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'Cornwall' (pronounced ; ) is a county in south-west England, United Kingdom, on the peninsula that lies to the west of the River Tamar. The administrative centre and only city is Truro. Cornwall covers an area of 1,376 square miles (3,563 km²), including the Isles of Scilly, located 28 miles (45 km) offshore. Cornwall has a population of 513,528, with a relatively low population density of 144 people/km², or 373/mile².
Cornwall is noted for its wild moorland landscapes, its extensive and varied coastline and its mild climate. Also notable is Cornwall's stone age and industrial archaeology, especially its historic mining landscape, a world heritage site. Tourism therefore forms a significant part of the local economy; however, Cornwall is one of the poorest areas in the United Kingdom with the lowest per capita contribution to the national economy.
Cornwall is the homeland of the Cornish people and is also considered one of the six "Celtic nations" by many residents and scholars. Some inhabitants question the present constitutional status of Cornwall and a self-government movement seeks greater autonomy for the county.

Contents

History

Physical geography

Ecology

Politics and administration

Flag

Demographics

Economy

Culture

Language

Literature in, or about, Cornwall

Religion

Visual art

Music and festivals

Sports and games

Food and drink

Settlements and communication

Famous People from Cornwall

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

History

Main articles: History of Cornwall

The present human history of Cornwall begins with the reoccupation of Britain after the last ice age. The pre-Roman inhabitants included speakers of a Celtic language that would develop into Brythonic and Cornish. After a period of Roman rule, Cornwall reverted to independent Celtic chieftains. The Roman term for the tribe which inhabited what is now Cornwall at the time of Roman rule, possibly the ''Cornovii'', came from a Brythonic tribal name which gave modern Cornish ''Kernow''. (For other examples of the survival of Brythonic names noted by the Romans, see Dyfed/Demetae, Cantiaci/Kent , Gwynedd/''Veneti'' and Durotriges/Dorset.)
The present English language name of Cornwall derives from suffixing of Old English ''wealhas'' ("foreigners, Britons") to the Celtic name. The people of Cornwall were sometimes called the West Welsh in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and people in what is nowadays modern Wales were called the North Welsh.
The first account of Cornwall comes from the Sicilian Greek historian Diodorus Siculus (c.90 BC–c.30 BC), supposedly quoting or paraphrasing the fourth-century BC geographer Pytheas, who had sailed to Britain:
The identity of these merchants is unknown. There has been a theory that they were Phoenicians, however there is no evidence for this.^[1] (For further discussion of tin mining see the section on the economy below.)
The ''Annales Cambriae'' reported that in 722 AD the Britons of Cornwall were victors in battle at ''Hehil'' (possibly on the Camel estuary or further north near Bude) among the Cornish (''apud Cornuenses''), presumably against the West Saxons. ''Annales Cambriae''. A century passed before we hear of the West Saxons attacking Cornwall again, this time under King Egbert, who in 814 laid waste to Cornwall from east to west.^[2] The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' tells us that in 825 (adjusted date) a battle was fought between the "Welsh" in Cornwall and the people of Devonshire, probably at Galford in Devon.^[3] Finally, in 838, the Cornish and their Viking allies were defeated by Egbert at Hengestesdune, probably Hingston Down near Moretonhampstead, Devon or Callington, Cornwall (Anglo-Saxon Chronicle). By the 880s Wessex had gained control of at least part of Cornwall, where Alfred the Great had estates.^[4] William of Malmesbury (in ''Gesta regum Anglorum'', about 1120) says that in about 936 the English King Athelstan fixed the boundary between English and Cornish people as the east bank of the river Tamar, their having previously lived as equals in Exeter.
The chronology of English expansion into Cornwall is unclear, but it had been absorbed into England by the reign of Edward the Confessor, when it apparently formed part of Godwin's and later Harold's earldom of Wessex.^[5] The records of Domesday Book show that by this time the native Cornish landowning class had been almost completely dispossessed and replaced by English landowners, the largest of whom was Harold Godwinson himself. After the Norman conquest most of the land was seized and transferred into the hands of a new Norman aristocracy, with the lion's share going to Robert, Count of Mortain, half-brother of King William and the largest landholder in England after the king.^[6]
There is a theory that once silver was extracted from the copper ores of Cornwall in pre-Roman times, as silver is easily converted to its chloride (AgCl) by surface waters containing chlorine.^[7]

