cornwall but it is now in decline. The Church of England was in the majority from the reign of Queen Elizabeth until the Methodist revival of the 19th century: before the Wesleyan missions dissenters were very few in Cornwall. The county remained within the Diocese of Exeter
Diocese of Exeter
The Diocese of Exeter is a Church of England diocese covering the county of Devon. It is one of the largest dioceses in England. The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter is the seat of the diocesan bishop, the Right Reverend Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter. It is part of the Province of...
until 1876 when the Anglican Diocese of Truro
Diocese of Truro
The Diocese of Truro is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury.-Geography and history:The diocese's area is that of the county of Cornwall including the Isles of Scilly. It was formed on 15 December 1876 from the Archdeaconry of Cornwall in the Diocese of Exeter, it is thus one...
was created (the first Bishop was appointed in 1877). Roman Catholicism was virtually extinct in Cornwall after the 17th century except for a few families such as the Arundells of Lanherne
St Mawgan
St Mawgan in Pydar is a civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village of St Mawgan is situated four miles northeast of Newquay....
. From the mid-19th century the church reestablished episcopal sees in England, one of these being at Plymouth
Diocese of Plymouth
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Plymouth is a Latin Rite Roman Catholic diocese in England. The episcopal see is Cathedral Church of St Mary and St Boniface, located in Plymouth, Devon. The diocese covers the counties of Cornwall, Devon and Dorset, stretching from Penzance and the Isles of Scilly in...
. Since then immigration to Cornwall has brought more Roman Catholics into the population.
Physical geography
Prevailing winds
Prevailing winds are winds that blow predominantly from a single general direction over a particular point on Earth's surface. The dominant winds are the trends in direction of wind with the highest speed over a particular point on the Earth's surface. A region's prevailing and dominant winds...
that blow in from the Atlantic Ocean. The coastline is composed mainly of resistant rocks that give rise in many places to impressive cliffs. Cornwall has a border with only one other county, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
.
Coastal areas
The north and south coasts have different characteristics. The north coast on the Celtic SeaCeltic Sea
The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany...
, part of the Atlantic Ocean, is more exposed and therefore has a wilder nature. The prosaically named High Cliff, between Boscastle
Boscastle
Boscastle is a village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Forrabury and Minster. It is situated 14 miles south of Bude and 5 miles north-east of Tintagel....
and St Gennys
St Gennys
St Gennys is a coastal civil parish and small settlement in north Cornwall, United Kingdom.The hamlet of St Gennys is situated approximately seven miles southwest of Bude. It is on high ground half-a-mile north of the coastal village of Crackington Haven, the major settlement in the parish...
, is the highest sheer-drop cliff in Cornwall at 223 metres (731.6 ft). However, there are also many extensive stretches of fine golden sand which form the beaches that are so important to the tourist industry, such as those at Bude
Bude
Bude is a small seaside resort town in North Cornwall, England, at the mouth of the River Neet . It lies just south of Flexbury, north of Widemouth Bay and west of Stratton and is located along the A3073 road off the A39. Bude is twinned with Ergué-Gabéric in Brittany, France...
, Polzeath
Polzeath
Polzeath is a small seaside resort in the civil parish of St Minver in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately six miles north of Wadebridge on the Atlantic coast....
, Watergate Bay
Watergate Bay
Watergate Bay is a bay located two miles north of Newquay on the B3276 Newquay to Padstow road near the village of Tregurrian in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It faces the Atlantic Ocean....
, Perranporth
Perranporth
Perranporth is a small seaside resort on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is southwest of Newquay and northwest of Truro. Perranporth and its long beach face the Atlantic Ocean....
, Porthtowan
Porthtowan
Porthtowan is a small village in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom, and is a popular summer tourist destination which lies within the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, a World Heritage Site. Porthtowan lies on Cornwall's north Atlantic coast about west of St Agnes, north of...
, Fistral Beach
Fistral Beach
Fistral Beach is in Fistral Bay on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated half-a-mile west of Newquay at ....
, Newquay
Newquay
Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....
, St Agnes
St Agnes, Cornwall
St Agnes is a civil parish and a large village on the north coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated approximately five miles north of Redruth and ten miles southwest of Newquay....
, St Ives
St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial...
, and on the south coast Gyllyngvase
Gyllyngvase
Gyllyngvase is one of the four beaches associated with Falmouth, Cornwall, United Kingdom, south of Pendennis Castle.It is to the south of Falmouth town centre, but was an essentially rural area as recently as the late 19th century...
beach in Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
. There are two river estuaries on the north coast: Hayle Estuary
Hayle Estuary
The Hayle Estuary is an estuary in west Cornwall, United Kingdom.The estuary of the River Hayle consists of a main channel, with several other nearby tidal areas, including Lelant Saltings, Copperhouse Creek and Carnsew Pool ....
and the estuary of the River Camel
River Camel
The River Camel is a river in Cornwall, UK. It rises on the edge of Bodmin Moor and together with its tributaries drains a considerable part of North Cornwall. The river issues into the Celtic Sea area of the Atlantic Ocean between Stepper Point and Pentire Point having covered a distance of...
, which provides Padstow
Padstow
Padstow is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately five miles northwest of Wadebridge, ten miles northwest of Bodmin and ten miles northeast of Newquay...
and Rock
Rock, Cornwall
Rock is a coastal village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated opposite Padstow on the northeast bank of the River Camel estuary. The village is in the civil parish of St Minver Lowlands approximately four miles northwest of Wadebridge.-Geography:The main residential area is set back from...
with a safe harbour.
The south coast, dubbed the "Cornish Riviera", is more sheltered and there are several broad estuaries offering safe anchorages, such as at Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
and Fowey
Fowey
Fowey is a small town, civil parish and cargo port at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,273.-Early history:...
. Beaches on the south coast usually consist of coarser sand and shingle, interspersed with rocky sections of wave-cut platform
Wave-cut platform
A wave-cut platform, or shore platform is the narrow flat area often found at the base of a sea cliff or along the shoreline of a lake, bay, or sea that was created by the action of waves. Wave-cut platforms are often most obvious at low tide when they become visible as huge areas of flat rock...
. Also on the south coast, the picturesque fishing village of Polperro
Polperro
Polperro is a village and fishing harbour on the south-east Cornwall coast in South West England, UK, within the civil parish of Lansallos. Situated on the River Pol, 4 miles west of the neighbouring town of Looe and west of the major city and naval port of Plymouth, it is well-known for...
, at the mouth of the Pol River, and the fishing port of Looe
Looe
Looe is a small coastal town, fishing port and civil parish in the former Caradon district of south-east Cornwall, England, with a population of 5,280 . Looe is divided in two by the River Looe, East Looe and West Looe being connected by a bridge...
on the River Looe
River Looe
The River Looe is a river in south-east Cornwall, which flows into the English Channel at Looe. It has two main branches, the East Looe River and the West Looe River....
are both popular with tourists.
Inland areas
The interior of the county consists of a roughly east-west spine of infertile and exposed upland, with a series of graniteGranite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
intrusions, such as Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor
Bodmin Moor is a granite moorland in northeastern Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in size, and originally dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history....
, which contains the highest land within Cornwall. From east to west, and with approximately descending altitude, these are Bodmin Moor, the area north of St Austell
St Austell
St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash...
, the area south of Camborne
Camborne
Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....
, and the Penwith
Penwith
Penwith was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, whose council was based in Penzance. The district covered all of the Penwith peninsula, the toe-like promontory of land at the western end of Cornwall and which included an area of land to the east that fell outside the...
or Land's End
Land's End
Land's End is a headland and small settlement in west Cornwall, England, within the United Kingdom. It is located on the Penwith peninsula approximately eight miles west-southwest of Penzance....
peninsula. These intrusions are the central part of the granite outcrops that form the exposed parts of the Cornubian batholith
Cornubian batholith
The Cornubian batholith refers to the group of associated granite intrusions which underlie the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. The main exposed masses of the batholith are seen at Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor, St Austell, Carnmenellis, Land's End and the Isles of Scilly. It formed during the...
of south-west Britain, which also includes Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
to the east in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
to the west, the latter now being partially submerged.
The intrusion of the granite into the surrounding sedimentary rocks gave rise to extensive metamorphism
Metamorphism
Metamorphism is the solid-state recrystallization of pre-existing rocks due to changes in physical and chemical conditions, primarily heat, pressure, and the introduction of chemically active fluids. Mineralogical, chemical and crystallographic changes can occur during this process...
and mineralisation, and this led to Cornwall being one of the most important mining areas in Europe until the early 20th century. It is thought tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
was mined here as early as the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, and copper, lead, zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
and silver have all been mined in Cornwall
Mining in Cornwall
Mining in Cornwall and Devon began in the early Bronze Age approximately 2,150 BC and ended with the South Crofty tin mine in Cornwall closing in 1998...
. Alteration of the granite also gave rise to extensive deposits of China Clay
Kaolinite
Kaolinite is a clay mineral, part of the group of industrial minerals, with the chemical composition Al2Si2O54. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina octahedra...
, especially in the area to the north of St Austell
St Austell
St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash...
, and the extraction of this remains an important industry.
The uplands are surrounded by more fertile, mainly pastoral
Pasture
Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...
farmland. Near the south coast, deep wooded valleys provide sheltered conditions for flora that like shade and a moist, mild climate. These areas lie mainly on Devonian
Devonian
The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic Era spanning from the end of the Silurian Period, about 416.0 ± 2.8 Mya , to the beginning of the Carboniferous Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya...
sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
and slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
. The north east of Cornwall lies on Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
rocks known as the Culm Measures
Culm Measures
The Culm Measures are a geological formation of the Carboniferous period that occur in south-west England, principally in Devon and Cornwall. They are so called because of the occasional presence of a soft, sooty coal, which is known in Devon as culm....
. In places these have been subjected to severe folding, as can be seen on the north coast near Crackington Haven
Crackington Haven
Crackington Haven is a coastal village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is located in the civil parish of St Gennys at at the head of a cove on the Atlantic coast. The village is seven miles south-southwest of Bude and four miles north-northeast of Boscastle.Middle Crackington and Higher...
and in several other locations.
