Portal:Cornwall

Porth Kernow a'gas dynnargh!
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Cornwall (/ˈkɔːrnwəl/; Cornish: Kernow [ˈkɛrnɔʊ] or [ˈkɛrnɔ]) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, Devon to the east, and the English Channel to the south. The largest urban area is the Redruth and Camborne conurbation.

The county is predominantly rural, with an area of 1,375 square miles (3,562 km²) and an estimated population of 585,655 in 2024. The county's major settlements include the city of Truro and St Austell in the centre, Redruth and Camborne adjacent to each other in the southwest, Saltash in the extreme southeast, and Penzance and Falmouth on the southern coast. For local government purposes most of Cornwall is a unitary authority area, with the Isles of Scilly governed by a unique local authority. The Cornish nationalist movement disputes the constitutional status of Cornwall and seeks greater autonomy within the United Kingdom.

Cornwall is the westernmost part of the South West Peninsula, and the southernmost county within the United Kingdom. Its coastline is characterised by steep cliffs and, to the south, several rias, including those at the mouths of the rivers Fal and Fowey. It includes the southernmost point on Great Britain, Lizard Point, and forms a large part of the Cornwall National Landscape. The national landscape also includes Bodmin Moor, an upland outcrop of the Cornubian batholith granite formation. The county contains many short rivers; the longest is the Tamar, which forms the border with Devon. (Full article...)

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The 'Obby 'Oss festival (/ˈɒbi ˈɒs/) is a folk custom that takes place each 1st of May in Padstow, a coastal town in North Cornwall. It involves two separate processions making their way around the town, each containing an eponymous hobby horse known as the 'Obby 'Oss.

The festival starts at midnight on the 30th of April when townspeople gather outside the Golden Lion Inn to sing the "Night Song". By morning, the town has been dressed with greenery and flowers placed around the maypole. The excitement begins with the appearance of one of the 'Obby 'Osses. Male dancers cavort through the town dressed as one of two 'Obby 'Osses, the "Old" and the "Blue Ribbon" or "Methodist" 'Obby 'Osses; as the name suggests, they are stylised depictions of horses. Prodded on by assistants known as "Teasers", each wears a mask and black frame-hung cape under which they try to catch young maidens as they pass through the town. Throughout the day, the two parades, led by the "MC" (Master of Ceremonies) in his top hat and decorated stick, followed by a band of accordions and drums, then the 'Oss and the Teaser, with a host of people, the "Mayers" – all singing the "Morning Song" – pass along the streets of the town. Finally, late in the evening, the two 'osses meet, at the maypole, before returning to their respective stables where the crowd sings of the 'Obby 'Oss death, until its resurrection the following May Eve.

During the twentieth century the existence of the festival was described by a number of folklorists who brought greater attention to it. This helped to make the event a popular tourist attraction and establish it as one of the most famous folk customs in Britain. (Full article...)

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Portrait by Thomas Phillips, 1821

Sir Humphry Davy, 1st Baronet (17 December 1778 – 29 May 1829) was a British chemist and inventor who invented the Davy lamp and an early form of arc lamp. He is also remembered for isolating, by using electricity, several elements for the first time: potassium and sodium in 1807 and calcium, strontium, barium, magnesium and boron the following year, as well as for discovering the elemental nature of chlorine and iodine. Davy also studied the forces involved in these separations, inventing the new field of electrochemistry. He is credited with discovering clathrate hydrates. In 1799, he experimented with nitrous oxide and was astonished at how it made him laugh. He nicknamed it "laughing gas" and wrote about its potential as an anaesthetic to relieve pain during surgery. Davy was a baronet, President of the Royal Society (PRS), Member of the Royal Irish Academy (MRIA), a founder member and Fellow of the Geological Society of London, a member of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, and a member of the American Philosophical Society. Berzelius called Davy's 1806 Bakerian Lecture "On Some Chemical Agencies of Electricity" "one of the best memoirs which has ever enriched the theory of chemistry." (Full article...)

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Did you know?

...that John Houblon, a Member of Parliament for Bodmin, was the first Governor of the Bank of England?
...that the Cornish pasty (pictured) is worth £150 million a year to the economy of Cornwall?
...that the world record for the biggest ever pub quiz was broken in 2007 by punters all over Cornwall as part of a mass event to bring lottery funds to the county?
...that the area surrounding the Rame Peninsula has been called the Forgotten Corner of Cornwall?

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It has, therefore, been a favorite boast of the people of Wales and Cornwall, that the original British stock flourishes in its unmixed purity only among them.

