Institute of Cornish Studies
Encyclopedia
The Institute of Cornish Studies (ICS) is a research institute in west Cornwall: it started in 1970/71 as a research centre jointly funded by Exeter University and Cornwall County Council
, with three core staff being employees of the University of Exeter. Formerly at Pool, near Redruth, then in Truro, it is now on the Tremough Campus at Penryn and is still affiliated with the University of Exeter.
, halfway between Camborne
and Redruth
. The Institute was housed at Trevenson House and later at the Trevithick Building on the Cornwall College
campus. Charles Thomas
was the first Director and Professor of Cornish Studies. He led a small team of Oliver Padel
and Myrna Combellack
and their work focused on archaeology, place names and the Cornish
medieval dramas. In 1991, Professor Thomas retired, his departure following the move of Oliver Padel
to Cambridge University. In the early 1990s both Myrna Combellack and the Cornish Biological Records Unit also left the Institute.
who set out to shift the focus of the ICS’s work away from archaeology, medieval history and the natural environment towards more contemporary issues. This change in direction was illustrated by the publication in 1993 of Cornwall Since the War, a collection of essays on modern Cornwall.
In 1994 the ICS moved from Pool to join the University’s Department of Lifelong Learning at its base at Hayne Corfe in Truro
. New members of staff Paul Thornton and Amy Hale made their own contributions to the work of the Institute in the 1990s in the field of tourism and cultural studies. The ICS was for a time concerned with moves towards a contemporary Celtic
Studies, resulting in a book on the New Celtic Studies, edited by Amy Hale and Philip Payton.
In collaboration with the Department of Lifelong Learning, in 1999, the ICS introduced the first taught higher education programme in Cornish Studies, an innovative flexibly delivered part-time Master’s degree in Cornish Studies (using Internet, post, telephone and face-to-face day schools).
In 2000 Garry Tregidga
and Bernard Deacon
joined the Institute and began to develop new directions in the methodology of Cornish Studies.
, just outside Penryn
and close to the medieval centre of Cornish literary scholarship at Glasney College
. At Tremough the ICS is home to two major externally funded research programmes, the Cornwall Audio Visual Archive and the Cornish Communities Programme. It is to benefit from a £10,000,000 package supporting new posts in, amongst other subject areas, Celtic Studies.
It was relaunched in 1993. By 2006 the annual Cornish Studies had reached its thirteenth volume and had included over 150 articles on various aspects of Cornish Studies, written by over 90 separate contributors. It is usually published in December.
Cornwall County Council
Cornwall Council is the unitary authority for Cornwall, in England, United Kingdom. The council, and its predecessor Cornwall County Council, has a tradition of large groups of independents, having been controlled by independents in the 1970s and 1980s...
, with three core staff being employees of the University of Exeter. Formerly at Pool, near Redruth, then in Truro, it is now on the Tremough Campus at Penryn and is still affiliated with the University of Exeter.
The Thomas era
The ICS’s first home was in the heart of the Central Mining District at PoolPool, Cornwall
The village of Pool is bypassed by the A30 in West Cornwall, situated on the A3047 between Camborne and Redruth, between Tuckingmill and Illogan Highway.Not to be confused with:* Poole, the town in Dorset....
, halfway between 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 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...
. The Institute was housed at Trevenson House and later at the Trevithick Building on the 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...
campus. Charles Thomas
Charles Thomas (historian)
Antony Charles Thomas, CBE, FSA is a British historian and archaeologist who was Professor of Cornish Studies at Exeter University, and the first Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies, from 1971 until his retirement in 1991...
was the first Director and Professor of Cornish Studies. He led a small team of Oliver Padel
Oliver Padel
Oliver James Padel is an authority on the origin and meaning of place-names, currently Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic in the University of Cambridge and Visiting Professor of Celtic at the University of the West of England.He was born in 1948...
and Myrna Combellack
Myrna Combellack
Myrna May Combellackis an academic researcher and writer of the Institute of Cornish Studies , translator of Beunans Meriasek and author of several works of fiction.-Early life:...
and their work focused on archaeology, place names and the Cornish
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...
medieval dramas. In 1991, Professor Thomas retired, his departure following the move of Oliver Padel
Oliver Padel
Oliver James Padel is an authority on the origin and meaning of place-names, currently Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse, and Celtic in the University of Cambridge and Visiting Professor of Celtic at the University of the West of England.He was born in 1948...
to Cambridge University. In the early 1990s both Myrna Combellack and the Cornish Biological Records Unit also left the Institute.
The Payton era
The new Director from 1991 was Philip PaytonPhilip Payton
Philip John Payton is a British historian and Professor of Cornish and Australian Studies at the University of Exeter and Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies based at Tremough, just outside Penryn, Cornwall.-Birth and education:...
who set out to shift the focus of the ICS’s work away from archaeology, medieval history and the natural environment towards more contemporary issues. This change in direction was illustrated by the publication in 1993 of Cornwall Since the War, a collection of essays on modern Cornwall.
In 1994 the ICS moved from Pool to join the University’s Department of Lifelong Learning at its base at Hayne Corfe 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...
. New members of staff Paul Thornton and Amy Hale made their own contributions to the work of the Institute in the 1990s in the field of tourism and cultural studies. The ICS was for a time concerned with moves towards a contemporary Celtic
Modern Celts
A Celtic identity emerged in the "Celtic" nations of Western Europe, following the identification of the native peoples of the Atlantic fringe as "Celts" by Edward Lhuyd in the 18th century and during the course of the 19th-century Celtic Revival, taking the form of ethnic nationalism particularly...
Studies, resulting in a book on the New Celtic Studies, edited by Amy Hale and Philip Payton.
In collaboration with the Department of Lifelong Learning, in 1999, the ICS introduced the first taught higher education programme in Cornish Studies, an innovative flexibly delivered part-time Master’s degree in Cornish Studies (using Internet, post, telephone and face-to-face day schools).
In 2000 Garry Tregidga
Garry Tregidga
Garry Harcourt Tregidga is an academic at the Institute of Cornish Studies in the United Kingdom.-Academic career:Garry Tregidga undertook both his MPhil and PhD degrees with the University of Exeter. He was appointed as the Assistant Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies in October 1997...
and Bernard Deacon
Bernard Deacon
Bernard W. Deacon is a multidisciplinary academic, based at the Institute of Cornish Studies of the University of Exeter at the Tremough Campus. He has an Open University doctorate and displays his thesis on the ICS website.-Academic career:...
joined the Institute and began to develop new directions in the methodology of Cornish Studies.
The move to Tremough
The ICS moved yet again October 2004, this time to join the rest of Exeter University’s Cornish ‘outposts’ and the Falmouth College of Arts on their new Combined Universities of Cornwall Campus at TremoughTremough
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"....
, just outside Penryn
Penryn, Cornwall
Penryn is a civil parish and town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Penryn River about one mile northwest of Falmouth...
and close to the medieval centre of Cornish literary scholarship at Glasney College
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:...
. At Tremough the ICS is home to two major externally funded research programmes, the Cornwall Audio Visual Archive and the Cornish Communities Programme. It is to benefit from a £10,000,000 package supporting new posts in, amongst other subject areas, Celtic Studies.
Cornish Studies (journal)
The first series of Cornish Studies was published from 1973 to 1988.It was relaunched in 1993. By 2006 the annual Cornish Studies had reached its thirteenth volume and had included over 150 articles on various aspects of Cornish Studies, written by over 90 separate contributors. It is usually published in December.