The Lizard Peninsula
The geology of the Lizard peninsulaGeology of Lizard, Cornwall
The Lizard Complex, Cornwall is the best preserved example of an exposed ophiolite complex in the United Kingdom. The rocks found in The Lizard area are analogous to those found in such famous areas as the Troodos Mountains, Cyprus and the Semail Complex, Oman.-Lithologies:The Lizard comprises...
is unusual, in that it is mainland Britain's only example of an ophiolite, a section of oceanic crust now found on land. Much of the peninsula consists of the dark green and red Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
serpentinite
Serpentinite
Serpentinite is a rock composed of one or more serpentine group minerals. Minerals in this group are formed by serpentinization, a hydration and metamorphic transformation of ultramafic rock from the Earth's mantle...
, which forms spectacular cliffs, notably at Kynance Cove
Kynance Cove
Kynance Cove is a cove in southwest Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Lizard peninsula approximately two miles north of Lizard Point...
, and carved and polished serpentine ornaments are sold in local gift shops. This ultramafic rock also forms a very infertile soil which covers the flat and marshy heaths of the interior of the peninsula. This is home to rare plants, such as the Cornish Heath
Cornish heath
The Cornish heath is a species of heath that bears pink flowers and mid-green foliage. This is a shrub, reaching 0.75 m by 0.75 m. Its English name comes from the fact that, in Great Britain, it is only found on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, where the unusual geology gives rise to the alkaline...
, which has been adopted as the county flower.
Ecology
Cornwall has varied habitats including terrestrial and marine ecosystems. One of the lower plant forms in decline locally is the Reindeer lichen, which species has been made a priority for protection under the national UK Biodiversity Action PlanBiodiversity Action Plan
A Biodiversity Action Plan is an internationally recognized program addressing threatened species and habitats and is designed to protect and restore biological systems. The original impetus for these plans derives from the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity...
.
Botanists divide Cornwall and Scilly into two vice-counties: West (1) and East (2). The standard flora is by F. H. Davey Flora of Cornwall (1909). Davey was assisted by A. O. Hume and he thanks Hume, his companion on excursions in Cornwall and Devon, and for help in the compilation of that Flora, publication of which was financed by him.
Climate
Cornwall has a temperateTemperate
In geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar circles. The changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally relatively moderate, rather than extreme hot or cold...
Oceanic climate
Oceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
(Köppen climate classification
Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by Crimea German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen himself, notably in 1918 and 1936...
: Cfb) and has the mildest and sunniest climate in the United Kingdom, as a result of its southerly latitude and the influence of the Gulf Stream
Gulf Stream
The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension towards Europe, the North Atlantic Drift, is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates at the tip of Florida, and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean...
. The average annual temperature in Cornwall ranges from 11.6 °C (53 °F) on the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
to 9.8 °C (50 °F) in the central uplands. Winters are amongst the warmest in the country due to the southerly latitude and moderating effects of the warm ocean currents, and frost and snow are very rare at the coast and are also rare in the central upland areas as well. Summers are however not as warm as other areas in southern England. Due to its proximity to the sea, Cornwall's weather can be relatively changeable.
Cornwall is one of the sunniest areas in the UK, with over 1541 hours of sunshine per year, with the highest average of 7.6 hours of sunshine per day in July. The moist, mild air coming from the south west brings higher amounts of rainfall than eastern Great Britain, at 1051 to 1290 mm (41.4 to 50.8 in) per year, however not as much as more northern areas of the west coast. The Isles of Scilly, for example, where there are on average less than 2 days of air frost per year, are in the USDA Hardiness zone
Hardiness zone
A hardiness zone is a geographically defined area in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by climatic conditions, including its ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone...
10, which is the only area in the UK that is in this zone and where there is on average less than 1 day of air temperature exceeding 30 °C per year, are in the AHS Heat Zone 1. Extreme temperatures in Cornwall are particularly rare, however extreme weather in the form of storms and floods is common.
Politics and administration
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
, Cornwall is now governed by a unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
known as Cornwall Council which is based in Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
. Cornwall's Courts of Justice are also located in Truro.
The Isles of Scilly form part of the ceremonial county of Cornwall and have, at times, been served by the same county administration. However, since 1890 they have been administered by their own unitary authority
Unitary authority
A unitary authority is a type of local authority that has a single tier and is responsible for all local government functions within its area or performs additional functions which elsewhere in the relevant country are usually performed by national government or a higher level of sub-national...
, now known as the Council of the Isles of Scilly. They are still grouped with Cornwall for other administrative purposes, such as the National Health Service
National Health Service (England)
The National Health Service or NHS is the publicly funded healthcare system in England. It is both the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. It is able to function in the way that it does because it is primarily funded through the general taxation system, similar to how...
and Devon and Cornwall Police
Devon and Cornwall Constabulary
Devon and Cornwall Police, formerly Devon and Cornwall Constabulary, is the territorial police force responsible for policing the counties of Devon and Cornwall in England and the unitary authorities of Plymouth, Torbay and the Isles of Scilly....
.
Prior to reorganisation on 1 April 2009, council functions throughout the rest of Cornwall were organised on a two-tier basis, with a county council and district councils for the six districts of Caradon
Caradon
Caradon was a local government district in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It contained five towns: Callington, Liskeard, Looe, Saltash and Torpoint, and over 80 villages and hamlets within 41 civil parishes...
, Carrick
Carrick, Cornwall
Carrick was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Its council was based in Truro. The main centres of population, industry and commerce were the city of Truro and the towns of Falmouth/Penryn....
, Kerrier
Kerrier
Kerrier was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It was the most southerly district in the United Kingdom, other than the Isles of Scilly. Its council was based in Camborne ....
, North Cornwall
North Cornwall
North Cornwall was the largest of the six local government districts of Cornwall, United Kingdom. Its council was based in Wadebridge . Other towns in the district included Bude, Bodmin, Launceston, Padstow, and Camelford....
, Penwith
Penwith
Penwith was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, whose council was based in Penzance. The district covered all of the Penwith peninsula, the toe-like promontory of land at the western end of Cornwall and which included an area of land to the east that fell outside the...
, and Restormel
Restormel
Restormel was a borough of Cornwall, United Kingdom, one of the six administrative divisions that made up the county. Its council was based in St Austell . Other towns included Newquay....
. While projected to streamline services, cut red tape and save around £17 million a year, the reorganisation was met with wide opposition, with a poll in 2008 giving a result of 89% disapproval from Cornish residents.
The first elections for the new unitary authority were held on 4 June 2009. The new council has 123 seats; the largest party is the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
with 50, followed by the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
with 38, Independents with 32 and Mebyon Kernow
Mebyon Kernow
Mebyon Kernow is a left-of-centre political party in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It primarily campaigns for devolution to Cornwall in the form of a Cornish Assembly, as well as social democracy and environmental protection.MK was formed as a pressure group in 1951, and contained as members activists...
with 3 seats.
Prior to the creation of the new unitary council, the former county council had 82 seats, the majority of which were held by the Liberal Democrats, elected at the 2005 county council elections
United Kingdom local elections, 2005
Elections for local government were held in the England and Northern Ireland on 5 May 2005 along with the 2005 general election across the entire United Kingdom...
. The six former districts in Cornwall had a total of 249 council seats, and the numerically largest groups represented on them were Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, and Independents.
Parliamentary constituencies
Following a review by the Boundary Commission for England taking effect at the 2010 general election, Cornwall is divided into six county constituencies to elect MPs to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
Before the 2010 boundary changes there were five constituencies in Cornwall, all of which were won by Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
in the 2005 general election
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
. However, at the 2010 general election Liberal Democrat candidates won three constituencies and Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidates won three constituencies (see also 2010 United Kingdom general election result in Cornwall
2010 United Kingdom general election result in Cornwall
The results of the 2010 United Kingdom general election in Cornwall were all announced on Friday 7 May 2010. Cornwall received one new constituency for this election, bringing the total to six, after boundary changes issued by the Boundary Commission for England.-Overall results:-Seat by seat:As a...
).
Until 1832, Cornwall had 44 MPs-–more than any other county-–reflecting the importance of tin to the Crown. Most of the increase came between 1529 and 1584 after which there was no change until 1832.
The chief registered parties contesting elections in Cornwall are Conservatives, Greens
Green Party of England and Wales
The Green Party of England and Wales is a political party in England and Wales which follows the traditions of Green politics and maintains a strong commitment to social progressivism. It is the largest Green party in the United Kingdom, containing within it various regional divisions including...
, Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, Liberal Democrats, Mebyon Kernow
Mebyon Kernow
Mebyon Kernow is a left-of-centre political party in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It primarily campaigns for devolution to Cornwall in the form of a Cornish Assembly, as well as social democracy and environmental protection.MK was formed as a pressure group in 1951, and contained as members activists...
, Liberal Party and the United Kingdom Independence Party
United Kingdom Independence Party
The United Kingdom Independence Party is a eurosceptic and right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. Whilst its primary goal is the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, the party has expanded beyond its single-issue image to develop a more comprehensive party platform.UKIP...
(UKIP).
In July 2007, Conservative leader David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
appointed Mark Prisk
Mark Prisk
Michael Mark Prisk is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Member of Parliament for Hertford and Stortford, and was appointed Minister of State for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in May 2010...
to the newly created post of Shadow Minister for Cornwall.
Self-rule movement
There is a growing call within Cornwall for greater self-ruleCornish self-government movement
Cornish nationalism is an umbrella term that refers to a cultural, political and social movement based in Cornwall, the most southwestern part of the island of Great Britain, which has for centuries been administered as part of England, within the United Kingdom...
. Cornwall Council's February 2003 MORI poll showed 55% in favour of an elected, fully devolved regional assembly for Cornwall and 13% against. (Previous result: 46% in favour in 2002). The Cornish Constitutional Convention advocates the creation of a Cornish Assembly
Cornish Assembly
The Cornish Assembly is a proposed devolved regional assembly for Cornwall in the United Kingdom along the lines of the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly.-Overview:...
, along the lines of the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
, Scottish Assembly
Scottish Assembly
The Scottish Assembly was a proposed legislature for Scotland that would have devolved a set list of powers from the Parliament of the United Kingdom...
and Northern Ireland Assembly
Northern Ireland Assembly
The Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive...
