@fxuniarchives.bsky.social
Unique, eclectic, inspiring - discover our Archives & Special Collections at Falmouth University & University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall. Find out more: linktr.ee/fxuniarchives
From Idea to Institution ✨
In 1833, Anna Maria Fox sparked the creation of the Cornwall Polytechnic Society, believing ingenuity and practical knowledge could strengthen communities. With support from her family, the idea grew into a pioneering organisation.
#RoyalCornwallPolytechnicsociety
A crowd watching the Gorsedh ceremony in St Just in 1968.
What are these crowds waiting for? The next Archives exhibition perhaps!
Our next exhibition looks at women in Gorsedh Kernow, Cornwall's society of bards. It will be running throughout March for #WomensHistoryMonth and #StPiransDay.
Keep an eye out for more to come! 👀
📷: ICS12/11924
Six cropped images of handwriting in the Syon Abbey Collection. The images are entitled: '15th Century', '16th Century', '17th Century', '18th Century', '19th Century' and '20th Century'.
Today is National Handwriting Day! ✍️
Reading handwritten records can be a challenging or enjoyable aspect (often both!) of archival research.
Our Syon Abbey Collection contains six centuries of handwriting!
#NationalHandwritingDay #HandwritingDay #Handwriting #Archives #SyonAbbey #Nuntastic
Come and see the display now on Level 0 of the Exchange Building at Penryn Campus!
You can find more information about our all of our different Special Collections on our website: library.fxplus.ac.uk/collections
A photograph of part of a display with a series of books on decorative arts and modern industry. Letters on the spines of the books spell out 'Arts Decoratifs'.
Our display on the Anatomy of Books is now up! We're celebrating the varied and interesting examples of book design that we have in our #SpecialCollections
There are so many behind-the-scenes decisions that make the books we read everyday. Design, layout and even typeface all get carefully chosen 📖
A post with a pink background with snowflakes and borders of holly at the top and bottom. It reads "Nadelik Lowen ha Bledhen Nowydh Da / Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. The Archives and Special Collections are now closed for the winter break and will reopen on 5 January. We look forward to seeing you in 2026!"
#NadelikLowen ha #BledhenNowydhDa! An Kovskrifennow ha Kuntellow Arbennik yw lemmyn degys rag an powes gwav hag ni a wra dasygeri 5es mis Genver.
#MerryChristmas and #HappyNewYear! The Archives and Special Collections are now closed for the winter break and will reopen on 5 January.
Find out more about the collection and our other highlights here!
archivesunderthestairs.wordpress.com/2025/12/17/c...
An anarchist flyer with an illustration of Tweedledum and Tweedledee on recommending people to not vote.
The first of our #CollectionsInFocus blog posts from our recently catalogued politics archives is now live!
This 1970s anarchist flyer of Tweedledum and Tweedledee (ICS6/D/1/8) was chosen as a highlight.
#CornishPolitics #InstituteOfCornishStudies @exeter.ac.uk @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social
A post with a light blue background and three photographs from the Charles Woolf Slide Collection of Newquay harbour and Trevose Head lifeboat station. The post is titled "Archives & Special Collections Internship - Exploring Maritime & Coastal Communities" and the text reads "Falmouth student interested in archives? Exciting ideas about combining creative practice and historical material? Interested in Cornwall's maritime character and its relationship with the sea?"
A post with a light blue background and a photograph from the Charles Woolf Slide Collection of Trevose Head lighthouse. The post is titled "Archives & Special Collections Internship - Exploring Maritime & Coastal Communities" and the text reads "We have a paid 30-hour internship opportunity live now and we'd love you to apply. We welcome applications from Falmouth students on all courses. If you're interested, apply! Find the full internship brief on Handshake. The deadline is 5 January 2026"
Our internship exploring maritime and coastal communities is live on Handshake now!
If you're a Falmouth student interested in using archives in your creative practice, we'd love you to apply!
Read the full brief and submit your application on Handshake - deadline is 5 January 2026.
We're very proud to be featured in this year's #AYearInArchives among such illustrious company!
This year, we celebrated the life, work and legacy of Nick Darke, supporting students to respond to his archive in new and exciting ways.
Find out more here: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/archives-sec...
Our Special Collections are open to browse from 10am-4pm, Monday to Friday.
You can find out more about the Gorsedh Kernow collection and browse its titles online here: library.fxplus.ac.uk/gorsedh-kern...
Five books arranged on a white table, with three at the back and two at the front. The books at the back are 'Stone Crosses in West Cornwall' (in a yellow cover), 'Stone Crosses of Mid Cornwall' (in a green cover), and 'Stone Crosses of East Cornwall' (in a red cover). The two books at the front are 'Stone Crosses in West Penwith' (in a purple cover) and 'Stone Crosses in North Cornwall' (in an orange cover). All the books are by historian and bard Andrew Langdon and have photographs of stone crosses on their covers.
