We are thrilled to announce the launch of Penwith Discovery Club, a series of free archaeology workshops taking place this Summer for children aged 8-14.
We are anticipating high demand for these workshops and booking will open on Monday 20th March at 6pm via Eventbrite. Places are extremely limited and will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
Parents and guardians may accompany their children but are also welcome to drop them off at the workshop if they prefer. Our Discovery Club Team Leaders are fully DBS checked and First Aid trained.
Penwith Discovery Club has been made possible by funding from Penwith Landscape Partnership.
Further details can be found here https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/o/cornwall-heritage-trust-32230933195
We have two free events focussed on Treffry Viaduct coming up at the end of the month, and warmly welcome you all to come.
One of 13 historic sites we protect, Treffry Viaduct is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site, as designated by UNESCO.
These events are part of a £10K heritage project which has been made possible by funding from GWR. Treffry Viaduct is a 25-minute walk from Luxulyan Train Station.
Film Screening
Date: Thursday 30th March
Time: 4pm & 6pm
Location: Luxulyan Village Hall
Featuring historian and archaeologist, John Smith, this 20-minute film offers a whistle-stop tour of the incredible history behind Treffry Viaduct.
John’s career included 23 years as Field Officer and Senior Archaeologist with Cornwall Archaeological Unit (CAU). He has a wealth of knowledge about Cornwall’s industrial history and directed a major landscape survey of the Luxulyan Valley during his time with CAU.
The film screenings are open to the general public and completely free. Refreshments will be served.
Guided Walk
Date: Friday 31st March
Time: 2.30pm – 4pm
Location: Treffry Viaduct, St Austell, PL26 8YE
Taking place on Friday 31st March 2023 at 2.30pm, this is a unique opportunity to visit the site and find out more about its history and management with Dick Cole, our Heritage Sites Officer. It is anticipated the walk, which is free of charge, will last approximately 1 ½ hours. Please note that the walk involves uneven ground and will include steps and slopes.
Please wear sensible footwear and appropriate clothing. Numbers will be restricted and places available on a first-come-first-served basis. Please be aware that Cornwall Heritage Trust is photographing the walks and may publish these photos in a variety of media and online.
If you would like to attend please sign up via the link below. We very much look forward to seeing you on Friday 31st March.
We are delighted to announce that Castle an Dinas, near St Columb Major is set to benefit from £35,000 of Government funding. One of only seven heritage projects in Cornwall to receive funding, the money was secured as part of the recent devolution deal negotiations between Whitehall and Cornwall Council but is guaranteed even if the deal does not get ratified.
One of the largest and most impressive hillforts in Cornwall, Castle an Dinas is one of the 13 historic places cared for by Cornwall Heritage Trust. It is mentioned in Cornish legends as one of the seats of the Duke of Cornwall and as the place where Cador, Duke of Cornwall and husband of King Arthur’s mother, met his death. The existence of such legends suggests that this site remained important long after its construction in the Iron Age.
The funds will go towards improving the presentation and accessibility of the site and will include enlarging and improving the car park and rerouting the track to it to make it easier for visitors to access the site.
These improvements aim to encourage more visitors and, in particular, schools to visit and learn about Cornwall’s distinctive heritage, building on the work Cornwall Heritage Trust already does through providing grants to primary schools in Cornwall to help them visit sites like this. For example, in 2021, the charity funded 52 trips to places like Castle an Dinas, benefitting over two thousand children.
Work is set to commence at the end of the month. More information about the dates and details of this will be released on our website and signposted at the site as soon as possible.
Cornwall Heritage Trust CEO, Cathy Woolcock said, “We’re hugely grateful for this Government funding, which will benefit the many thousands of people who visit Castle an Dinas every year. Grants for projects like this are incredibly hard to come by and help our mission to make Cornwall’s heritage accessible to everyone so much. It’s going to make such a huge difference!”
It has come to our attention that a large group of people have recently been mountain biking at night across the top of Sancreed Beacon and spooking the four Dartmoor ponies who live on the site.
Evidence of Cornwall’s industrial past has been uncovered by Cornwall Heritage Trust volunteers at Treffry Viaduct in the Luxulyan Valley, as part of conservation work taking place at the historic site.
Photo credit: Keith Larby (www.akphotos.net) / Cornwall Heritage Trust volunteer
One of the 13 historic sites cared for by Cornwall Heritage Trust, Treffry Viaduct was built between 1839 and 1842 by Joseph Thomas Treffry to carry both a tramway and a high-level leat for the mining industry. The first large civil engineering structure of its kind to be built in Cornwall and the only known viaduct in Britain to combine these two uses, it is now a Scheduled Ancient Monument and an integral part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage site, as designated by UNESCO.