. In 2001 it presented a petition to the then Prime Minister, Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, calling for the change. It is claimed that many of the residents are calling for a high degree of autonomy within England, or a split from England, creating a fifth home nation of the United Kingdom. and/or a separate Cornish Development Agency, a result of discontent with the South West Regional Development Agency. It is also maintained by some that Cornwall already is a nation separate from England and that the Stannary Parliament, which has not been dissolved, could be recognised, achieving these goals by recognising the currently ignored status of Cornwall rather than making changes.
Cornish political parties
Cornish nationalists have organised into two political parties: Mebyon KernowMebyon Kernow
Mebyon Kernow is a left-of-centre political party in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It primarily campaigns for devolution to Cornwall in the form of a Cornish Assembly, as well as social democracy and environmental protection.MK was formed as a pressure group in 1951, and contained as members activists...
, formed in 1951, and the Cornish Nationalist Party
Cornish Nationalist Party
The Cornish Nationalist Party , , is an unregistered political party in the United Kingdom, led by Dr James Whetter and campaigning for independence for Cornwall. It was formed by people who left Mebyon Kernow on 28 May 1975. The party ceased to exist in 2005, although it claimed to have reformed...
. In addition to the political parties, there are various interest groups such as the Cornish Stannary Parliament
Stannary Courts and Parliaments
The Stannary Parliaments and Stannary Courts were legislative and legal institutions in Cornwall and in Devon , England. The Stannary Courts administered equity for the region's tin-miners and tin mining interests, and they were also courts of record for the towns dependent on the mines...
and the Celtic League
Celtic League (political organisation)
The Celtic League is a non-governmental organisation that promotes self-determination and Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man, known as the Celtic nations. It places particular emphasis on the indigenous Celtic languages...
. In November 2000, the Cornish Constitutional Convention was formed to campaign for a Cornish Assembly. It is a cross-party organisation including representatives from the private, public, and voluntary sectors, of all political parties and none. Between 5 March 2000 and December 2001, the campaign collected the signatures of 41,650 Cornish residents endorsing the declaration for a devolved regional Cornish Assembly, along with 8,896 signatories from outside Cornwall.
The question of Cornwall's constitutional status
The question of Cornwall's constitutional status as a de facto county of England, as established by the Local Government Act 1888Local Government Act 1888
The Local Government Act 1888 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales...
, a Duchy
Duchy
A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era . In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the Medieval era...
, i.e. the Duchy of Cornwall
Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the throne. If the monarch has no son, the...
established in 1337 by Edward III of England
Edward III of England
Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...
for his son, Edward, Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
, or another constitutional entity of the United Kingdom is a complex one. In recent years there has been cross-party recognition of the issue at least as far as the calls for a Cornish Assembly
Cornish Assembly
The Cornish Assembly is a proposed devolved regional assembly for Cornwall in the United Kingdom along the lines of the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly.-Overview:...
are concerned. In addition there are also groups and individuals, including the Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament
Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament
The Revived Cornish Stannary Parliament , is a pressure group which claims to be a revival of the historic Cornish Stannary Parliament last held in 1753...
, the Cornish Constitutional Convention
Cornish Constitutional Convention
The Cornish Constitutional Convention was formed in November 2000 with the objective of establishing a devolved Cornish Assembly . The Convention is a cross-party, cross-sector association with a strong consensus of support both in Cornwall and elsewhere...
, and John Angarrack
John Angarrack
John Angarrack is a Cornish nationalist who campaigns for greater recognition of Cornish identity and is an author on Cornish affairs. He is best known for his books "Breaking the Chains", "Our Future is History" and "Scat t’Larrups?" His interest in the Cornish language and history developed while...
, who reject the present constitutional status of Cornwall, denying the legality of Cornwall's current administration as a county of England, and Cornwall's relationship to the Duchy of Cornwall.
Contemporary political parties
In 2007 David CameronDavid Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, leader of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
, in a departure from the Conservative Party's traditionally unionist
British unionism
British unionism is a political ideology favouring the continued existence of the United Kingdom as a sovereign state, consisting of four constituent countries, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland....
stance, appointed Cornishman Mark Prisk
Mark Prisk
Michael Mark Prisk is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Member of Parliament for Hertford and Stortford, and was appointed Minister of State for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in May 2010...
, MP for Hertford, Hertfordshire, England, as "Shadow Minister for Cornwall". This appointment was called "the fictional minister for Cornwall", by a Liberal Democrat MP, as there was no government minister to shadow. The post was not continued following the 2010 election, and no longer exists. The Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
recognise Cornwall's claims for greater autonomy, as do the Liberal Party
Liberal Party (UK, 1989)
The Liberal Party is a United Kingdom political party. It was formed in 1989 by a group of individuals within the original Liberal Party who felt that the merger of the party with the Social Democratic Party, to form the Liberal Democrats, had ended the spirit of the Liberal Party, claiming that...
.
- "The new single council is also the opportunity to gain more control over local issues from regional and national Government bureaucrats – the first step on our way to a Cornish Assembly." – The Liberal Democrat Manifesto for 2009
An additional political issue is the recognition of the Cornish people
Cornish people
The Cornish are a people associated with Cornwall, a county and Duchy in the south-west of the United Kingdom that is seen in some respects as distinct from England, having more in common with the other Celtic parts of the United Kingdom such as Wales, as well as with other Celtic nations in Europe...
as a minority.
Question of Cornish national identity
Cornwall is recognised by several organisations, including the Cornish nationalist party Mebyon KernowMebyon Kernow
Mebyon Kernow is a left-of-centre political party in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It primarily campaigns for devolution to Cornwall in the form of a Cornish Assembly, as well as social democracy and environmental protection.MK was formed as a pressure group in 1951, and contained as members activists...
, the Celtic League
Celtic League (political organisation)
The Celtic League is a non-governmental organisation that promotes self-determination and Celtic identity and culture in Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man, known as the Celtic nations. It places particular emphasis on the indigenous Celtic languages...
and the International Celtic Congress
Celtic Congress
The International Celtic Congress is a cultural organisation that seeks to promote the Celtic languages of the nations of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man. It was formed out of previously existing bodies that had sought to advance the same goals such as the Celtic...
, as one of the six Celtic nations
Celtic nations
The Celtic nations are territories in North-West Europe in which that area's own Celtic languages and some cultural traits have survived.The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common traditional identity and culture and are identified with a traditional...
, alongside Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
and Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. Alongside Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
and Galicia, Cornwall is also recognised as one of the eight Celtic nations by the Isle of Man Government
Isle of Man Government
The Isle of Man Government is the government of the Isle of Man. The formal head of the Isle of Man Government is the Lieutenant Governor, representing HM Queen Elizabeth II, Lord of Mann...
and the Welsh Government. Cornwall is represented, as one of the Celtic nations, at the Festival Interceltique de Lorient
Festival Interceltique de Lorient
The Festival Interceltique de Lorient or Gouelioù Etrekeltiek An Oriant was founded in Lorient, Brittany in 1971 by Polig Montjarret...
, an annual celebration of Celtic culture held in Brittany.
Cornwall Council consider Cornwall's unique cultural heritage and distinctiveness to be one of the area's major assets. They see Cornwall's language; landscape; Celtic identity; political history; patterns of settlement; maritime tradition; industrial heritage; and non-conformist tradition, to be among the features comprising its "distinctive" culture. However, it is uncertain how many of the people living in Cornwall consider themselves to be Cornish; results from different surveys (including the national census) have varied. In the 2001 census, 7 percent of people in Cornwall identified themselves as Cornish, rather than British or English. However, activists have argued that this underestimated the true number as there was no explicit "Cornish" option included in the official census form. Subsequent surveys have suggested that as many as 44 percent identify as Cornish. Many people in Cornwall say that this issue would be resolved if a Cornish option became available on the census. The question and content recommendations for the 2011 Census provide an explanation of the process of selecting an ethnic identity which is relevant to the understanding of the often quoted figure of 37,000 who claim Cornish identity.
On 12 July 2005 Andrew George MP put forward proposals in the House of Commons for a version of devolution for Cornwall which he debated with the minister Jim Fitzpatrick, speaking on behalf of the Government.
Settlements and communication
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
. Nearby Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
is notable as a port, while the ports at Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
, the most westerly town in England, St Ives
St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial...
and Padstow
Padstow
Padstow is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately five miles northwest of Wadebridge, ten miles northwest of Bodmin and ten miles northeast of Newquay...
have declined. Newquay
Newquay
Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....
on the north coast is famous for its beaches and is a popular surfing destination, as is Bude
Bude
Bude is a small seaside resort town in North Cornwall, England, at the mouth of the River Neet . It lies just south of Flexbury, north of Widemouth Bay and west of Stratton and is located along the A3073 road off the A39. Bude is twinned with Ergué-Gabéric in Brittany, France...
further north. St Austell
St Austell
St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash...
is Cornwall's largest town and is larger than the capital Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
, and a centre of the china clay industry. Redruth
Redruth
Redruth is a town and civil parish traditionally in the Penwith Hundred in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It has a population of 12,352. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of the A393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London to Land's End trunk road , and is approximately west of...
and Camborne
Camborne
Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....
together form the largest urban area in Cornwall, and both towns were significant as centres of the global tin mining industry.
Cornwall borders the county of Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
at the River Tamar. Major road links between Cornwall and the rest of Great Britain are the A38
A38 road
The A38, part of which is also known as the Devon Expressway, is a major A-class trunk road in England.The road runs from Bodmin in Cornwall to Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is long, making it one of the longest A-roads in England. It was formerly known as the Leeds — Exeter Trunk Road,...
which crosses the Tamar at Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
via the Tamar Bridge
Tamar Bridge
The Tamar Bridge is a major road bridge at Saltash in southwest England carrying traffic between Cornwall and Devon. When it opened in 1961 it was the longest suspension bridge in the United Kingdom...
and the town of Saltash
Saltash
Saltash is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a population of 14,964. It lies in the south east of Cornwall, facing Plymouth over the River Tamar. It was in the Caradon district until March 2009 and is known as "the gateway to Cornwall". Saltash means ash tree by...
, the A39 road
A39 road
The A39 is an A road in south west England. It runs south-west from Bath in Somerset through Wells, Glastonbury, Street and Bridgwater. It then follows the north coast of Somerset and Devon through Williton, Minehead, Porlock, Lynmouth, Barnstaple, Bideford, Stratton, Camelford, Wadebridge and St...
(Atlantic Highway) from Barnstaple
Barnstaple
Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...
