Cornwall Record Office
Encyclopedia
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 is the main repository for the historical archives of Cornwall
Cornwall
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...
.
Cornwall County Council was persuaded by Kenneth Hamilton Jenkin
Kenneth Hamilton Jenkin
Alfred Kenneth Hamilton Jenkin was best known as a historian with a particular interest in Cornish mining, publishing The Cornish Miner, now a classic, in 1927.-Birth and education:...
and others to set up Cornwall Record Office in the 1950s. Today its three and a half miles of shelving holds millions of individual historical documents, including deed
Deed
A deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, or affirms or confirms something which passes, an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions sealed...
s, leases, manorial records, parish registers, correspondence and diaries, maps
MAPS
Maps is the plural of map, a visual representation of an area.As an acronym, MAPS may refer to:* Mail Abuse Prevention System, an organisation that provides anti-spam support...
and plans, council
County council
A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...
records and photographs; many of these relating to 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...
, fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
, farming and most other aspects of life in Cornwall. The documents range in date from the mid-12th century right up to the 21st century and they comprise an exceptionally valuable resource for local historians
Local history
Local history is the study of history in a geographically local context and it often concentrates on the local community. It incorporates cultural and social aspects of history...
, family historians
Family history
Family history is the systematic narrative and research of past events relating to a specific family, or specific families.- Introduction :...
, ecclesiastical
Ecclesiology
Today, ecclesiology usually refers to the theological study of the Christian church. However when the word was coined in the late 1830s, it was defined as the science of the building and decoration of churches and it is still, though rarely, used in this sense.In its theological sense, ecclesiology...
historians, mining historians and those undertaking research or academic projects.
Their online catalogue contains over a quarter of a million entries and is growing apace.