Physical geography

Main articles: Geology of Cornwall


Cornwall forms the tip of the south-west peninsula of the island Great Britain, and is therefore exposed to the full force of the prevailing winds that blow in from the Atlantic Ocean. The coastline is composed mainly of resistant rocks that give rise in many places to impressive cliffs.
The north and south coasts have different characteristics. The north coast is more exposed and therefore has a wilder nature. The prosaically-named ''High Cliff'', between Boscastle and Tintagel, is the highest sheer-drop cliff in Cornwall at 735 ft (224 m). However, there are also many extensive stretches of fine golden sand which form the beaches that are so important to the tourist industry, such as those at Bude, St Agnes, St Ives, Perranporth, Porthtowan, Polzeath, Fistral Beach, Lusty Glaze Beach and Watergate Bay, Newquay. The only river estuary of any size on the north coast is the Camel, which provides Padstow and Rock with a safe harbour. The south coast, dubbed the "riviera", is more sheltered and there are several broad estuaries offering safe anchorages, such as at Falmouth and Fowey. Beaches on the south coast usually consist of coarser sand and shingle, interspersed with rocky sections of wave-cut platform.
The interior of the county consists of a roughly east-west spine of infertile and exposed upland, with a series of granite intrusions, such as Bodmin Moor, which contains the highest land within Cornwall. From east to west, and with approximately descending altitude, these are Bodmin Moor, the area north of St Austell, the area around Camborne, and the Penwith or Land's End peninsula. These intrusions are the central part of the granite outcrops of south-west Britain, which include Dartmoor to the east in Devon and the Isles of Scilly to the west, the latter now being partially submerged.

The intrusion of the granite into the surrounding sedimentary rocks gave rise to extensive metamorphism and mineralisation, and this led to Cornwall being one of the most important mining areas in Europe until the early 20th century. It is thought Tin was mined here as early as the Bronze Age, and copper, lead, zinc and silver have all been mined in Cornwall. Alteration of the granite also gave rise to extensive deposits of China Clay, especially in the area to the north of St Austell, and this remains an important industry.
The uplands are surrounded by more fertile, mainly pastoral farmland. Near the south coast, deep wooded valleys provide sheltered conditions for a flora that likes shade and a moist, mild climate. These areas lie mainly of Devonian sandstone and slate. The north east of Cornwall lies on Carboniferous rocks known as the Culm Measures. In places these have been subjected to severe folding, as can been seen on the north coast near Crackington Haven and several other locations.
The geology of the Lizard peninsula is unusual, as it is Britain's only example of an ophiolite. Much of the peninsula consists of the dark green and red Precambrian serpentine rock, which forms spectacular cliffs, notably at Kynance Cove, and carved and polished serpentine ornaments are sold in local gift shops. This ultramafic rock also forms a very infertile soil which covers the flat and marshy heaths of the interior of the peninsula. This is home to rare plants, such as the Cornish Heath, which has been adopted as the county flower.^[8]
Cornwall is the southernmost part of Britain, and therefore has a relatively warm and sunny climate. Winters are mild, and frost or snow are uncommon apart from in the central upland areas. The average annual temperature for most of Cornwall is 9.8 to 12 degrees Celsius (49.6 to 53.6 °F), with slightly lower temperatures at higher altitude.^[9] Cornwall is exposed to mild, moist westerly winds from the Atlantic Ocean and has relatively high rainfall, though less than more northern areas of the west coast of Britain, at 1051 to 1290 mm (41.4 to 50.8 in) per year.^[10] Most of Cornwall enjoys over 1541 hours of sunshine per year.^[11]

Ecology

Cornwall has varied habitats including terrestrial and marine ecosystems. One of the lower plant forms in decline locally is the Reindeer lichen, which species has been made a priority for protection under the national UK Biodiversity Action Plan.