, passing through North Cornwall
North Cornwall
North Cornwall was the largest of the six local government districts of Cornwall, United Kingdom. Its council was based in Wadebridge . Other towns in the district included Bude, Bodmin, Launceston, Padstow, and Camelford....
to end eventually in Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
, and the A30
A30 road
The 284 miles A30 road from London to Land's End, historically known as the Great South West Road used to provide the most direct route from London to the south west; more recently the M3 motorway and A303 road performs this function for much of the route and only parts of A30 now retain trunk...
which crosses the border south of Launceston. Torpoint Ferry
Torpoint Ferry
The Torpoint Ferry is a car and pedestrian chain ferry, connecting the A374 road which crosses the Hamoaze, a stretch of water at the mouth of the River Tamar, between Devonport in Plymouth and Torpoint in Cornwall...
also links Plymouth with the town of Torpoint
Torpoint
Torpoint is a civil parish and town on the Rame Peninsula in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated opposite the city of Plymouth across the Hamoaze which is the tidal estuary of the River Tamar....
on the opposite side of the Hamoaze
Hamoaze
The Hamoaze is an estuarine stretch of the tidal River Tamar, between the River Lynher and Plymouth Sound, England.The Hamoaze flows past Devonport Dockyard, which belongs to the Royal Navy...
. A rail bridge, the Royal Albert Bridge
Royal Albert Bridge
The Royal Albert Bridge is a railway bridge that spans the River Tamar in the United Kingdom between Plymouth, on the Devon bank, and Saltash on the Cornish bank. Its unique design consists of two lenticular iron trusses above the water, with conventional plate-girder approach spans. This gives...
, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel
Isambard Kingdom Brunel, FRS , was a British civil engineer who built bridges and dockyards including the construction of the first major British railway, the Great Western Railway; a series of steamships, including the first propeller-driven transatlantic steamship; and numerous important bridges...
(1859) provides the only other major transport link. The major city of Plymouth being the nearest large urban centre to east Cornwall makes it an important location for such services as hospitals, department stores, road and rail transport, and cultural venues.
Newquay Cornwall International Airport
Newquay Cornwall International Airport
-See also:*Newquay Cornwall Airport Fire and Rescue Service-External links:*...
provides an airlink to the rest of the UK, Ireland and Europe, as does Plymouth City Airport
Plymouth City Airport
Plymouth City Airport is an airport located within the City of Plymouth north northeast of the city centre in Devon, England. The airport opened on this site in 1925 and was officially opened by the Edward VIII, as Prince of Wales, in 1931...
in Devon.
Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, across the Bristol Channel, are connected to Cornwall by ferry, usually to Padstow. Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
in particular has several boat companies who can arrange boat trips to north Cornwall, which allow the traveller to pass by the north Cornish coastline, including Tintagel Castle
Tintagel Castle
Tintagel Castle is a medieval fortification located on the peninsula of Tintagel Island, adjacent to the village of Tintagel in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The site was possibly occupied in the Romano-British period, due to an array of artefacts dating to this period which have been found on the...
and Padstow harbour. Very occasionally, the Waverley
PS Waverley
PS Waverley is the last seagoing passenger carrying paddle steamer in the world. Built in 1946, she sailed from Craigendoran on the Firth of Clyde to Arrochar on Loch Long until 1973...
and Balmoral paddle steamers cruise from Swansea or Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
to Padstow.
The Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
are served by ferry (from Penzance), helicopter (Penzance Heliport
Penzance Heliport
Penzance Heliport is located northeast of Penzance, Cornwall. The heliport has scheduled flights to the Isles of Scilly, which connect to the railway network at Penzance railway station by a special bus service...
) and fixed wing aeroplane (Land's End Airport
Land's End Airport
Land's End Airport , situated in St Just, west of Penzance, in Cornwall, is the most south westerly airport of mainland Britain. The airport is managed by Westward Airways, and is home to Isles of Scilly Skybus and MSH Flight Training....
, near St Just) and from Newquay Airport. Further flights to St. Mary's Airport, Isles of Scilly, are available from Exeter International Airport
Exeter International Airport
Exeter International Airport is an airport located at Clyst Honiton in the District of East Devon close to the city of Exeter and within the county of Devon, South West England....
in Devon.
Flag
Saint Piran
Saint Piran or Perran is an early 6th century Cornish abbot and saint, supposedly of Irish origin....
is a white cross on a black background. Saint Piran is supposed to have adopted these two colours from seeing the white tin in the black coals and ashes during his supposed discovery of tin. Davies Gilbert
Davies Gilbert
Davies Gilbert FRS was a British engineer, author, and politician. He was elected to the Royal Society on 17 November 1791 and served as President of the Royal Society from 1827 to 1830....
in 1826 described it as anciently the flag of St Piran and the banner of Cornwall, and another history of 1880 said that: "The white cross of St. Piran was the ancient banner of the Cornish people." The Cornish flag is an exact reverse of the former Breton
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
national flag (black cross) and is known by the same name "Kroaz Du".
There are also claims that the patron saint of Cornwall is Saint Michael or Saint Petroc
Saint Petroc
Saint Petroc is a 6th century Celtic Christian saint. He was born in Wales but primarily ministered to the Britons of Dumnonia which included the modern counties of Devon , Cornwall , and parts of Somerset and Dorset...
, but Saint Piran is by far the most popular of the three and his emblem is internationally recognised as the flag of Cornwall. St Piran's Day (5 March) is celebrated by the Cornish diaspora around the world.
Economy
Cornwall is one of the poorest areas in the United Kingdom. The GVA per head was 65% of the UK average for 2004. The GDP per head for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly was 79.2% of the EU-27 average for 2004, the UK per head average was 123.0%.Historically mining of tin (and later also of copper) was important in the Cornish economy. The first reference to this appears to be by Pytheas: see above. Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
was the last classical writer to mention the tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
trade, which appears to have declined during the Roman occupation. The tin trade revived in the Middle Ages, and the Cornish Rebellion of 1497
Cornish Rebellion of 1497
The Cornish Rebellion of 1497 was a popular uprising by the people of Cornwall in the far southwest of Britain. Its primary cause was a response of people to the raising of war taxes by King Henry VII on the impoverished Cornish, to raise money for a campaign against Scotland motivated by brief...
is attributed to tin miners. In the mid-nineteenth century, however, the tin trade again fell into decline.
Today, the Cornish economy depends heavily on its tourist industry, which makes up around a quarter of the economy. The official measures of deprivation and poverty at district and 'sub-ward' level show that there is great variation in poverty and prosperity in Cornwall with some areas among the poorest in England and others among the top half in prosperity. For example, the ranking of 32,482 sub-wards in England in the index of multiple deprivation (2006) ranged from 819th (part of Penzance East) to 30,899th (part of Saltash Burraton in Caradon), where the lower number represents the greater deprivation.
Cornwall is one of four UK areas that qualify for poverty-related grants from the EU: it was granted Objective 1 status by the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
, followed by a further round of funding known as 'Convergence Funding'.
Tourism
Tourism is estimated to contribute up to 24% of Cornwall's gross domestic product. Cornwall's unique culture, spectacular landscape and mild climate make it a popular tourist destination, despite being somewhat distant from the United Kingdom's main centres of population. Surrounded on three sides by the English ChannelEnglish Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
and Celtic Sea
Celtic Sea
The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany...
, Cornwall has many miles of beaches and cliffs; the South West Coast Path
South West Coast Path
The South West Coast Path is Britain's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Since it rises and falls with every river mouth, it is also one of the more...
follows a complete circuit of both coasts. Other tourist attractions include moorland, country gardens, museums, historic and prehistoric sites, and wooded valleys. Five million tourists visit Cornwall each year, mostly drawn from within the UK. Visitors to Cornwall are served by airports at Newquay
Newquay
Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....
and Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, whilst private jets, charters and helicopters are also served by Perranporth
Perranporth
Perranporth is a small seaside resort on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is southwest of Newquay and northwest of Truro. Perranporth and its long beach face the Atlantic Ocean....
airfield; nightsleeper and daily rail services run between Cornwall, London and other regions of the UK.
Newquay
Newquay
Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....
and Porthtowan
Porthtowan
Porthtowan is a small village in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom, and is a popular summer tourist destination which lies within the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, a World Heritage Site. Porthtowan lies on Cornwall's north Atlantic coast about west of St Agnes, north of...
are popular destinations for surfers. In recent years, the Eden Project
Eden Project
The Eden Project is a visitor attraction in Cornwall in the United Kingdom, including the world's largest greenhouse. Inside the artificial biomes are plants that are collected from all around the world....
near St Austell
St Austell
St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash...
has been a major financial success, drawing one in eight of Cornwall's visitors.
Other industries
Fishing in Cornwall
Fishing in Cornwall has traditionally been one of the main elements of the economy. Pilchard fishing and processing was a thriving industry in Cornwall from around 1750 to around 1880, after which it went into an almost terminal decline. During the 20th century the varieties of fish taken became...
, although this has been significantly re-structured by EU fishing policies (the Southwest Handline Fishermen's Association has started to revive the fishing industry), and agriculture, which has also declined significantly. Mining of tin and copper was also an industry, but today the derelict mine workings survive only as a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
. However, the Camborne School of Mines
Camborne School of Mines
The Camborne School of Mines , commonly abbreviated to CSM, was founded in 1888. It is now a specialist department of the University of Exeter. Its research and teaching is related to the understanding and management of the Earth's natural processes, resources and the environment...
, which was relocated to Penryn
Tremough
Tremough Campus is a university campus situated in Penryn, Cornwall. It is the only such university project in Cornwall currently. The name Tremough derives from the Cornish word for "pig farm"....
in 2004, is still a world centre of excellence in the field of mining and applied geology and the grant of World Heritage status has attracted funding for conservation and heritage tourism. China clay extraction has also been an important industry in the St Austell area, but this sector has been in decline, and this, coupled with increased mechanisation, has led to a decrease in employment in this sector.
Demographics
Cornwall's population was 513,527 at the last count (2001), and population density 144 people per square kilometre, ranking it 40th and 41st respectively compared with the other 47 counties of England. Cornwall is 99.0% White BritishWhite British
White British was an ethnicity classification used in the 2001 United Kingdom Census. As a result of the census, 50,366,497 people in the United Kingdom were classified as White British. In Scotland the classification was broken down into two different categories: White Scottish and Other White...
and has a relatively high level of population growth. At 11.2% in the 1980s and 5.3% in the 1990s, it has the fifth highest population growth of the English counties. The natural change has been a small population decline, and the population increase is due to inward migration into Cornwall. According to the 1991 census, the population was 469,800.