Two days of conservation saw volunteers uncovering evidence of the old tramway by clearing away soil and material covering two different areas of the site. Their hard work revealed several archaeological features, including granite sleeper blocks at the southern end of the viaduct and a complete wooden sleeper embedded in the mud at the northern end.
Volunteers also cut back vegetation encroaching the path in order to improve access to the viaduct for visitors.
The conservation days were part of a £10K community history project made possible by funding from GWR. They mark the start of a programme of conservation and enhancement works set to take place at Treffry Viaduct over the coming months, so watch this space!
Whether it’s conserving our sites, leading guided walks, helping at events or conducting heritage research, there are lots of ways to volunteer at Cornwall Heritage Trust. It’s the chance to join a supportive team and make new friends, make a difference to your local heritage, share your knowledge and experience, and learn and develop new skills and interests.
Photo credit: Keith Larby (www.akphotos.net) / Cornwall Heritage Trust volunteer
Cornwall Heritage Trust has joined Carefree Cornwall’s Culture Card, a scheme which gives young people with care experience free entry to cultural sites across Cornwall.
The Culture Card is open to young people between the ages of 0-25 with Care Experience and offers free entry for themselves and a guest to a range of cultural sites across Cornwall. These include PK Porthcurno, Penlee House Gallery and Museum, Falmouth Art Gallery, the Museum of Cornish Life, Wheal Martyn Clay Works, the Royal Cornwall Museum, Cornwall Regimental Museum, The Box, Leach Pottery, and Discovering 42 as well as the 13 historic sites protected by Cornwall Heritage Trust.
The Trust celebrated joining the scheme by hosting a workshop in partnership with Carefree, to offer the young people it supports the chance to discover and engage with Cornwall’s unique heritage.
Carefree is a Cornish charity for young people with care experience aged 11-25. It aims to help care experienced young people have a good life through positive relationships, support with transitions and helping young people improve the care system for themselves and others.
The workshop saw participants discuss and explore ideas around Cornwall’s historic sites and heritage landscape, before creating artwork inspired by places ranging from Godrevy Lighthouse to St German’s Viaduct.
Membership Manager, Sophie Meyer, who led the workshop, said: “Carefree Cornwall is doing incredible work for these young people and we’re so proud to be doing our bit to help. The Culture Card is a fantastic initiative and fits perfectly with our mission to ensure everyone can enjoy what makes Cornwall such a special place. We’ve got plans for a number of exciting projects to benefit the young people Carefree Cornwall supports, so watch this space!”
Cornwall Heritage Trust volunteers and members mastered the art of photographic surveying and 3D modelling this week as part of a conservation skills workshop at St Cleer’s Well. This free day-long workshop was provided in association with Historic England.
One of 13 historic sites protected by Cornwall Heritage Trust, St Cleer’s Well is a medieval holy well and wayside cross located in St Cleer, near Liskeard.
The day was led by the Historic England Geospatial Survey Team, who offered expert insight into their work at various historic sites in the local area and Structure from Motion photogrammetry, a process which helps to construct 3D models.
It was then time for participants to have a go themselves, photographing the site’s medieval wayside cross and then producing a 3D model of the feature with support from the Geospatial Survey Team. It was a fascinating day, and the skills learnt will prove invaluable in assisting the research and conservation of historic monuments across Cornwall.
The latest historic site to be taken into the Trust’s care, St Cleer’s Well is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and also Listed Grade One – a demarcation earned by only 2.5% of listed buildings, which Historic England defines as warranting “exceptional interest”.
Historic England supported Cornwall Heritage Trust throughout its acquisition of the monument and has agreed to grant-fund the essential maintenance of the site, as well as some additional interpretation and surveying.
If you would like to find our more about volunteering with Cornwall Heritage Trust, head here https://www.cornwallheritagetrust.org/support-us/volunteer/
We are hosting a virtual talk about the discovery and excavation of the Iron Age cemetery at Harlyn Bay from 1900-1906, and warmly invite you to join us.
Date: Tuesday 7th February
Time: 7.30pm
Location: Online
These excavations marked a significant moment in the history of British archaeology and the Royal Institution of Cornwall (RIC). The project involved a number of RIC members, the excavation of over 130 slate-lined burials, and the creation of the largest Iron Age human remains collection in the region. Through the application of a variety of methods including archival research, osteoarchaeology, radiocarbon dating, and isotopic analyses, the talk will explore how we can piece together the history of the Harlyn Bay excavations and begin to interpret this site and better understand discoveries made there.
Due to the nature of this subject matter, the talk will include a significant number of images of human remains.
