Kresen Kernow

Definitely!

We're not currently working in Cornwall, but this is amazing news for researchers of all kinds working on the histories of Cornwall/Kernow. 🗃️

Can’t make it to the exhibition? This particular volume has been digitised and is available to view on our website, just search for the document reference in the online catalogue: CC/POL/68/3.

#AirRaids @cornwallheritagetrust #TregonningHill #ArchiveFinds #WWIIHistory #CornwallHeritage

Overlooking Mount’s Bay, it also has a poignant memorial to the four RAF crewmen lost in 1941.

Tregonning Hill, now cared for by Cornwall Heritage Trust, is steeped in history - from the Iron Age hillfort of Castle Pencaire to Bronze Age barrows and the birthplace of Cornwall’s china clay industry.

One poignant entry is the crash of a Bristol Beaufort bomber on 26 September 1941, at Tregonning Hill, which tragically killed all four crew members.

From railways and airfields to homes and farms, the entries reveal how Cornwall faced the threat from above. 🛩️

Compiled as part of the national Bomb Census, it includes vivid reports of damage and casualties.

As part of the ‘Pobel ha Leow – People and Places’ exhibition, we’re showcasing a remarkable volume from the Cornwall County Constabulary. This wartime diary documents air raids across Cornwall during the Second World War, detailing bomb types, target sites and the impact on local communities.

@speakcornish #speakcornish #cornishchristmas #kresenkernow #kernewek

There will be Christmas refreshments, a quiz and Christmas songs for this session on Thursday 4 December, 2-3.30pm. It is free and open to all, but please email the Speak Cornish team to let them know you’re coming if you can (info@learncornishdreckly.org.uk)

Ever fancied learning a bit of Cornish? Drop in to this special Christmas session and pick up a few words and phrases ready for the festive season!

@cios_her
@cornishmining
@cornwall_national_landscape

You can read more about the project here: Current projects - Archives sector and yes, #manorialmondays will be back next year too!

To celebrate here is one of our favourite maps for the manor of Tolgus (from 1818-19) – where Kresen Kernow can be found today!

There will also be a programme of activities and workshops engaging people with manor maps, online mapping and historic landscapes which will be delivered in partnership with the HER, the World Heritage Site team and Cornwall National Landscape.

Building on the legacy of the Manorial Records project, the funding will allow us to digitise manor maps and work in partnership with Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Historic Environment Record (HER) to add the maps as a georeferenced layer on the Cornwall Council online mapping website.

Whoop! Exciting news – we are delighted to share that we have been awarded funding from The National Archives Research and Innovation programme for our Mapping the Past for the Future project, which will start next year.

#VictorianAlbum #CornishHistory #KresenKernow #PhotoAlbum #MusicalMechanism #VictorianPhotography #ArchivesOfInstagram #CornwallHeritage #HiddenTreasures #HistoryUncovered #CarteDeVisite #CabinetPhotographs #VictorianEra

Inside are cabinet and carte de visite portraits from Cornish photographers including WM Harrison and J Chenhall, and a snapshot of workers in Johannesburg, South Africa.

This album has been digitised and you can see it in full on our website, just search for: AD2014/1.

Here is a Victorian treasure with a musical twist 🎶📸

This photo album, from around 1870, doesn’t just hold memories—it plays them!

Hidden in the back is a wind-up mechanism that performs ‘Soldiers of the Queen’ and ‘Let Me Like a Soldier Fall’. A glimpse of history you can hear as well as see!

A toning map from 1822 showing various manors in Cornwall.

We’re delighted to announce the latest recipients of Research and Innovation Grants!

Congratulations to Chief Archivists in Local Government Group (within @araukie.bsky.social) & @kresenkernow.bsky.social

Read more here: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sec...

📷 Kresen Kernow

Why not join in the challenge to see who can make the biggest star?

Take your star decoration home and let it brighten up your window. 🌈

This event is free and for all ages, just drop in - there's no need to book!

@discoverrederuth #redruthinlights #rainbowwindowstars #familycrafts

Celebrate Redruth in Lights at Kresen Kernow with Rainbow Window Stars, on Saturday 29 November, 10am-12pm and 1-3pm!

Learn how to fold colourful wax paper and make your own star or be inspired by maps from our collections and make a star from copies of ancient maps!

The receipt for gardeners’ wages is dated February 1736 and is for work at Heligan by Robert Bone and William Pearse, received from John Tremayne.

@heligangardens #atozcornishgardens #cornwallgardens

In 2013, the Imperial War Museum recognised Heligan’s Thunderbox Room as a ‘living memorial’ to the gardeners of Heligan.

The archive collection of the Tremayne family includes documents from as early as the 12th century, as well as deeds, leases, marriage settlements, rentals, surveys and diaries.

After the First World War, when its gardeners left for the front, the gardens fell into neglect and were reclaimed by nature.

A chance discovery in 1990 sparked Europe’s largest garden restoration project, transforming Heligan’s 200 acres into a haven of history, wildlife and horticulture.

Our A to Z of Cornish gardens and gardening continues and for H we wanted to share one of Cornwall’s most magical of gardens – the Lost Gardens of Heligan.

The Lost Gardens of Heligan were once part of a thriving Cornish estate owned by the Tremayne family of St Ewe.

Front book cover of Cornish Tales of Place by Anna Chorlton, featuring a dragon with a white fox biting its tale against a backdrop of a yellow sunset and rugged coastline.

Cornish Tales of Place by Anna Chorlton celebrates Cornwall’s landscapes, people, and folklore. From Penwith to Perranporth, discover mermaids, giants, dragons, witches & more—illustrated by local children and artists. Let your imagination roam! #weeklyreads

There will also be a short introduction to using Kresen Kernow and our family history sources at 12.30pm.

#cornwallfamilyhistorysociety #familyhistorydropin #familyhistorysession #getstartedwithfamilyhistory #kresenkernow

Plus, find out what to do if you can’t find your ancestors here in Cornwall or elsewhere in the UK.

Use their expertise and resources, alongside the sources available at Kresen Kernow.

Are you interested in family history, but not sure where to start? Maybe you've started but are not sure where to go next?

Join us THIS SATURDAY (15 November), 10am-2pm, when you'll be able to talk to members of Cornwall Family History Society about how to get started!