Cornwall has a relatively high retired population, with 22.9% of pensionable age, compared with 20.3% for the United Kingdom. This may be due to a combination of Cornwall's rural and coastal geography increasing its popularity as a retirement location, and outward migration of younger residents to more economically diverse areas. Inward migration of pensioners from southern England to Cornwall, and outward migration of young Cornish people, are persistent concerns.
Education system
Cornwall has a comprehensive education system, with 31 state and 8 independent secondary schools. There are three further education colleges--Penwith CollegePenwith College
Penwith College is a further and higher education institution based in Penzance, Cornwall. The college takes its name from the former local government district it was located in, Penwith. The college was founded in 1980 from the sixth form departments of the Humphry Davy Grammar School for Boys and...
(a former sixth form college), Cornwall College
Cornwall College
Cornwall College is a further education college situated on various sites throughout Cornwall with its main centre in St Austell. The college is a member of the 157 Group of high performing schools...
(occupying the former home of the Camborne School of Mines) and Truro College
Truro College
Truro College is a tertiary institution located in Truro, Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. Following an exchange of governing bodies, Truro College merged with Penwith College in April 2008—the combined institution is known as Truro and Penwith College, though the sites retain their original names...
. The Isles of Scilly only has one school while the former Restormel district has the highest school population, and school year sizes are around 200, with none above 270.
Higher education is provided by University College Falmouth
University College Falmouth
University College Falmouth is a British university college in Falmouth, Cornwall. Founded in 1902, it had previously been the Falmouth School of Art and then Falmouth College of Arts until it received taught degree-awarding powers in March 2005...
, the University of Exeter
University of Exeter
The University of Exeter is a public university in South West England. It belongs to the 1994 Group, an association of 19 of the United Kingdom's smaller research-intensive universities....
(including Camborne School of Mines
Camborne School of Mines
The Camborne School of Mines , commonly abbreviated to CSM, was founded in 1888. It is now a specialist department of the University of Exeter. Its research and teaching is related to the understanding and management of the Earth's natural processes, resources and the environment...
), the Combined Universities in Cornwall
Combined Universities in Cornwall
The Combined Universities in Cornwall is a project to provide higher education in Cornwall, one of the few counties in the United Kingdom not to have a university within its boundaries, and also one of the poorest areas of the country in terms of GDP per head...
, and by Truro College, Penwith College (which combined in 2008 to make Truro and Penwith College
Truro and Penwith College
Truro and Penwith College is the name used for Truro College and Penwith College, Cornish tertiary institution colleges, which merged in April 2008, but retain their original names....
) and Cornwall College.
Languages and dialects
English is the main language used in Cornwall, although the revived Cornish languageCornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
may be seen on road signs and is spoken fluently by a small minority of people.
Cornish language
Brythonic languages
The Brythonic or Brittonic languages form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family, the other being Goidelic. The name Brythonic was derived by Welsh Celticist John Rhys from the Welsh word Brython, meaning an indigenous Briton as opposed to an Anglo-Saxon or Gael...
of Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
and Breton
Breton language
Breton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
, and less so to the Goidelic languages
Goidelic languages
The Goidelic languages or Gaelic languages are one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic languages, the other consisting of the Brythonic languages. Goidelic languages historically formed a dialect continuum stretching from the south of Ireland through the Isle of Man to the north of Scotland...
of Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx
Manx language
Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it...
. The language continued to function visibly as a community language in parts of Cornwall until the late 18th century. Some children used the language to converse in, and families used it as a language of the home through the 19th and possibly into the 20th century. Some elderly speakers were known to be still living into the 20th century including one still alive in 1914. There has been a revival of the language since Henry Jenner
Henry Jenner
Henry Jenner FSA was a British scholar of the Celtic languages, a Cornish cultural activist, and the chief originator of the Cornish language revival....
's Handbook of the Cornish Language was published in 1904. A study in 2000 suggested that there were around 300 people who spoke Cornish fluently. Cornish however had no legal status in the UK until 2002. Nevertheless, the language is taught in about twelve primary schools, and occasionally used in religious and civic ceremonies. In 2002 Cornish was officially recognised as a UK minority language and in 2005 it received limited Government funding. A Standard Written Form
Standard Written Form
The Standard Written Form or SWF of the Cornish language is an orthography standard that is designed to "provide public bodies and the educational system with a universally acceptable, inclusive, and neutral orthography"...
was agreed in 2008.
Several Cornish mining words are still in use in English language mining terminology, such as costean
Costean
Costeaning is the process by which miners seek to discover metallic lodes. It consist in sinking small pits through the superficial deposits to the solid rock, and then driving from one pit to another across the direction of the vein, in such manner as to cross all the veins between the two pits....
, gunnies
Gunnies
Gunnies or gunnis is a mining term derived from the Cornish language. It refers to open-cast mines. An example is to be found at Porthtowan near St Agnes in Cornwall. The word can also mean the empty space left by removing the lode from a mine, or the width of this space....
, vug
Vug
Vugs are small to medium-sized cavities inside rock that may be formed through a variety of processes. Most commonly cracks and fissures opened by tectonic activity are partially filled by quartz, calcite, and other secondary minerals. Open spaces within ancient collapse breccias are another...
, kibbal, gossan
Gossan
Gossan is intensely oxidized, weathered or decomposed rock, usually the upper and exposed part of an ore deposit or mineral vein. In the classic gossan or iron cap all that remains is iron oxides and quartz often in the form of boxworks, quartz lined cavities retaining the shape of the dissolved...
and kieve.
Four of the current members in the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
, Andrew George, MP for St Ives
St Ives (UK Parliament constituency)
St. Ives is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.-History:...
, Dan Rogerson
Dan Rogerson
Daniel John Rogerson is a Cornish Liberal Democrat politician. He has been the Member of Parliament for North Cornwall since the 2005 General election.-Early life:...
, MP for North Cornwall
North Cornwall (UK Parliament constituency)
North Cornwall is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
, Stephen Gilbert
Stephen Gilbert (UK politician)
Stephen David John "Steve" Gilbert is a British Liberal Democrat politician, who was elected the Member of Parliament for the new constituency of St Austell and Newquay at the 2010 general election.-Background:...
, MP for St Austell and Newquay
St Austell and Newquay
St Austell and Newquay is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
, and Sarah Newton
Sarah Newton
Sarah Louise Newton FRSA née Hick is a British Conservative Party politician, who was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament for Truro and Falmouth.-Early life:...
, MP for Truro and Falmouth
Truro and Falmouth
Truro and Falmouth is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
repeated their Parliamentary oaths in Cornish.
Visual arts
Newlyn
Newlyn is a town and fishing port in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Newlyn forms a conurbation with the neighbouring town of Penzance and is part of Penzance civil parish...
, most active at the turn of the 20th century. This Newlyn School
Newlyn School
The Newlyn School is a term used to describe an art colony of artists based in or near to Newlyn, a fishing village adjacent to Penzance, Cornwall, from the 1880s until the early 20th century. The establishment of the Newlyn School was reminiscent of the Barbizon School in France, where artists...
is associated with the names: Stanhope Forbes
Stanhope Forbes
Stanhope Alexander Forbes R.A., , was an artist and member of the influential Newlyn school of painters...
, Elizabeth Forbes, Norman Garstin
Norman Garstin
Norman Garstin was an Irish artist associated with the Newlyn School of painters.He was born in Caherconlish, Co. Limerick, Ireland, and was involved in various professions such as journalism and gold mining in South Africa...
and Lamorna Birch
Lamorna Birch
Samuel John "Lamorna" Birch, RA, RWS was an artist in oils and watercolours. At the suggestion of fellow artist Stanhope Forbes, Birch adopted the soubriquet "Lamorna" to distinguish himself from Lionel Birch, an artist who was also working in the area at that time.-Biography:Lamorna Birch was...
. Modernist writers such as D. H. Lawrence
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
and Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
lived in Cornwall between the wars, and Ben Nicholson
Ben Nicholson
Benjamin Lauder "Ben" Nicholson, OM was a British painter of abstract compositions , landscape and still-life.-Background and Training:...
, the painter, having visited in the 1920s came to live in St Ives with his then wife, the sculptor Barbara Hepworth
Barbara Hepworth
Dame Barbara Hepworth DBE was an English sculptor. Her work exemplifies Modernism, and with such contemporaries as Ivon Hitchens, Henry Moore, Ben Nicholson, Naum Gabo she helped to develop modern art in Britain.-Life and work:Jocelyn Barbara Hepworth was born on 10 January 1903 in Wakefield,...
, at the outbreak of the second world war. They were later joined by the Russian emigrant Naum Gabo
Naum Gabo
Naum Gabo KBE, born Naum Neemia Pevsner was a prominent Russian sculptor in the Constructivism movement and a pioneer of Kinetic Art.-Early life:...
, and other artists. These included Peter Lanyon
Peter Lanyon
Peter Lanyon was a Cornish painter of landscapes leaning heavily towards abstraction. He also made constructions, pottery and collage....
, Terry Frost
Terry Frost
Sir Terry Frost RA was an English artist noted for his abstracts....
, Patrick Heron
Patrick Heron
Patrick Heron , was an English painter, writer and designer, based in St. Ives, Cornwall.- Early life :...
, Bryan Wynter
Bryan Wynter
Bryan Wynter was one of the St. Ives group of British painters. His work was mainly abstract, drawing upon nature for inspiration....
and Roger Hilton
Roger Hilton
Roger Hilton CBE was a pioneer of abstract art in post-war Britain. He was born in 1911 in Northwood, London and studied at the Slade School of Fine Art, London under Henry Tonks and also in Paris, where he developed links with painters on the Continent.In World War II he served in the Army, part...
. St Ives also houses the Leach Pottery, where Bernard Leach
Bernard Leach
Bernard Howell Leach, CBE, CH , was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery"-Biography:...
, and his followers championed Japanese inspired studio pottery. Much of this modernist work can be seen in Tate St Ives
Tate St Ives
Tate St Ives is an art gallery in St Ives, Cornwall, England, exhibiting work by modern British artists, including work of the St Ives School. The three storey building, designed by architects Evans and Shalev, lies on the site of an old gas works, overlooking Porthmeor Beach. It was opened in...