The talk will be led by Alexis Jordan from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Alexis is a PhD candidate in anthropology and a Distinguished Dissertator Fellow, specialising in Iron Age and Early Roman archaeology, mortuary practices, bioarchaeology, gender, and museum studies. She earned her MS in anthropology with a certificate in museum studies from the same school in 2009 and her BS in anthropology from Loyola University-Chicago in 2006. Her dissertation research focuses on the construction of group identities in the Iron Age and Early Roman period (800 BCE-CE 200) of southwestern Britain through the analysis of mortuary rituals and human remains.
The talk is pay as you feel, with a suggested donation of £3 upwards, and open to the general public. Cornwall Heritage Trust members are welcome to attend and were also previously given exclusive access to book their places.
Numbers are restricted and places are available on a first-come-first-served basis.
Please be aware that Cornwall Heritage Trust is recording this virtual event and will publish this online.
Cornwall Heritage Trust hosts a number of Story Cafes throughout the year to bring Cornwall’s unique and distinct heritage to life and preserve its stories for future generations. Previous Story Cafés have ranged from discussing archaeological excavations at Trethevy Quoit to exploring the forgotten stories of Cornish miners from the Kolar Gold Fields.
Photo credit: TRURI-Ahb086, Harlyn Bay Photographic Collection, RCM
Our Trustees bid a belated but extremely fond farewell to Brian Salmon and John Smith at their retirement celebration on Friday.
Brian is the former Deputy Head of Camborne School and was Head of History at the college before this appointment. He has an excellent knowledge of Cornish history and is a member of a family which worked and managed Wolfram Mine at Castle an Dinas. Brian served as a Trustee for 12 years, and his insights into education and Cornish heritage have proven invaluable.
John is a former Archaeologist, whose career included 23 years as Field Officer and Senior Archaeologist with Cornwall Archaeological Unit (CAU). He has given many lectures and guided walks about Cornwall’s industrial history over the years, and directed a major landscape survey of the Luxulyan Valley during his time with CAU. It’s, therefore, no surprise that Treffry Viaduct is a part of Cornwall’s heritage which is particularly close to his heart. John offered his historic and archaeological expertise as a Trustee for 10 years and was Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees from 2017-2021.
We would all like to thank Brian and John for their exceptional efforts and dedication to Cornwall Heritage Trust. They will both be very much missed and we are hugely grateful to them for everything they have done for Cornwall’s heritage.
Our Trustees are elected volunteers who are responsible for the strategic overview of the Trust as well as ensuring the fulfilment of the financial and legal requirements of the organisation, which is both a registered Charity and a Limited Company.
We’re thrilled to announce that funding from Cornwall Heritage Trust has helped secure the future of the St Cleer Church Bells.
The Greenbank Hotel, Falmouth has pledged its support to Cornwall’s landscape, traditions and communities by joining our corporate sponsorship programme.
The partnership will help us continue to preserve and strengthen Cornwall’s heritage through our grant schemes, education projects and the managing of 13 historic sites across Cornwall.
Originally built in 1640, the Greenbank is a four-star, luxury boutique hotel nestled on Falmouth’s historic harbour.
Ben Young, Managing Director of The Greenbank and The Alverton said: “We are proud to be supporting the Cornwall Heritage Trust this year. As the Managing Director of The Greenbank in Falmouth, which has nearly 400 hundred years of rich history and heritage itself, I recognise the value of protecting and preserving our unique Cornish heritage. We look forward to helping support the important work they do in 2023 and beyond.”
Cathy Woolcock, CEO at Cornwall Heritage Trust said: “With such a long and rich history, partnering with the Greenbank makes perfect sense! We both treasure Cornwall’s unique and distinct heritage and want to preserve it for future generations so it’s fantastic to have them on board!”
The Greenbank’s sister hotel, the Alverton has also joined Cornwall Heritage Trust’s corporate sponsorship programme.
More information about the Greenbank can be found on its website: https://www.greenbank-hotel.co.uk/
We would like to express our immense gratitude to Miss Carlene Edith Harry (pictured centre), whose generous gift left to us in her will made the purchase of Caer Bran possible last year.
Caer Bran is an important multi-phase hillfort site near Sancreed, Penzance, which contains archaeological remains from both the Bronze Age and Iron Age periods. Thanks to Miss Harry’s bequest, the Trust acquired Caer Bran in February 2022 to protect the nine-hectare site from possible development and intensive agricultural use.
Miss Harry was from West Penwith and had a keen interest in her local history, so we’re delighted to have been able to make the protection of this special historic place her legacy.
We have carried out much of our work over the years as a result of generous bequests from people who share our values and want our work to be their legacy. The difference Miss Harry’s generosity has made to Cornwall’s heritage is huge and we are incredibly grateful!
If you would like to learn more about leaving a gift in your Will, please get in touch with us on 01209 707008 or email info@cornwallheritagetrust.org
Photo by courtesy of Morrab Library