Today we've been using these pretty comprehensive guides to the stone crosses of Cornwall from our special collections!
Written by historian and bard Andrew Langdon, these books are in our Gorsedh Kernow collection, providing valuable insight into the history of religion in Cornwall.
#EYAReligion
It's only a week until our in-conversation event with author Elisabeth Gifford, including a chance to explore Daphne du Maurier's archive!
📅 Wednesday 12 November 2025
🕕 6PM - 7:30PM
📍Seminar Room A/B, Old Library
Book your FREE ticket! ⬇️
@beinghumanfest.bsky.social @exetercityoflit.bsky.social
Four books arranged on a white background. Clockwise from top left, the books are titled Horror Cinema, The Modern Horror Film, Nightmare Movies: A Critical Guide to Contemporary Horror Films, and The New Horror Handbook. Some of the covers include images from horror films, including Freddy Krueger and the 'door scene' from The Shining.
🎃 Nos Kalan Gwav Lowen dhyworth an govskrifva! / Happy Halloween from the archives! 🎃
We're sharing some of books relating to horror films from our Bill Douglas and Peter Jewell Collection. Scary stuff!
The Special Collections are open to browse, 10am-4pm, Monday to Friday.
#Archive #EYAMonsters
📷: FCP3/B/1/1, FCP3/B/1/9 and FCP3/B/1/18 - Tom Cross sketchbooks; AC2010-007 Box 9 and AC2017-008 Box 13 - Bill Mitchell sketchbooks
Students, staff and the public can all access archive material by appointment. You can find out more and get in contact with us here: linktr.ee/fxuniarchives
A sketchbook with blue watercolour and pen drawings of orbs with additional border designs.
A sketchbook with colourful abstract designs of landscapes in green, blue, red, yellow, orange and purple. There are handwritten notes at the bottom of the page about the colours used.
A sketchbook with a watercolour and ink drawing of the ruins of a prisoner of war camp at Dunham Park. In the background, there are four other sketches on the table.
A sketchbook with a pencil illustration for part of a stage design. A large red triangle shape is in front of a grey tiered platform on a blue background.
Over the last few weeks we've been very busy with lots of teaching sessions, meeting students from history, illustration and theatre courses among others!
This is some of the material we got out for BA Illustration students, showing a variety of creative approaches and responses.
👹 This October, we're featuring monsters for the Explore Your Archive theme, and the collections at Kresen Kernow are full of fascinating folklore and fearsome tales!
17.10.2025 11:15 — 👍 8 🔁 6 💬 1 📌 0Marking #BlackHistoryMonth by highlighting our Black Screen History display curated by Chloé Jarrett-Bell, which focuses on the presence and integration of Black people in #screenhistory from 1900 to the present day. 🎧Listen to Chloe's podcast here: tinyurl.com/mv5ka6ax #filmsky #museumsky
14.10.2025 12:12 — 👍 12 🔁 3 💬 0 📌 1
Cropped image showing an engraving of an octopus
Full-page engraving from a book. It shows an octopus lying on the seabed, with a squid and a cuttlefish coming towards. The cuttlefish is making a cloud. The engraving is captioned: 'Plate XI. A Poulpe. A Cuttle-Fish Making His Cloud. A Calmar'.
Good morning to everyone but especially to all the octopuses, for today is their special day!
To celebrate World Octopus Day, here's an illustration of an octopus from the book 'The World of the Sea' by Moquin Tandon, published in 1869.
📷 Reserve 591.92 TAN
#WorldOctopusDay #OctopusDay #RareBooks
A blue paper crane hanging in front of a glass window. In the background are paper cranes of other colours, some books on display, and double doors with the text "Archives & Special Collections" on them.
A flock of cranes has arrived in the #Archives! Our 'Japan in Print' display of books related to Japan is now up in the reading room, complete with origami decorations.
Pop in and have a look! The #SpecialCollections are open to browse, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm, on Level 0 of the Exchange.
A post with a blue background titled "Where are the Archives?" in black text. The body of the post reads "The Archives & Special Collections are on Level 0 of the Exchange Building on Penryn Campus. Come and say hello!". Beneath it is a photograph of the corridor leading to the Archives & Special Collections reading room.
The Archives & Special Collections reading room is on Level 0 of the Exchange Building on Penryn Campus.
You're always welcome to come and say hello and we hope to see you soon!
A post with a blue background titled "How can I access the collections?" in black text. The body of the post reads "By emailing us! Send us a message at archives@fxplus.ac.uk and we'll book you an appointment to see material from the Archives. The Special Collections (our specialised book collections) are available to browse from 10am - 4pm, Monday - Friday. There's no need to book, but it's advisable to email us if you want to spend longer looking at the material so that we can make sure there's space for you."
The best way to access the collections is by emailing us! Then we can book you an appointment and get all the material ready.