. The Newlyn Society and Penwith Society of Arts continue to be active, and contemporary visual art is documented in a dedicated online journal.
Music and festivals
Cornwall has a rich and vibrant folk musicFolk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
tradition which has survived into the present and is well known for its unusual folk survivals such as Mummers Play
Mummers Play
Mummers Plays are seasonal folk plays performed by troupes of actors known as mummers or guisers , originally from England , but later in other parts of the world...
s, the Furry Dance
Furry Dance
The Furry Dance, also known as The Flora , takes place in Helston, Cornwall, and is one of the oldest British customs still practised today...
in Helston
Helston
Helston is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately 12 miles east of Penzance and nine miles southwest of Falmouth. Helston is the most southerly town in the UK and is around further south than...
played by the famous Helston Town Band
Helston Town Band
Helston Town Band is a brass band in the Cornish town of Helston.-History:Helston Town Band has a rich history, which can be traced back to the turn of the century; there are members of the current band whose family connections extend back four generations...
, and Obby Oss in Padstow
Padstow
Padstow is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately five miles northwest of Wadebridge, ten miles northwest of Bodmin and ten miles northeast of Newquay...
.
As in other former mining districts of Britain, male voice choirs and Brass Band
Brass band (British style)
A British-style brass band is a musical ensemble comprising a standardised range of brass and percussion instruments. The modern form of the brass band in the United Kingdom dates back to the 19th century, with a vibrant tradition of competition based around local industry and communities...
s, e.g. Brass on the Grass concerts during the summer at Constantine
Constantine, Kerrier
Constantine is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately five miles west-southwest of Falmouth....
, are still very popular in Cornwall: Cornwall also has around 40 brass bands, including the six-times National Champions of Great Britain, Camborne Youth Band, and the bands of Lanner and St Dennis.
Cornish players are regular participants in inter-Celtic festivals, and Cornwall itself has several lively inter-Celtic festivals such as Perranporth
Perranporth
Perranporth is a small seaside resort on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is southwest of Newquay and northwest of Truro. Perranporth and its long beach face the Atlantic Ocean....
's Lowender Peran folk festival.
On a more modern note, contemporary musician Richard D. James
Aphex Twin
Richard David James , best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an Irish-born electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music"...
(also known as Aphex Twin) grew up in Cornwall, as did Luke Vibert
Luke Vibert
Luke Vibert is a British recording artist and producer known for his work in many subgenres of electronic music. Vibert began his musical career as a member of the Hate Brothers, only later branching out into his own compositions...
and Alex Parks
Alex Parks
Alex Parks is an English singer-songwriter. She is best known for winning Fame Academy in 2003, for her singles, and for the albums, Introduction and Honesty.-Biography:...
winner of Fame Academy
Fame Academy
Fame Academy is a televised competition to search for and educate new musical talents. The winner received a chance to become a successful music artist. The prize consisted of a £1m recording contract with a major record company, plus the use of a luxury apartment in London and a sports car for one...
2003. Roger Taylor, the drummer from the band Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
was also raised in the county, and currently lives not far from Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
. The American singer/songwriter Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
now resides predominantly in North Cornwall not far from Bude with her family.
Fiction
Sir Arthur Quiller-CouchArthur Quiller-Couch
Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch was a Cornish writer, who published under the pen name of Q. He is primarily remembered for the monumental Oxford Book Of English Verse 1250–1900 , and for his literary criticism...
author of many novels and works of literary criticism lived in Fowey: his novels are mainly set in Cornwall. Daphne du Maurier
Daphne du Maurier
Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning DBE was a British author and playwright.Many of her works have been adapted into films, including the novels Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and the short stories "The Birds" and "Don't Look Now". The first three were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.Her elder sister was...
lived at Menabilly
Menabilly
Menabilly is an Elizabethan house on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the Rashleigh Estate, seat of the Rashleigh family. Menabilly is situated on the Gribben peninsula about west of Fowey...
near Fowey and many of her novels had Cornish settings, including Rebecca
Rebecca (novel)
Rebecca is a novel by Daphne du Maurier. When Rebecca was published in 1938, du Maurier became – to her great surprise – one of the most popular authors of the day. Rebecca is considered to be one of her best works...
, Jamaica Inn
Jamaica Inn (novel)
Jamaica Inn is a novel by the English writer Daphne du Maurier, first published in 1936. It was later made into a film, also called Jamaica Inn, by Alfred Hitchcock...
, Frenchman's Creek, My Cousin Rachel
My Cousin Rachel
My Cousin Rachel is a novel by British author Daphne du Maurier, published in 1951. Like the earlier Rebecca, it is a mystery-romance, largely set on a large estate in Cornwall.-Plot overview:...
, and The House on the Strand
The House on the Strand
The House on the Strand is a novel by Daphne du Maurier. First published in 1969 by Victor Gollancz, it is one of her later works. The US edition was published by Doubleday....
. She is also noted for writing Vanishing Cornwall. Cornwall provided the inspiration for The Birds
The Birds (story)
"The Birds" is a famous novelette by Daphne du Maurier, first published in her 1952 collection The Apple Tree. It is the story of a farmhand, his family, and his community, who are attacked by flocks of seabirds who have organized themselves into avian suicide warriors. The story is set in...
, one of her terrifying series of short stories, made famous as a film by Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
.
Monica furlong
Monica Furlong was a British author, journalist, and activist. She was born at Kenton near Harrow, north-west of London and died at Umberleigh in Devon. An obituary called her the Church of England's "most influential and creative layperson of the post-war period."Many of Furlong’s books reflected...
, Wise Child, Juniper, and Colman, as well as part of Charles Kingsley's Hereward the Wake
Hereward the Wake
Hereward the Wake , known in his own times as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile, was an 11th-century leader of local resistance to the Norman conquest of England....
.
Conan Doyle
Conan Doyle
Conan Doyle is a rugby player. His club is Garryowen. His usual position is inside centre, but he also plays out-half. He has made two appearances for Munster Rugby in the Magners League, but was released by Munster at the end of the 2008/2009 season. While at Munster he was selected for the...
's The Adventure of the Devil's Foot
The Adventure of the Devil's Foot
"The Adventure of the Devil's Foot" is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Arthur Conan Doyle. It is one of eight stories in the cycle collected as His Last Bow....
featuring Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
is set in Cornwall. Winston Graham
Winston Graham
Winston Mawdsley Graham OBE was an English novelist, best known for the The Poldark Novel series of historical fiction.-Biography:...
's series Poldark
Poldark
Poldark is a BBC television series based on the novels written by Winston Graham which was first transmitted in the UK between 1975 and 1977.-Outline:...
, Kate Tremayne
Kate Tremayne
Kate Tremayne is the name of a British novelist.She is best known as the creator of the Loveday series of fictional novels, about a family living in 18th Century rural England during the time of the French Revolution...
's Adam Loveday
Adam Loveday
Adam Loveday is a novel by Kate Tremayne, and is the first in the Loveday series of books.-Plot summary:The plot centres around the rivalry between Adam and his brother St John. As the younger of the two, Adam knows that when their father dies, the family estate and shipyard that he loves so much...
series, Susan Cooper
Susan Cooper
Susan Mary Cooper is an English author best known for The Dark Is Rising, an award-winning five-volume saga set in and around England and Wales. The books incorporate traditional British mythology, such as Arthurian and other Welsh elements with original material ; these books were adapted into a...
's novels Over Sea, Under Stone
Over Sea, Under Stone
Over Sea, Under Stone is the first novel in the five-volume "The Dark Is Rising" sequence by British author Susan Cooper. It was first published in London by Jonathan Cape in 1965. It tells of the three Drew children: Simon, Jane and Barney, and their holiday to Cornwall...
and Greenwitch, and Mary Wesley
Mary Wesley
Mary Wesley, CBE was an English novelist. During her career, she was one of Britain's most successful novelists, selling three million copies of her books, including 10 best-sellers in the last 20 years of her life.-Background:...
's The Camomile Lawn
The Camomile Lawn
The Camomile Lawn is a novel by Mary Wesley about the lives of Richard and Helena Cuthbertson and their five nieces and nephews; Calypso, Walter, Polly, Oliver and Sophy. The title refers to a fragrant camomile lawn stretching down to the Cornish cliffs in the garden of the main characters' aunt's...
are all set in Cornwall. Writing under the pseudonym of Alexander Kent, Douglas Reeman
Douglas Reeman
Douglas Edward Reeman, born at Thames Ditton, is a British author who has written many historical fiction books on the Royal Navy, mainly set during either World War II or the Napoleonic Wars....
sets parts of his Richard Bolitho
Richard Bolitho
The Bolitho novels are a series of nautical war novels written by Douglas Reeman . They focus on the military careers of Richard Bolitho and Adam Bolitho in the Royal Navy, from the time of the American Revolution past the Napoleonic Era.-Richard Bolitho:Richard Bolitho is a fictional Royal Navy...
and Adam Bolitho series in the Cornwall of the late 18th and the early 19th centuries, particularly in Falmouth
Falmouth, Cornwall
Falmouth is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It has a total resident population of 21,635.Falmouth is the terminus of the A39, which begins some 200 miles away in Bath, Somerset....
.
Hammond Innes
Hammond Innes
Ralph Hammond Innes was a British novelist who wrote over 30 novels, as well as children's and travel books....
's novel, The Killer Mine; Charles de Lint
Charles de Lint
Charles de Lint is a Canadian fantasy author and folk musician. He is also the chief book critic for The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction....
's novel The Little Country; and Chapters 24 and 25 of J. K. Rowling
J. K. Rowling
Joanne "Jo" Rowling, OBE , better known as J. K. Rowling, is the British author of the Harry Potter fantasy series...
's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows take place in Cornwall (the Harry Potter story at Shell Cottage, which is on the beach outside the fictional village of Tinworth in Cornwall). Elizabeth George
Elizabeth George
Susan Elizabeth George is an American author of mystery novels set in Great Britain.Eleven of her novels featuring her lead character Inspector Lynley have been adapted for television by the BBC as The Inspector Lynley Mysteries.-Biography:George was born in Warren, Ohio to Robert Edwin and Anne ...
's mystery, Careless in Red, takes place on the Cornish coast.
