We have an exciting new programme of volunteering opportunities at Castle an Dinas near St Columb Major and Sancreed near Penzance, which we hope you would like to be involved in.  

Our new Ranger Days will involve activities from bracken control to creating boxes for birds, bats and dormice. Full details of the sessions on offer can be found below.

Work such as this is a vital part of helping us protect these ancient monuments and the natural habitats that they are part of, and we are hugely grateful for any support you can give. Participants are welcome to join as many or as few sessions as they wish to attend.

No experience is required and support and equipment will be provided. 

Although we are keen to accommodate all offers to volunteer, on some occasions we are restricted to the number of volunteers that can participate on site. Places in these instances will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.

This programme has been made possible by funding from the National Lottery Community Fund.

Coming up…

Castle an Dinas, near St Columb Major

Castle an Dinas is one of the largest and most impressive hillforts in Cornwall. Sited in an imposing position on the summit of Castle Downs, it dates from around the second and third centuries BCE.

Sancreed, near Penzance

Sancreed Beacon and Caer Bran are important historic sites near Sancreed, which contain archaeological remains dating back to the Bronze Age.

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/

Two historic gardens – Trevince, near Gwennap and Boconnoc, near Lostwithiel – that are not normally open to the public threw open their gates last month to help raise funds for Cornwall Heritage Trust.

Over 400 people visited Cornwall Heritage Trust’s Open Garden events last month helping to raise over £4000 for the independent charity, which aims to preserve and strengthen Cornwall’s heritage.

Garden tours at Trevince were hosted by Richard Stone, the owner, and Liam Shoesmith, the estate gardener and at Boconnoc a talk about the history of the estate was hosted by historian and author Catherine Lorigan.

Cathy Woolcock, CEO of Cornwall Heritage Trust said: “This is a brand-new initiative for the Trust and we’re thrilled that so many people have come to support our work. Trevince and Boconnoc are fascinating places to explore and it’s been great to hear how much people have enjoyed their days out!”

“We’re incredibly grateful to Richard and Trish Stone, the owners of Trevince, and to Elizabeth Fortescue and the team at Boconnoc for so generously opening their gates to help raise funds for our work. Our thanks also go to Coodes Solicitors for sponsoring this year’s Open Gardens Scheme, and to the Penventon Park Hotel for providing the cream teas at Trevince.

“A huge thank you must also go to our volunteers whose hard work and dedication made these events possible. We have two more Open Gardens to come at the end of the month and we’re looking forward to welcoming everyone to them.”

Cornwall Heritage Trust’s upcoming Open Gardens are Trenarth near Constantine 25th June and Trereife near Penzance on 2nd July.

Ticket prices are £6 if pre-booked online and £7.50 on the door. Under 12s go free and do not require booking. Well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome.

Book your tickets here https://www.cornwallheritagetrust.org/opengardens/

Photo credits: Keith Larby (https://www.akphotos.net/) / Cornwall Heritage Trust volunteer

Restoring biodiversity was top of the agenda for our volunteers last Friday as they headed to Castle an Dinas to undertake vital environmental conservation work. 

Led by our Countryside Ranger, Hollie Ferris, the session saw volunteers help remove invasive bracken and gorse at the site to encourage the heather to regrow and establish habitats for a greater diversity of wildlife. 

Sited in an imposing position on the summit of Castle Downs with extensive and panoramic views across central Cornwall to both north and south coasts, Castle an Dinas is one of the largest and most impressive hillforts in Cornwall. It is mentioned in Cornish legends as one of the seats of the Duke of Cornwall and and is traditionally known as the legendary hunting lodge of King Arthur, from which he rode in the Tregoss Moor hunt.

Thank you so much to our volunteers! Your hard work has made a massive difference to this incredibly special part of Cornwall’s heritage!

Photo credits: Keith Larby AK Photos / Cornwall Heritage Trust volunteer

Find out more about volunteering with us here https://www.cornwallheritagetrust.org/support-us/volunteer/

Get your cameras ready for our annual photography competition. This year we’re looking for images inspired by the phrase “My Cornwall, My Heritage” and we can’t wait to see the places, landscapes and traditions that mean the most to you!

The standard last year was incredibly high with over 180 entries showcasing everything from the morning mist enveloping St Mawes Castle to brooding skies over Bodmin Moor, and we’re looking forward to seeing your talent and creativity once more.

To enter, please email your photograph(s) to info@cornwallheritagetrust.org and provide the following information:

• Name and age of the photographer
• Email address
• Title of image
• 10 – 50 words about what this part of Cornwall’s heritage means to you
• Location of where the photo was taken in Cornwall
• Date the photo was taken

The closing date for entries is 24th July 2023.

The top 12 photos will be selected by our judging panel to feature in the Cornwall Heritage Trust 2024 Calendar. Each winner will also receive a calendar as a prize.

