Do you know an important person from Cornwall’s past who hasn’t received the acclaim they deserve?
A new initiative which aims to shine a light on the unrecognised figures of Cornish history has launched today and is inviting nominations from the public to find the first people to be celebrated.
Pobel a Gernow (“People of Cornwall”) aims to extend the work undertaken by numerous Cornish town plaques schemes into a Cornwall-wide initiative. The scheme will see previously overlooked people who have made a significant impact on Cornish history celebrated with plaques to commemorate their achievements installed on buildings that are important to their stories.
This scheme is a partnership initiative of Cornwall Heritage Trust, Gorsedh Kernow and the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies.
Nev Meek, President of the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies said: “Many of the people who have made fantastic contributions to Cornwall, have largely gone unrecognised. This scheme is so important because it will allow communities to really engage with their heritage and celebrate their heroes. We look forward to many new stories emerging of great Cornish endeavour.”
Pol Hodge, Grand Bard of Gorsedh Kernow said: “Poblow a Gernow is the real story of the people of Cornwall told by the people of Cornwall.”
Cathy Woolcock, CEO of Cornwall Heritage Trust said: “There has been so much great work done by existing town plaques schemes across Cornwall and we’re incredibly excited to be able to build on that. There are so many people who have made truly unique contributions to Cornwall’s history. These people haven’t just impacted our culture and heritage, all too often they’ve made Cornwall world-leading and their stories need to be told. Their achievements shouldn’t be footnotes in history books, they need to be sung from the rooftops and we want this scheme to be the start of making that happen.”
Nominations for the Pobel a Gernow scheme can be submitted at https://www.cornwallheritagetrust.org/pobel-a-gernow-plaques-scheme/