Author David Cornwell, who writes espionage novels under the name John le Carré
John le Carré
David John Moore Cornwell , who writes under the name John le Carré, is an author of espionage novels. During the 1950s and the 1960s, Cornwell worked for MI5 and MI6, and began writing novels under the pseudonym "John le Carré"...
, lives and writes in Cornwall. Nobel Prize-winning
Nobel Prize in Literature
Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
novelist William Golding
William Golding
Sir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies...
was born in St Columb Minor
St Columb Minor
St Columb Minor is a village on the north coast of Cornwall, UK. St. Columb alone by default refers to the nearby St. Columb Major.At one time St Columb Minor used to be the main settlement in the area, but it has now been encroached upon by its larger neighbour Newquay. The National School in the...
in 1911, and returned to live near Truro from 1985 until his death in 1993. D. H. Lawrence
D. H. Lawrence
David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
spent a short time living in Cornwall. Rosamunde Pilcher
Rosamunde Pilcher
Rosamunde Pilcher OBE is a British author of romance novels and mainstream women's fiction. Early in her career she was also published under the pen name Jane Fraser. Pilcher retired from writing in 2000.-Early years:...
grew up in Cornwall, and several of her books take place there.
Poetry
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
Sir John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
was famously fond of Cornwall and it featured prominently in his poetry. He is buried in the churchyard at St Enodoc's Church, Trebetherick.
Charles Causley
Charles Causley
Charles Stanley Causley, CBE, FRSL was a Cornish poet, schoolmaster and writer. His work is noted for its simplicity and directness and for its associations with folklore, especially when linked to his native Cornwall....
, the poet, was born in Launceston and is perhaps the best known of Cornish poets. Jack Clemo
Jack Clemo
Reginald John Clemo was a British poet and writer who was strongly associated both with his native Cornwall and his strong Christian belief. His work was considered to be visionary and inspired by the rugged Cornish landscape...
and the scholar A. L. Rowse
A. L. Rowse
Alfred Leslie Rowse, CH, FBA , known professionally as A. L. Rowse and to friends and family as Leslie, was a British historian from Cornwall. He is perhaps best known for his work on Elizabethan England and his poetry about Cornwall. He was also a Shakespearean scholar and biographer...
were also notable Cornishmen known for their poetry; The Rev. R. S. Hawker of Morwenstow wrote some poetry which was very popular in the Victorian period. The Scottish poet W. S. Graham
W. S. Graham
William Sydney Graham was a Scottish poet who is often associated with Dylan Thomas and the neo-romantic group of poets. Graham's poetry was mostly overlooked in his lifetime but, partly due to the support of Harold Pinter, his work has enjoyed a revival in recent years...
lived in West Cornwall from 1944 until his death in 1986.
The poet Laurence Binyon
Laurence Binyon
Robert Laurence Binyon was an English poet, dramatist and art scholar. His most famous work, For the Fallen, is well known for being used in Remembrance Sunday services....
wrote "For the Fallen" (first published in 1914) while sitting on the cliffs between Pentire Point
Pentire Point
Pentire Head is a headland and peninsula on the Atlantic coast in North Cornwall, England, UK and is approx one mile square. The headland projects north-west with Pentire Point at its north-west corner and The Rumps promontory at its north-east corner....
and The Rumps and a stone plaque was erected in 2001 to commemorate the fact. The plaque bears the inscription "FOR THE FALLEN / Composed on these cliffs, 1914". The plaque also bears below this the fourth stanza (sometimes referred to as "The Ode"
Ode of Remembrance
The "Ode of Remembrance" is an ode taken from Laurence Binyon's poem "For the Fallen", which was first published in The Times in September 1914....
) of the poem:
- They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old
- Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
- At the going down of the sun and in the morning
- We will remember them
Other literary works
Cornwall produced a substantial number of passion playPassion play
A Passion play is a dramatic presentation depicting the Passion of Jesus Christ: his trial, suffering and death. It is a traditional part of Lent in several Christian denominations, particularly in Catholic tradition....
s such as the Ordinalia
Ordinalia
The Ordinalia are three medieval mystery plays written in Cornish from the late fourteenth century. The three plays are Origo Mundi, , Passio Christi and Resurrexio Domini...
during the Middle Ages. Many are still extant, and provide valuable information about the Cornish language. See also Cornish literature
Prolific writer Colin Wilson
Colin Wilson
Colin Henry Wilson is a prolific English writer who first came to prominence as a philosopher and novelist. Wilson has since written widely on true crime, mysticism and other topics. He prefers calling his philosophy new existentialism or phenomenological existentialism.- Early biography:Born and...
, best known for his debut work The Outsider
The Outsider (Colin Wilson)
The Outsider is a non-fiction book by Colin Wilson first published in 1956.Through the works and lives of various artists - including H. G. Wells , Franz Kafka, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, T. S. Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, Harley Granville-Barker , Hermann Hesse, T. E...
(1956) and for The Mind Parasites
The Mind Parasites
The Mind Parasites is a science fiction horror novel by author Colin Wilson. It was published by Arkham House in 1967 in an edition of 3,045 copies. It was Wilson's first and only book published by Arkham House.The book is based on H.P...
(1967), lives in Gorran Haven
Gorran Haven
Gorran Haven is a fishing village on the south coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately south of Mevagissey.The village lies in a cove between two sandy beaches...
, a little village on the southern Cornish coast, not far from Mevagissey
Mevagissey
Mevagissey is a village, fishing port and civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village is situated approximately five miles south of St Austell....
and St Austell
St Austell
St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash...
. A. L. Rowse
A. L. Rowse
Alfred Leslie Rowse, CH, FBA , known professionally as A. L. Rowse and to friends and family as Leslie, was a British historian from Cornwall. He is perhaps best known for his work on Elizabethan England and his poetry about Cornwall. He was also a Shakespearean scholar and biographer...
, the historian and poet, was born near St Austell. The writer D. M. Thomas
D. M. Thomas
Donald Michael Thomas, known as D. M. Thomas , is a Cornish novelist, poet, and translator.Thomas was born in Redruth, Cornwall, UK. He attended Trewirgie Primary School and Redruth Grammar School before graduating with First Class Honours in English from New College, Oxford in 1959...
was born in Redruth but lived and worked in Australia and the United States before returning to his native Cornwall. He has written novels, poetry, and other works, including translations from Russian.
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
's drama The Queen of Cornwall (1923) is a version of the Tristan story; the second act of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's opera Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
takes place in Cornwall, as do Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
's operettas The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance
The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. The opera's official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879, where the show was well received by both audiences...
and Ruddigore
Ruddigore
Ruddigore; or, The Witch's Curse, originally called Ruddygore, is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It is one of the Savoy Operas and the tenth of fourteen comic operas written together by Gilbert and Sullivan...
. A level of Tomb Raider: Legend, a game dealing with Arthurian Legend, takes place in Cornwall at a tacky museum above King Arthur's tomb.
The fairy tale Jack the Giant Killer
Jack the Giant Killer
"Jack the Giant Killer" is a British fairy tale about a plucky lad who slays a number of giants during King Arthur's reign. The tale is characterized by violence, gore, and blood-letting. Giants are prominent in Cornish folklore and Welsh Bardic lore, but the source of "Jack the Giant Killer" is...
takes place in Cornwall.
Sports and games
Sport in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has given birth to a range of major international sports including: Association football, rugby , cricket, golf, tennis, badminton, squash, rounders, hockey, boxing, snooker, billiards and curling...
has been limited. There are no teams affiliated to the Cornwall County Football Association
Cornwall County Football Association
The Cornwall County Football Association, also known as the Cornwall FA, is the governing body of football in the county of Cornwall. Formed in 1889, they are responsible for the administration, control, promotion and development of football at all levels throughout the county.-Organisation:The...
that play in the Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
of England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
, and the Cornwall County Cricket Club
Cornwall County Cricket Club
Cornwall County Cricket Club is one of the county clubs which make up the Minor Counties in the English domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Cornwall and playing in the Minor Counties Championship and the MCCA Knockout Trophy...
plays as one of the minor counties of English cricket
Minor counties of English cricket
The Minor Counties are the cricketing counties of England and Wales that are not afforded first-class status. The game is administered by the Minor Counties Cricket Association which comes under the England and Wales Cricket Board...
. Viewed as an "important identifier of ethnic affiliation", rugby union
Rugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
has become a sport strongly tied to notions of Cornishness, and since the 20th century, rugby union in Cornwall has emerged as one of,the most popular spectator and team sports in Cornwall (perhaps the most popular), with professional Cornish rugby footballers being described as a "formidable force", "naturally independent, both in thought and deed, yet paradoxically staunch English patriots whose top players have represented England with pride and passion". In 1985, sports journalist Alan Gibson
Alan Gibson
Norman Alan Stanley Gibson was an English journalist, writer and radio broadcaster, best known for his work in connection with cricket, though he also sometimes covered football and rugby union...
made a direct connection between love of rugby in Cornwall and the ancient parish games of hurling and wrestling that existed for centuries before rugby officially began. Among Cornwall's native sports are a distinctive form of Celtic wrestling related to Breton
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
wrestling, and Cornish hurling, a kind of mediaeval football played with a silver ball (distinct from Irish Hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
). Cornish Wrestling
Cornish wrestling
Cornish wrestling is a form of wrestling which has been established in Cornwall, an area of southwest Britain for several centuries. The referee is known as a 'stickler', and it is claimed that the popular meaning of the word as a 'pedant' originates from this usage...
is Cornwall's oldest sport and as Cornwall's native tradition it has travelled the world to places like Victoria, Australia and Grass Valley, California
Grass Valley, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Grass Valley had a population of 12,860. The population density was 2,711.3 people per square mile . The racial makeup of Grass Valley was 11,493 White, 46 African American, 208 Native American, 188 Asian, 9 Pacific Islander, 419 from other...
following the miners and gold rushes. Cornish hurling now takes place at St. Columb Major, St Ives
St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial...
, and less frequently at Bodmin
Bodmin
Bodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...
.
