Benjamin Wall – A Quiver Hero by Susan Coney

Susan Coney (née Phillips) is a prolific researcher and recorder of local history, especially about Truro. This article is about one of her relatives of whom she is rightly proud. The story of his act of heroism may not be new to you but this chance to read about it from the pen of one […]

The Bible Class Which Made Mining Safer by Allen Buckley

Nineteenth century Methodists were preoccupied with the saving of men’s souls, but one of their devout members successfully saved many thousands of miners’ lives in a physical sense. The story of how four members of Tuckingmill Methodist Chapel invented, developed, manufactured and then successfully market-ed safety fuse, for safe gunpowder blasting in mines, is a […]

Frank Long – the Lunnener by Tony Mansell

The word evacuee slips easily off the tongue, perhaps too easily to convey the extent of the pain and suffering endured by those affected. For the parents who had to say goodbye to their children and for the youngsters themselves, some as young as five, who had to gather on a London railway station, label […]

Emily by Tony Mansell

Once again, Tony Mansell leads us into his world of folklore, myth and legend with his present-day tale of Emily, a young lady who casts her spell to capture the hearts and minds of unsuspecting innocents. This story was the winner of the Gorsedh Kernow 2009…Short Story set in Cornwall. She arrived during the first […]

Joseph Antonia Emidy by Tony Mansell.

The fascinating story of Joseph Antonia Emidy has been mostly gleaned from the autobiography of oneof his pupils, the Cornish-born politician and slavery abolitionist, James Silk Buckingham, who wroteabout Emidy’s life up to 1807. Others have written about him, mostly using Buckingham’s material, andtheir work may provide a more comprehensive picture of this remarkable man […]

Daphne Du Maurier my literary friend by Muriel Mansell

Whilst collecting information for my books and stories I have interviewed many people, each with a tale to tell. It is surprising, therefore, that although my mother has led an interesting life, I had never sat down with pen and paper to record her story. The situation has now been remedied and this is just […]

Cornish Charming & Premonitions by Michael Tangye with photos by Terry Harry

Man’s dependency upon electronic equipment, his constant efforts to reach new scientific heights linked with a brain increasingly bombarded with the noise, data, and stresses of the twentieth century has led to the almost complete destruction of certain primitive, yet finer, senses. It is well known that races and tribes who have remained for centuries […]

A Midnight Encounter by Rev. Thomas Shaw

St. Blazey Gate Methodist Church which was built in 1824 stands on the left-hand side of the road from St. Austell to St. Blazey at the junction which is signposted “Luxulyan”. It is a typical Wesleyan Chapel of the period but the simple magnificence of its interior furnishings would lead one to suppose that its […]