Politics and administration

Main articles: Politics of Cornwall

Cornwall currently elects five MPs to the British House of Commons, all of whom are Liberal Democrats (2005 general election). New parliamentary boundaries will create a sixth parliamentary constituency in Cornwall which will be fought for the first time at the next British general election.
The organisation of the local government of the county is presently subject to debate and may change to a unitary system.^[12] The county council headquarters are in Truro. There are 82 county council seats, the majority of which are currently held by Liberal Democrats (2005 county council election). There are six districts in Cornwall with a total of 249 council seats. From east to west they are North Cornwall, Caradon, Restormel, Carrick, Kerrier, and Penwith. The numerically largest main groups represented on them are Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, and independents. The Isles of Scilly have in some periods been served by the same county administration as Cornwall, but are today a separate Unitary Authority. However, the Isles of Scilly are still grouped with Cornwall for many ceremonial and administrative purposes, such as NHS Trusts and Devon and Cornwall Police.^[13]
On 25 July 2007, the bid for Cornwall's unitary authority status was accepted by the government and as such the six districts will be scrapped when the unitary authority comes into force in 2009, despite polls indicating 89% of people were against it.^[14]
The chief registered parties contesting elections in Cornwall are Conservatives, Greens, Labour, Liberal Democrats, Mebyon Kernow, and UKIP.
An independence movement exists that seeks more autonomy along the lines of the other home Celtic nations. Additionally, some groups and individuals question the present constitutional status of Cornwall and Cornwall's relationship to the Duchy of Cornwall.
Cornish nationalists have organised into two political parties: Mebyon Kernow, formed in 1951, and the Cornish Nationalist Party. In addition to the political parties, there are various interest groups such as the Cornish Stannary Parliament and the Celtic League. In November 2000, the Cornish Constitutional Convention was formed to campaign for a Cornish assembly. It is a cross-party organisation including representatives from the private, public, and voluntary sectors, of all political parties and none. Between 5 March 2000 and December 2001, the campaign collected the signatures of 41,650 Cornish residents endorsing the declaration for a devolved regional Cornish assembly, along with 8,896 signatories from outside Cornwall.

Flag

Main articles: Saint Piran's Flag

Saint Piran's Flag is regarded by some people, including Cornish nationalists, as the national flag of Cornwall and an emblem of the Cornish people; and by others as the county flag. The banner of Saint Piran is a white cross on a black background. Saint Piran is supposed to have adopted these two colours from seeing the white tin in the black coals and ashes during his supposed discovery of tin. In a history of 1837 Saint Piran's flag was described as the "standard of Cornwall", and another history of 1880 said that: "The white cross of St. Piran was the ancient banner of the Cornish people." The Cornish flag is an exact reverse of the former Breton national flag (black cross) and is known by the same name " Kroaz Du" - .
Commonly understood to represent the white tin metal against the black tin ore, the flag symbolically, however, is said to represent the light of truth shining through the blackness/darkness of evil.
Another theory of the black and white colours is that the white cross represents the igneous/metamorphic rocks of colour such as granite and schists (mainly found in the southwest of Cornwall), while the black background represents the weathered Devonian slate and Carboniferous sandstone (both of which are mainly black-greyish in appearance) of the northern part of Cornwall.
There are claims that the patron saint of Cornwall is Saint Michael or Saint Petroc, but Saint Piran is by far the most popular of the three and his emblem is internationally^[15][16] recognised as the flag of Cornwall. St Piran's Day (5 March) is celebrated by the Cornish diaspora around the world.

Demographics

Cornwall's population is 513,527, and population density 144 people per square kilometre, ranking it 40th and 41st respectively compared to the other 47 counties of England. Cornwall has a relatively high level of population growth, however, at 11.2% in the 1980s and 5.3% in the 1990s, giving it the fifth highest population growth of the English counties.^[17] The natural change has been a small population decline, and the population increase is due to immigration into Cornwall.^[18] According to the 1991 census, the population was 469,800.
Cornwall has a relatively high retired population, with 22.9% of pensionable age, compared to 20.3% for the United Kingdom.^[19] This may be due to a combination of Cornwall's rural and coastal geography increasing its popularity as a retirement location, and due to the emigration of younger residents to more economically diverse areas. Migration of pensioners from southern England to Cornwall, and emigration of young Cornish people, is a persistent concern.
Cornwall is sometimes described as being one of six so called Celtic nations alongside Brittany, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Scotland and Wales. Just under 7% of the population of Cornwall gave their ethnicity as Cornish in the last census,^[20]