Surfing and other water sports
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
. International events in both are held in Cornwall. Cornwall hosted the Inter-Celtic Watersports Festival in 2006. Surfing in particular is very popular, as locations such as Bude
Bude
Bude is a small seaside resort town in North Cornwall, England, at the mouth of the River Neet . It lies just south of Flexbury, north of Widemouth Bay and west of Stratton and is located along the A3073 road off the A39. Bude is twinned with Ergué-Gabéric in Brittany, France...
and Newquay
Newquay
Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....
offer some of the best surf in the UK. Pilot gig
Cornish pilot gig
The Cornish pilot gig is a six-oared rowing boat, built of Cornish narrow leaf elm, long with a beam of four feet ten inches.It is recognised as one of the first shore-based lifeboats that went to vessels in distress, with recorded rescues going back as far as the late 17th century.The original...
rowing has been popular for many years and the World championships takes place annually on the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
. On 2 September 2007, 300 surfers at Polzeath
Polzeath
Polzeath is a small seaside resort in the civil parish of St Minver in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately six miles north of Wadebridge on the Atlantic coast....
beach set a new world record for the highest number of surfers riding the same wave as part of the Global Surf Challenge and part of a project called Earthwave to raise awareness about global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
.
Indoor games
EuchreEuchre
Euchre or eucre, is a trick-taking card game most commonly played with four people in two partnerships with a deck of 24 standard playing cards. It is the game responsible for introducing the joker into modern packs; this was invented around 1860 to act as a top trump or best bower...
(also known as "five hundred") is a popular card game
Card game
A card game is any game using playing cards as the primary device with which the game is played, be they traditional or game-specific. Countless card games exist, including families of related games...
in Cornwall. It is normally a game for four players consisting of two teams. Its origins are unclear but some claim it is a Cornish game. There are several leagues in Cornwall at present. Whist and pub quizzes are also popular.
Cuisine
Cornwall has a strong culinary heritage. Surrounded on three sides by the sea amid fertile fishing grounds, Cornwall naturally has fresh seafood readily available; NewlynNewlyn
Newlyn is a town and fishing port in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Newlyn forms a conurbation with the neighbouring town of Penzance and is part of Penzance civil parish...
is the largest fishing port in the UK by value of fish landed. Television chef Rick Stein
Rick Stein
Christopher Richard "Rick" Stein OBE is an English chef, restaurateur and television presenter. He is currently the head chef and co-owner of "Rick Stein at Bannisters" at Mollymook, New South Wales, Australia, owns four restaurants in Padstow, a fish and chip shop in Falmouth, Cornwall and has...
has long operated a fish restaurant in Padstow
Padstow
Padstow is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary approximately five miles northwest of Wadebridge, ten miles northwest of Bodmin and ten miles northeast of Newquay...
for this reason, and Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver
James "Jamie" Trevor Oliver, MBE , sometimes known as The Naked Chef, is an English chef, restaurateur and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools...
recently chose to open his second restaurant, Fifteen, in Watergate Bay
Watergate Bay
Watergate Bay is a bay located two miles north of Newquay on the B3276 Newquay to Padstow road near the village of Tregurrian in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It faces the Atlantic Ocean....
near Newquay
Newquay
Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....
. MasterChef host and founder of Smiths of Smithfield, John Torode
John Torode
John Torode is an Australian-born British celebrity chef specialising in Australasian food. He runs Smiths of Smithfield and several other restaurants scattered throughout London's Smithfield market....
, in 2007 purchased Seiners in Perranporth
Perranporth
Perranporth is a small seaside resort on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is southwest of Newquay and northwest of Truro. Perranporth and its long beach face the Atlantic Ocean....
. One famous local fish dish is Stargazy pie
Stargazy pie
Stargazy pie is a Cornish dish made of baked pilchards, along with eggs and potatoes, covered with a pastry crust. Although there are a few variations with different fish being used, the unique feature of stargazy pie is fish heads protruding through the crust, so that they appear to be gazing...
, a fish-based pie in which the heads of the fish stick through the piecrust, as though "star-gazing". The pie is cooked as part of traditional celebrations for Tom Bawcock's Eve, but is not generally eaten at any other time.
Cornwall is perhaps best known though for its pasties
Pasty
A pasty , sometimes known as a pastie or British pasty in the United States, is a filled pastry case, associated in particular with Cornwall in Great Britain. It is made by placing the uncooked filling on a flat pastry circle, and folding it to wrap the filling, crimping the edge at the side or top...
, a savoury dish made with pastry. Today's pasties usually contain a filling of beef steak, onion, potato and swede
Rutabaga
The rutabaga, swede , turnip or yellow turnip is a root vegetable that originated as a cross between the cabbage and the turnip; see Triangle of U...
with salt and white pepper, but historically pasties had a variety of different fillings. "Turmut, 'tates and mate" (i.e. Turnip, potatoes and meat) describes a filling once very common. For instance, the licky pasty contained mostly leeks, and the herb pasty contained watercress, parsley, and shallots. Pasties are often locally referred to as oggies. Historically, pasties were also often made with sweet fillings such as jam, apple and blackberry, plums or cherries.
The wet climate and relatively poor soil of Cornwall make it unsuitable for growing many arable crops. However, it is ideal for growing the rich grass required for dairying, leading to the production of Cornwall's other famous export, clotted cream
Clotted cream
Clotted cream is a thick cream made by indirectly heating full-cream cow's milk using steam or a water bath and then leaving it in shallow pans to cool slowly. During this time, the cream content rises to the surface and forms 'clots' or 'clouts'...
. This forms the basis for many local specialities including Cornish fudge
Fudge
Fudge is a type of Western confectionery which is usually very sweet, and extremely rich. It is made by mixing sugar, butter, and milk and heating it to the soft-ball stage at , and then beating the mixture while it cools so that it acquires a smooth, creamy consistency...
and Cornish ice cream
Ice cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
. Cornish clotted cream has Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...
under EU law, and cannot be made anywhere else. Its principal manufacturer is Rodda's, based at Scorrier
Scorrier
Scorrier is a village in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom. It is about 2 miles northeast of the centre of Redruth and 3 miles south-east of the coast at Porthtowan, on the A30 road at the junction of the A3047 road that leads west to Camborne and the B3298 road south to Carharrack...
.
Local cakes and desserts include Saffron cake
Saffron bun
A saffron bun, in Swedish lussebulle or lussekatt, is a rich yeast dough bun that is flavoured with saffron and cinnamon or nutmeg and contains currants. In Sweden, no cinnamon or nutmeg is used in the bun, and raisins are used instead of currants. The buns are baked into many traditional shapes,...
, Cornish heavy (hevva) cake
Heavy cake
Heavy cake or Hevva cake is a cake made from flour, lard, butter, milk, sugar and raisins that originated in Cornwall.Its name is derived from the Pilchard industry in Cornwall prior to the 20th century when a 'huer' helped locate shoals of fish. The huer would shout 'Hevva!, Hevva!' to alert the...
, Cornish fairings
Cornish fairings
A Cornish fairing is a type of traditional ginger biscuit commonly found in Cornwall, United Kingdom. "Fairing" was originally a term for an edible treat sold at fairs around the country, though over time the name has become associated with ginger biscuits or gingerbread, which were given as a...
biscuits, figgy 'obbin, scones (often served with jam and clotted cream) and whortleberry pie.
There are also many types of beers brewed in Cornwall – those produced by Sharp's Brewery, Skinner's Brewery and St Austell Brewery
St Austell Brewery
St Austell Brewery is a brewery founded in 1851 by Walter Hicks in St Austell, Cornwall, England. The brewery's flagship beer is Tribute Ale, which accounts for around 80% of sales...
are the best-known – including stout
Stout
Stout is a dark beer made using roasted malt or barley, hops, water and yeast. Stouts were traditionally the generic term for the strongest or stoutest porters, typically 7% or 8%, produced by a brewery....
s, ale
Ale
Ale is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste...
s and other beer types. There is some small scale production of wine, mead
Mead
Mead , also called honey wine, is an alcoholic beverage that is produced by fermenting a solution of honey and water. It may also be produced by fermenting a solution of water and honey with grain mash, which is strained immediately after fermentation...
and cider
Cider
Cider or cyder is a fermented alcoholic beverage made from apple juice. Cider varies in alcohol content from 2% abv to 8.5% abv or more in traditional English ciders. In some regions, such as Germany and America, cider may be termed "apple wine"...
.
See also
- Outline of EnglandOutline of EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Its 51,092,000 inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population, while its mainland territory occupies most of the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain. England is bordered by Scotland to the north, Wales to the...
- Celtic languagesCeltic languagesThe Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic"; a branch of the greater Indo-European language family...
- Celtic nationsCeltic nationsThe Celtic nations are territories in North-West Europe in which that area's own Celtic languages and some cultural traits have survived.The term "nation" is used in its original sense to mean a people who share a common traditional identity and culture and are identified with a traditional...
- Celts
- Ethnic groups in Europe
- High Sheriff of CornwallHigh Sheriff of CornwallHigh Sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list:Note: The right to choose High Sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall, rather than the Privy Council, chaired by the Sovereign, which chooses the Sheriffs of all other English counties, other than those in the Duchy of...
- List of Parliamentary constituencies in Cornwall
- List of schools in Cornwall
- Lord Lieutenant of CornwallLord Lieutenant of CornwallThis is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall. Since 1742, all the Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Cornwall.*John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford 1552–1554*John Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Bath 1556–?...
Further reading
- Balchin, W. G. V. (1954) Cornwall: an illustrated essay on the history of the landscape. (The Making of the English Landscape). London: Hodder and Stoughton
- Boase, George ClementGeorge Clement BoaseGeorge Clement Boase was an English bibliographer and antiquary.-Biography:Boase's father was a banker, and Boase himself took up banking in Cornwall and London as a young man from 1846 to 1854...
; Courtney, W. P. (1874–1882) Bibliotheca Cornubiensis: a catalogue of the writings, both manuscript and printed, of Cornishmen, and of works relating to the county of Cornwall, with biographical memoranda and copious literary references. 3 vols. London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer (illustrated edition Published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1981, ISBN 0-575-02844-0, photographs by Christian Browning) (Available online on Google Books). (Available online on Digital Book Index) A 2nd edition was published in 2001 by the House of Stratus, Thirsk: the original text new illustrations and an afterword by Halliday's son (Available online on Google Books). Revised edition Cornwall: a history, Fowey: Cornwall Editions Ltd, 2004 ISBN 1-904880-00-2 (Available online on Google Books). - Williams, Michael (ed.) (1973) My Cornwall. St Teath: Bossiney Books (eleven chapters by various hands, including three previously published essays)