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Tags: Archeology, Conservation, Books, Cornwall, Archives, History, Collections
Reading List for Guy English’s talk about ‘The Holy Wells of Cornwall’
Every month at The Morrab Library we host talks in the Reading Room for library members and non-members alike. The programme is as eclectic as the library’s collection – from the Holy Wells of Cornwall to the History of the English Miniature Painting – and meander through Literature, Poetry, Art, Geology and a host of other fascinating subjects in between.
Often, the writers, academics, poets and artists we invite to speak at the Library generously let us record their talk so we can share them with a wider audience online. You can browse the selection of recorded talks here.
Some of our brilliant speakers also use the Library’s archive, newspaper and book collections for their own research. In homage to BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time, we are hoping to share a “Reading List” to go with each talk recording, in case you would like to follow up on the talk by borrowing related titles from the Library or delving into our archives.
We’ll be publishing these reading lists on our blog on a monthly basis so please do keep checking back for updated reading lists.
Last month, we shared a reading List for Kensa Broadhurst’s talk “The Cornish Language in West Penwith in the 19th Century” and this month you’ll find Guy English’s Holy Wells of Cornwall reading list below.
‘The Holy Wells of Cornwall’
One of our brilliant volunteers, Guy English, gave a talk in the Reading Room back in February about ‘The Holy Wells of Cornwall’.
He told the story of searching for Cornwall’s Holy Wells, first in chance encounters, then by turns curiously, obsessively, finally doggedly. For five years Guy English and his late wife Catharine scoured the county, following the previous authors, but also checking maps, streams, apparently pointless footpaths, and in the process found more than twenty wells not previously recorded.
Their hope is the book – Holy Wells Cornwall: Odyssey & Memorial – will encourage others to seek these wells. Some are special for beauty, for remoteness, for the spiritual sense that many recognise, or for the stories which have accreted over time. At the very least, there are some good walks, and the discovery of parts of Cornwall not to be missed. But this is also a story of their partnership, and something of a memorial, being one part of the huge legacy of art and poetry left by Guy’s wife of fifty years.
All of the books mentioned in Guy’s Reading List below can be found in the Jenner Room (our Cornish collection) which is located on the ground floor of The Morrab Library. The Dewey Decimal Number for each book can be found next to the author in the list below. Please ask a member of staff if you need help finding the books, or email enquiries@morrablibrary.org.uk if you would like to reserve any of these titles.
Holy Wells of Cornwall by Catharine & Guy English – C291.35
Holy Wells of Cornwall by A. Lane-Davies – C398.364
Fentynyow Kernow by Cheryl Straffon – C628.114
Ancient and Holy Wells of Cornwall by Mabel Quiller Couch – C398.364
The Saints of Cornwall by Nicholas Orme – C274.237
The Healing Wells, Cornish Cults and Customs by P.O. Leggat M.D., F.R.C.P.D.V. Leggat – C628.114
Vale Glyn Richards
The library has lost a most valuable and supportive friend with the recent passing of Glyn Richards.
For many years Glyn served as a trustee. Polite and always ready to give of his best, he contributed his local knowledge in committee meetings and until quite recently would work hard on necessary tasks during social events.
Glyn was active in developing the Photographic Archive, appending details to many vintage images over many years, and was an important member of the team. He attained a good knowledge of I.T. and contributed to workgroups in the Penlee Gallery. Glyn also maintained a productive relationship with numerous Cornish historians and was generous with his time to anyone making enquiries or requests.
He also contributed to the works of the Penwith Local History Group. Having worked as a nautical engineer on ships of the Merchant Navy he was a rich source on all matters of the sea. He was especially close to his grandfather, who worked as a sail maker, and Glyn treated the Group to stories relating to his forebear, being licensed as an apprentice and the earnest commitment this entailed. He had a detailed knowledge of the quarry railway, and having worked with the team, the fishing protection vessels. He had an interest too in visual arts, the Newlyn Art Group and their domiciles, and was an authority on Myrtle Cottage.
Not only did he know the best place to get a pasty but if you went along with him you would notice the affection with which he was served. He was active at the Newlyn Trinity Centre and contributed with his customary conviviality. We have lost a huge fund of knowledge and a wonderful friend.
Written by George Care.
Reading List for Kensa Broadhurst’s talk “The Cornish Language in West Penwith in the 19th Century”
Every month at The Morrab Library we host talks in the Reading Room for library members and non-members alike. The programme is as eclectic as the library’s collection – from the Holy Wells of Cornwall to the History of the English Miniature Painting – and meander through Literature, Poetry, Art, Geology and a host of other fascinating subjects in between.
Often, the writers, academics, poets and artists we invite to speak at the Library generously let us record their talk so we can share them with a wider audience online. You can browse the selection of recorded talks here.
Some of our brilliant speakers also use the Library’s archive, newspaper and book collections for their own research. In homage to BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time, we are hoping to share a “Reading List” to go with each talk recording, in case you would like to follow up on the talk by borrowing related titles from the Library or delving into our archives.
We’ll be publishing these reading lists here on our blog on a monthly basis so please do keep checking back for updated reading lists.
Several items in The Morrab Library collection offer us insights into how Cornish was being spoken, used, and regarded during the nineteenth century in West Penwith. The Reverend Wladislaw Lach-Szyrma of Newlyn carried out investigations into the use of Cornish during the 1870s and worked to promote the language. He instigated an essay prize, the entries for which are held in the Morrab Library’s archives (Ref. MAN/58).
At the same time, Cornish was featuring in regional newspapers and novels. In March 2024, Kensa Broadhurst gave a fascinating talk on “The Cornish Language in West Penwith in the 19th Century” at The Morrab Library through which she explored what these sources tell us about how Cornish was being used during the nineteenth century and what this means for the wider history and status of the language
Kensa has just completed her PhD at the Institute of Cornish Studies, Exeter University. Her studies were funded by the Cornwall Heritage Trust and the Q Fund. She researched the status of the Cornish language between 1777-1904, that is, the period in which it is widely believed to have been extinct. A former modern languages teacher, Kensa is a fluent speaker of Cornish, a bard of the Cornish Gorsedh, and both teaches and examines the language. She is currently the Languages Coordinator for the University of Exeter’s Cornwall Campus.
You can watch a recording of her talk here.
She has also kindly put together a “Reading List” if you would like to follow up on the talk with any further reading.
Queen of the Guarded Mounts – John Oxenham
Deep Down – R.M. Ballantyne
Beatrice of St Mawes
Tin – Edward Bosanketh
The Story of the Cornish Language – Peter Beresford Ellis
The Handbook of the Cornish Language – Henry Jenner
Pentreath and Victor’s essays on the Cornish Language are held in our Archive (MAN/58). Please email enquiries@morrablibrary.org.uk if you would like to arrange an appointment to see these documents or if you would like to reserve any of the books mentioned on her Reading List.