Economy

Main articles: Economy of Cornwall

Cornwall is one of the poorest areas in the United Kingdom. The GVA per head was 65% of the UK average for 2004.^[21]. The GDP per head for Cornwall and the Scillies was 79.2 of the EU-27 average for 2004, the UK per head average was 123.0 ^[22]
Historically tin mining was important in the Cornish economy. The first reference to this appears to be by Pytheas: see above. Julius Caesar was the last classical writer to mention the tin trade, which appears to have declined during the Roman occupation.^[23]. The tin trade revived in the Middle Ages, and the Cornish Rebellion of 1497 is attributed to tin miners.^[24] In the mid-nineteenth century, however, the tin trade again fell into decline.
As Cornwall's reserves of tin began to be exhausted many Cornishmen emigrated to places such as the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa where their skills were in demand. The tin mines in Cornwall are now worked-out (at current prices) but the expertise and culture of the Cornish tin miners lives on in a number of places around the world. It is said that, wherever you may go in the world, if you see a hole in the ground, you will find a Cornishman at the bottom of it (see Cornish emigration). Several Cornish mining words are in use in English language mining terminology, such as costean, gunnies, lode and vug.
Cornwall is one of four UK areas that qualifies for poverty-related grants from the EU: it was granted Objective 1 status by the European Union, followed by a further round of funding known as 'Convergence Funding'.
Today, the Cornish economy depends heavily on its successful tourist industry, which makes up around a quarter of the Cornish economy. The official measures of deprivation and poverty at district and 'sub-ward' level show that there is great variation in poverty and prosperity in Cornwall with some areas among the poorest in England and others are among the top half in prosperity. For example, the ranking of 32,482 sub-wards in England in the index of multiple deprivation ranges from 819th (part of Penzance East) to 30, 899th (part of Saltash Burraton in Caradon), where the lower number represents the most deprivation.^[25]
Cornwall's unique culture, spectacular landscape and mild climate make it a popular tourist destination, despite being somewhat distant from the United Kingdom's main tourist centres. Surrounded on three sides by the English Channel and Celtic Sea, Cornwall has miles of beaches and cliffs. Other tourist attractions include moorland, country gardens and wooded valleys. Five million tourists visit Cornwall each year, mostly drawn from within the UK.^[26] Visitors to Cornwall are served by airports at Newquay and Plymouth, whilst private jets, charters and helicopters are also served by Perranporth airfield; nightsleeper and daily rail services run between Cornwall, London and other regions of the UK.
Newquay and Porthtowan are popular destinations for surfers. In recent years, the Eden Project near St Austell has been a major financial success, drawing one in eight of Cornwall's visitors.^[27]
Other industries are fishing, although this has been significantly damaged by EU fishing policies, (the Southwest Handline Fisherman's Association has started to revive the fishing industry),^[28] and agriculture, which has also declined significantly. Mining of tin and copper was also an industry, but today the derelict mine workings survive only as a World Heritage Site^[29] However, the Camborne School of Mines is still a world centre of excellence in its field.^[30] and the grant World Heritage status has attracted funding for conservation and heritage tourism.^[31] China clay extraction has also been an important industry in the St Austell area, but this sector has been in decline, and this, coupled with increased mechanisation, has led to a decrease in employment in this sector.
In recent years Cornwall's creative industries have undergone significant growth, thanks in part to Objective One funding. There is now a significant creative industry in Cornwall, encompassing areas like graphic design, product design, web design, packaging design, environmental design, architecture, photography, art and crafts.

Culture

Main articles: Culture of Cornwall

Language

Main articles: Cornish language

The Cornish language is closely related to Welsh and Breton, and less so to Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx. A study in 2000 suggested that there were around 300 people who spoke Cornish fluently.^[32] Cornish however has no legal status in the UK. The language is still taught in about twelve primary schools, and occasionally used in religious and civic ceremonies.^[33]
Two of the current Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Andrew George, MP for St Ives, and Dan Rogerson, MP for North Cornwall, repeated their Parliamentary oaths in Cornish.