In addition, there will be prizes for the top 3 winners:

1st Prize – £50
2nd Prize – A bottle of Camel Valley ‘Cornwall’ Brut Sparkling Wine
3rd Prize – Cornwall Heritage Trust 2 Adult Family Membership

Entrants can submit up to 5 photos. All entries must be landscape and high resolution with a minimum of 300dpi. 

Winners Announcement

Winners will be chosen by a panel of judges and will be announced on the Cornwall Heritage Trust website and social media feeds as soon as possible after the competition deadline.

Head here for further details and the full terms and conditions https://www.cornwallheritagetrust.org/photographycompetition2023/

Image description: 2022 Photography Competition 1st Place Winner – Boscawen-ûn Stone Circle by Tim Pearson

We celebrated the acquisition of our 13th historic site, St Cleer’s Well, last Friday by reviving the annual tradition of dressing the monument. 

In spite of the rain, the event had a truly joyous atmosphere. The artwork created by the children from St Cleer Primary School for the event was wonderful, as was the vibrant array of posies they laid at the well as part of the ceremony. After the blessing, readings in Cornish and English and a rousing (if a little damp) rendition of Trelawney, the morning was rounded off with Cornish dancing back at the school – the perfect, raucous end to the festivities!

We’re so proud to now be looking after St Cleer’s Well and are very grateful for the support of local people throughout the process.

This medieval holy well and wayside cross is a Scheduled Monument and also Listed Grade One – a demarcation earned by only 2.5% of listed buildings, which Historic England defines as warranting “exceptional interest”.

Thought to date from the 15th century, it is the only example of a well house with an open porch-like design in Cornwall. Its pillars, arches and capitals are carved with simple mouldings and patterns which are also unusual in Cornwall at this date.

During the medieval period, holy wells sometimes functioned as sites for baptism but they were also revered for less tangible reasons, such as folklore beliefs in the healing powers of the water. According to Historic England, St Cleer’s had the reputation for “curing the lame, the blind and the insane”. 

Thank you to St Cleer Primary School; Brian Oldham and Liskeard Old Cornwall Society; Kevin Johnson and St Cleer Parish Council; Rod Sheaff and Reverend Li Selman; and Merv and Alison Davey for helping make this event such a success.

The acquisition of the Well, the essential maintenance which has taken place over the last few months and the well dressing have all been made possible by funding from Historic England. We are hugely grateful for its unwavering support, and special thanks go to Ann Preston-Jones for her time, expertise and dedication to making this project happen.

We are thrilled to introduce our first-ever Artist in Residence, Lou Tonkin, a celebrated artist and printmaker from Cornwall.

Often found enjoying walks in the countryside with her dog, Moth, Lou’s inspiration is taken almost exclusively from her local, Cornish environment and she creates captivating artwork which is beloved around the world.

Over the course of the residency, Lou will create a body of work inspired by the sites we care for which will be used in a wide variety of ways to inspire people to see these iconic places in a new light.

Tell us a bit about yourself…

“I’m a printmaker and I work with lino block print. It’s all very traditional, very old-fashioned – old tools and hessian-backed lino that is entirely biodegradable and doesn’t give off toxins when it degrades. Not that I throw them away. They sit in a big stack in the corner of my studio. I think you can’t love our heritage sites and the natural world without caring about your impact on it.”

What inspires you?

“The natural world inspires me but also the elements. So that’s striking environments or details of the natural world, but it could also be the wind that triggers something else in you which is inspiring. I’m from Cornwall, so feel very connected to this landscape. I feel very much like it’s in my blood. I easily connect to the south-westerly wind-blown hawthorn trees. I feel like it’s the same shaping when you’re born here and you grow up here.”

As the first step in her creative process, Lou has begun visiting our collection of ancient monuments and historic places with our Sites Officer, Dick Cole, as her guide.

What are you looking forward to?

“The idea for me is that I will go to these amazing sites… and be able to learn what happened there. The history, the dates, the myths and legends, and that brings a richness to any print idea that I couldn’t possibly have without that background information – it brings a whole new depth. Whether it’s the Hurler’s or a quoit or one of the hillforts, it’s those ancient places which are really exciting to me and a lot of that excitement comes from the elemental as well. When you feel that wind on your face it just inspires you on another level. It’s amazing!”

Our Artist in Residence programme is a brand-new initiative and we are incredibly excited to be collaborating with Lou and to watch her creative process unfold. Watch this space!

Photo credits: Danny North (www.dannynorth.co)

If you’ve ever been lucky enough to go on a walk with archaeologist and historian, John Smith at Treffry Viaduct in the Luxulyan Valley, you’ll know just how knowledgeable he is about this historic monument and its beautiful surroundings.