— Thomas Bulfinch, American writer

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Photo credit: Tim

A Methodist chapel in Morvah, with an Anglican church behind. The Methodism of John Wesley proved to be very popular with the working classes in Cornwall in the 19th century, becoming the leading form of Christianity. The chapels became important social centres, with male voice choirs and other church-affiliated groups playing a central role in the social lives of working class Cornishmen.

General images

The following are images from various Cornwall-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Cornwall seen from the International Space Station (from Geography of Cornwall)
Image 2A Cornish pasty, known traditionally as an oggy, can be found all over the world. (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 3Cornish dancers (from Music of Cornwall)
Image 4The font of St Nonna's church, Altarnun (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 5The Roman milestone in St Materiana's Church, Tintagel (from History of Cornwall)
Image 6Stanhope Forbes, A Fish Sale on a Cornish Beach (1884-85); also showing traditional dress (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 7Boscawen-Un stone circle looking north (from History of Cornwall)
Image 8Cornwall's national tartan, bracca (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 9Cornish wrestling (Omdowl Kernewek) (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 10The cross at the end of Higher Bore Street, Bodmin (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 11A map of camps and earthworks in Cornwall (from History of Cornwall)
Image 12Low tide at Bedruthan Steps (from Geography of Cornwall)
Image 13Church of St Morwenna, Morwenstow (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 14Remains of Tintagel Castle, according to legend the site of King Arthur's conception (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 15Lanner Band Room (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 16Lady of Cornwall and flower girls at the 2007 Gorseth (Penzance) (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 17Harlyn Bay (from Geography of Cornwall)
Image 18Bluebells on the Cornish coast (from Geography of Cornwall)
Image 19The Minack Theatre, carved from the cliffs (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 20Will of Alfred the Great, AD 873–888 (11th-century copy, British Library Stowe MS 944, ff. 29v–33r) (from History of Cornwall)
Image 21Stargazy pie, with sardines looking skywards before it is baked in the oven
Image 22Land's End (from Geography of Cornwall)
Image 23Atlas of Cornwall by Christopher Saxton from 1576 (from History of Cornwall)
Image 24Lime-washed and slate-hung domestic vernacular architecture of various periods, Polperro (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 25Rough seas off Trebarwith Strand on the north coast (from Geography of Cornwall)
Image 26Three Holes Cross (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 27Wheal Owles, example of a historic Cornish tin mine (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 28Bal maidens at work, showing traditional dress (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 29The cross on the grave of Charles Bowen Cooke, St Just in Roseland (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 30The 9th-century Men Myghtern Doniert (King Doniert's Stone) commemorating the last independent King of Cornwall (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 31A map of inscription stones, with and without Ogham inscriptions. (from History of Cornwall)
Image 32An aerial view of Carrick Roads (from Geography of Cornwall)
Image 33St German's priory church, St Germans (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 34Penryn, Prayer Book Rebellion Memorial, near the site of Glasney College (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 35Celebrating Saint Piran's Day (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 36Flag of St Piran, used as a flag of Cornwall (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 37The view northwest from Carn Brea, Penwith (from Geography of Cornwall)
Image 38The War Memorial, in the churchyard, Constantine, Kerrier, carved from local stone by Elkana Symons (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 39Entrance at Truro Cathedral has a welcome sign in several languages, including Cornish. (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 40Boscawen-Un stone circle looking north (from Culture of Cornwall)
Image 41Millennium Cross, Landrake (from Culture of Cornwall)

WikiProjects

Related WikiProjects:
	Celts
	Brittany
	Cornwall
	England
	Wales
	Scotland
	Ireland
	Isle of Man
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	European Union
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Topics

Geography

Geography - Geology - Flora and fauna - Special Areas of Conservation - Sites of Special Scientific Interest
Natural Regions - Bodmin Moor - Carnmenellis - Cornish Killas - Hensbarrow - Tamar Valley - The Lizard - West Penwith
Former districts - Penwith - Kerrier - Carrick - Restormel - Caradon - North Cornwall
Settlements - Truro - St Austell - Falmouth - Penzance - Camborne - Newquay - Bodmin - Redruth - St Ives - Helston - Bude - Liskeard - Hayle - Launceston - Penryn - full list...
Hills - Alex Tor - Brown Willy - Caradon Hill - Carnmenellis - Condolden - Hawk's Tor - Hensbarrow Beacon - Kilmar Tor - Rough Tor - Stowe's Hill - The Beacon - Tregonning Hill - Trencrom Hill - Watch Croft

Economy and demographics

Economy - Mining - Transport - Duchy of Cornwall - South West Regional Assembly - South West of England Regional Development Agency - Cornish people - Cornish emigration - People from Cornwall

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Recognised content

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