Penal treadwheels were a terrifying instrument of punishment, and Bodmin Jail’s was especially bad…
Author Archives: TheCornishHistorian
The Piskie Trap Podcast: Mary Hartley of Rosewarne
Keith Wallis of ‘The Piskie Trap’ and myself discuss the tragic figure of Mary Hartley…
Cornish Minstrel Bands
In late 1800s and early 1900s Cornwall, blackface minstrel bands were the most popular form of entertainment…
Rugby and Mining in Camborne
How the miners came to play rugby for Camborne RFC…and never left…
Book Review: Hellfire Awaits: 150 Years of Redruth RFC, by Nick Serpell
The first full-length study of any Cornish rugby club…and the best.
Two Shillings and Sixpence: A Cornish Wife Sale
From a time when such things were commonplace…
Effigy Burning in 1800s Cornwall
Nobody was safe from the Cornish cult of effigy burning: criminals, perverts, landlords, mine-owners…
The Madwoman of Rosewarne House?
Money, estates, mansions, secret tunnels, family plots, greed, endless litigation, insanity and tragedy…
The Magnificent Seven Meet The Invincibles
On September 18 1924 the greatest New Zealand XV in history – ‘The Invincibles’ – played Cornwall at Camborne RFC. Seven players were Camborne men…
In Search of John Jackett, Part Four: The King of Cornish Sport
Dissatisfaction with the RFU sees John Jackett join the Northern Union…will it be another success story?
Francis Edwards ~ The Cornish Historian 