If you haven’t had the chance to go on a walk with John then we think we’ve produced the next best thing – a 20-minute film, which sees him take viewers on a whistle-stop tour of the incredible history behind this 19th-century architectural wonder.

The film premiered last Thursday to a packed audience in Luxulyan Village Hall, and we’re so pleased to hear how much those who attended enjoyed it!

The film is part of a £10K community history project which has been funded by GWR. We would like to say a huge thank you to GWR for its generous support, which has enabled us to produce this film, as well as carry out volunteer conservation sessions, guided walks and screenings of the film for the local community. 

We would like to thank Jonathan and Sarah Treffry for kindly inviting us into their home and allowing us to film at Place – footage which, we hope you agree, adds a great deal of context to the story of Joseph Treffry.

Our grateful thanks go to the Friends of Luxulyan Valley for allowing us to use their map of the valley and to Lightbox Studios for their hard work putting the film together. 

Finally, we would like to extend a huge thank you to John for his time, patience and expertise. 

We hope you enjoy the film!

We’re looking for an Education and Outreach Manager, an exciting opportunity to work with schools, community groups and members of the public to help them engage with Cornwall’s rich and unique heritage.

Job title: Education & Outreach Manager
Salary: £28,000pa
Working hours: 35 hours per week
Type of contract: Fixed term for two years
Place of work: Krowji, Redruth

This is a brand-new role to Cornwall Heritage Trust. You will develop the education and outreach programme provided by CHT with a focus on engaging with Cornwall’s schools, community groups and groups of multiple deprivation. This will include the provision of workshops at schools and venues as well as on location at the heritage sites that we look after.

If you have a passion for Cornwall and its heritage, are a strong team-player and looking for a new challenge this could be just the opportunity for you.

Key Responsibilities

The role will include:

• Formulation of an audience-first Outreach Strategy to engage with schools and the public and to help them learn about Cornwall’s heritage and the CHT sites
• Consultation with schools and colleges to design the style and content of workshops they require on and off site; these will have a strong link to the curriculum and cross curriculum activities
• Formulation, management and development of diverse and imaginative learning programmes, which are original, lively, inspirational and well researched; for the public and educational groups, including: outreach activities, formal learning for school and university, family and adult learning
• Adaptation of learning programmes to meet specific learner needs
• Compliance with health and safety and safeguarding requirements
• Interpretation of information about the sites or collections for a range of different visitors, learners, schools or outreach programmes
• Creation of lesson plans and online education resources based on our historic sites and Cornwall’s heritage and ensuring that these are kept up to date and relevant
• Management of the day-to-day relationship with local primary and secondary schools and colleges. This will include communication and administration of the scheme
• Consultation with attendees to seek feedback to enable continuous improvement of our education and outreach offering
• Attendance at external events to raise awareness of the Trust, its sites and the education programme
• Introduction of a programme of school holiday activities at the sites to engage with visitors and families
• Liaison with CHT colleagues to promote the education and outreach offering and also ensure messaging is consistent across the Trust
• Collaboration with external partners to promote and increase the reach of the engagement and outreach programme
• Attendance at trustee meetings to deliver progress reports
• Working as part of the small but effective team to deliver the organisation’s business plan

(Please note: this does not represent a comprehensive list of the responsibilities which may vary according to the needs of the Trust)

Find out more and apply here https://www.cornwallheritagetrust.org/vacancies/

Cornwall Heritage Trust has received a huge boost to the accessibility and interpretation of the historic sites it protects, having been awarded £10k from the Tanner Phoenix Fund. 

The funding is being administered by Cornwall Community Foundation on behalf of the Tanner Phoenix Fund.  

The funds will go towards creating way markers, signage and interpretation for two of the 13 historic Cornish places in the care of the independent charity – Sancreed Beacon, near Penzance, (pictured below) and Trevanion Culverhouse, near Wadebridge (pictured above). The project aims to make these sites more accessible to visitors so they can explore them fully and even follow paths through different layers of history. 

Cathy Woolcock, CEO of Cornwall Heritage Trust said: “This award is absolutely fantastic news! We’re incredibly proud to help so many Cornish people connect with their roots, and this grant is going to help make Cornwall’s most special historic places even more accessible for them. For a small charity like us, the importance of a grant like this is huge, and we are extremely grateful to the Tanner Phoenix Fund for its support.” 

Please be aware that the car park at Castle an Dinas, near St Columb Major will be temporarily closed next week due to essential maintenance.

A temporary car park will be available in a nearby field throughout this period. Please be aware of uneven ground and wet conditions.

The works are the first stage of a project made possible by £35,000 of Government funding. The project aims to improve the presentation and accessibility of the site in order to encourage more visitors and, in particular, schools to visit and learn about Cornwall’s distinctive heritage.

We apologise for the short notice about this essential work and thank you for your patience and understanding.