For our Special Collections, you can come and browse without an appointment. If you want to spend longer with the material, let us know so we can ensure there's enough space
A post with a blue background titled "What do we do?" in black text. The body of the post reads "We bring together original records with specialised book collections - unique, eclectic and inspiring sources that you can use in your research or creative practice. Our collections cover a wide range of topics from Cornish politics to theatre production, from textile design to agricultural history. Find info about our online catalogues and research guides at the link in our bio."
We care for both original archive material as well as specialised book collections, both of which you can use to inform your research or creative practice.
Our collections cover a vast array of different areas - whatever you're interested in, we could well have material relating to it!
A post with a blue background titled "Introduction to the Falmouth and Exeter Archives & Special Collections!" in black text.
Welcome to new and returning student from all of us at Falmouth and Exeter University Archives & Special Collections!
We thought we'd do a quick introduction of what we do and how you can use the collections.
#WelcomeBack #FalmouthUni #UniversityOfExeter @cornwall.exeter.ac.uk
🎉Congratulations to the 2025 awardees of our Ronald Duncan Stipend for South West Writing! 🎉
Alex, Sama and Sam will be receiving a £2000 stipend to use our archive collections to inspire new writing.
Find more about them & their projects at specialcollectionsarchive.exeter.ac.uk/exhibits/sho...
Poster for a Heritage Open Day event. A dark green banner at the top of the poster reads: University of Exeter Special Collections Architecture in the Archives Heritage Open Day event. Underneath is an image from an architectural plan of St Luke's College. Laid on top of the image is further text in white boxes, which reads 'Join us at a FREE drop-in event to see, touch and explore a range of rare, unique and fascinating items relating to architecture in Exeter and Devon! Pre-booking not required. Everyone welcome. Saturday 20 September 10:30AM - 1:00PM Seminar Room A/B, Old Library, University of Exeter, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter EX4 4SB'. Underneath is a green box with white text which reads: 'Find out more at: https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/submission-event/architecture-in-the-archives.html' next to a QR code. Underneath are the logos of Heritage Open Days and the University of Exeter.
📢 FREE Heritage Open Day drop-in event!
Come & explore architectural plans, Exeter Blitz letters, John Gendall sketches, rare books, & much more!
📆 Saturday 20 September
🕙 10:30am-1pm
🔗 www.heritageopendays.org.uk/submission-e...
#HeritageOpenDays #HOD #HODs2025 #HeritageOpenDaysExeter #Exeter
📷: Handbook of the Cornish Language by Henry Jenner, 1904, Gorsedh Kernow Bardic Collection (491.6782421 JEN)
Find out more about the publications by Cornish bards that we hold here: library.fxplus.ac.uk/gorsedh-kernow-gk
A page from Henry Jenner's 'Handbook of the Cornish Language' at the start of a chapter titled 'Swear-Words and Expletives'. The visible text reads: "Cornish is a disappointing language in respect of swear-words, for it is by no means rich in those “ornaments to conversation.” Except for a few very distressing expressions, now better forgotten, which are put into the mouths of the evil characters in the Dramas, the swears are mostly quite harmless, and even pious. It is not at all difficult or morally dangerous to learn to swear in Cornish." "Surprise is generally expressed by Re Varîa! By Mary! By Our Lady! shortened at times to Arîa! and Rîa! This is used as an Englishman might say “By Jove!” or “By George!” or a Frenchman “Dame!” "If there is an element of annoyance mingled with the surprise, An Jowl! The Devil, may be mentioned with effect, perhaps by those to whom Re Varîa! savours too much of Popery; but Re Varîa! is in better taste. An Jowl may be used, as in English, after words signifying where, what, why, when, to strengthen a question." "An assertion is strengthened by the use of the name of a saint, preferably the patron of one’s own parish (though any Cornishman may swear by St. Michael)"
This week is the #GorsedhKernow Esedhvos festival in Marazion. / Yma'n #Esedhvos yn Marghasyow an seythen ma
This book from our #GorsedhKernow Collection was written by Henry Jenner, a founder of the Gorsedh, to help people learn Cornish. It even has a chapter on Cornish swear words!
#EYAEducation
Check out this amazing opportunity to join our Heritage Collections team! 👀
The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum at the University of Exeter is looking for a part-time Museum Assistant to join their friendly team.
Please spread the word! ⬇️
Display case with four shelves, featuring a range of items, including a congratulatory address, photographs, a special issue newspaper, the Royal Charter of the University of Exeter, and a speech made by Queen Elizabeth II in 1956.
We are delighted to announce a new temporary exhibition to mark the 70th anniversary of the University of Exeter!
This exhibition features the Royal Charter, awarded in 1955.
The exhibition is open for everyone to visit on Level 0 of the Forum Library on @exeter.ac.uk's Streatham Campus.
