Penwith Local History Group Book Launch: Eighteenth Century Life in West Cornwall

Did you know that in Zennor there were only 23 surnames for 85 families? Or that beer was brewed at home? That clergyman Edward Giddy thought ‘long sermons are neither edifying nor decent’? Or that prisoners in a Penzance gaol were fed through bars merely 5 inches apart? That John Wesley recommended swallowing live spiders and woodlice to cur common ills? Or that in the eighteenth century naval ships frequently came into Mount’s Bay and Penzance for shelter and supplies? And did you know that despite wheeled vehicles being almost unknown here, early tourists visited and wrote up their travels?

Our topics include the parishes of Zennor and Morvah, Edward Giddy’s early life, Penzance prisons, HM Sloop Fly and its adventures, muddy roads, quackery and medicine, and travellers’ tales.

92 pages, A4, illustrated throughout in colour and black & white

Morrab Library Members wishing to attend the launch on Saturday 17th May – please phone the library on 01736 364474 .