Literature in, or about, Cornwall

Cornwall produced a substantial amount of passion plays during the Middle Ages. Many are still extant, and provide valuable information about the Cornish language.
Daphne du Maurier lived in Cornwall and set many of her novels there, including ''Jamaica Inn'', ''Frenchman's Creek'', ''My Cousin Rachel'', and ''The House on the Strand''.^[34] She is also noted for writing ''Vanishing Cornwall''. Cornwall provided the inspiration for The Birds, one of her terrifying series of short stories, made famous as a film by Alfred Hitchcock.^[35] Hammond Innes' novel, ''The Killer Mine'',^[36] Charles de Lint's novel ''The Little Country'',^[37] Winston Graham's series ''Poldark'', Kate Tremayne's Adam Loveday series, Susan Cooper's novels ''Over Sea, Under Stone''^[38] and ''Greenwitch'', Mary Wesley's ''The Camomile Lawn'' and Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta ''The Pirates of Penzance'' are all set in Cornwall. Also the trilogy by Monica Furlong, "Wise Child", "Juniper", and "Colman" take place in medieval Cornwall. Conan Doyle's The Adventure of the Devil's Foot featuring Sherlock Holmes is set in Cornwall.^[39]
The Nobel-prizewinning novelist William Golding was born in St Columb Minor in 1911, and returned to live near Truro from 1985 until his death in 1993.^[40] The Scottish poet W. S. Graham lived in West Cornwall from 1944 until his death in 1986.^[41] The late Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman was famously fond of Cornwall and it featured prominently in his poetry. He is buried in the churchyard at St Enodoc Church near Trebetherick.^[42]
Prolific writer Colin Wilson, best known for his debut work The Outsider (1956) and for The Mind Parasites (1967), lives in Gorran Haven, a little village on the southern Cornish coast, not far from Mevagissey and St Austell.

Religion

Many place names in Cornwall are associated with Christian missionaries described as coming from Ireland and Wales in the fifth century AD and usually called saints (''See'' List of Cornish saints). The historicity of some of these missionaries is problematic^[43] and it has been pointed out by Doble that it was customary in the Middle Ages to ascribe such geographic origins to saints.^[44] Some of these saints are not included in the early lists of saints.^[45]
St Piran, after whom Perranporth is named, is generally regarded as the patron saint of Cornwall.^[46]
In the sixteenth century there was some violent resistance to the replacement of Catholicism with Protestantism in the 1549 uprising.^[47] From the eighteenth to the mid-twentieth century Methodism was the leading form of Christianity in Cornwall but is now in decline.^[48] The Anglican Diocese of Truro was created in 1877.^[49]
Cornwall and the South-west of England in general is also home the largest number of Buddhists in Europe.

Visual art

Since the 19th century, Cornwall, with its unspoilt maritime scenery and strong light, has sustained a vibrant visual art scene of international renown. Artistic activity within Cornwall was initially centred on the art-colony of Newlyn, most active at the turn of the century,^[50] and associated with the names: Stanhope Forbes, Elizabeth Forbes,^[51] Norman Garstin and Lamorna Birch.^[52] Modernist writers such as D.H. Lawrence and Virginia Woolf lived in Cornwall between the wars,^[53] and Ben Nicholson, the painter, having visited in the 1920s came to live in St Ives with his then wife, the sculptor Barbara Hepworth, at the outbreak of the second world war.^[54] They were later joined by the Russian emigrant Naum Gabo,^[55] and other artists. These included Peter Lanyon, Terry Frost, Patrick Heron, Bryan Wynter and Roger Hilton. St Ives also houses the Leach Pottery, where Bernard Leach, and his followers championed Japanese inspired studio pottery.^[56] Much of this modernist work can be seen in Tate St Ives.^[57]

Music and festivals

Cornwall has a rich and vibrant folk music tradition which has survived into the present. Cornwall is well known for its unusual folk survivals such as Mummers Plays, the Furry Dance in Helston, and Obby Oss in Padstow.
As with other former mining districts of Britain, Male voice choirs and Brass Bands ^[58] are still very popular in Cornwall.
Cornish players are regular participants in inter-Celtic festivals, and Cornwall itself has several lively inter-Celtic festivals such as Perranporth's Lowender Peran folk festival.^[59]
On a more modern note, contemporary musician Richard D James (also known as Aphex Twin) grew up in Cornwall, as did Alex Parks winner of Fame Academy 2003. Roger Taylor, the drummer from the band Queen was also raised in the county, and currently lives not too far from Falmouth. The American Singer/Songwriter Tori Amos now resides predominantly in North Cornwall not far from Bude with her family.
The Cornwall Fiddle Orchestra[1] are a large group of string players who perform traditional fiddle music of the Celtic nations - Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall and Brittany.

Sports and games

Among Cornwall's native sports are a distinctive form of wrestling related to Breton wrestling, and hurling, a kind of mediaeval football played with a silver ball (distinct from Irish Hurling). The latter sport now takes place at St. Columb Major and St Ives although hurling of a silver ball is part of the beating the bounds ceremony at Bodmin every five years.
Though rugby is thought to have originated from Rugby School in the early 19th century, Richard Carew described in his 1602 work, 'Survey of Cornwall' a game which is rather similar to rugby yet distinct from hurling. Cornish 'hurlers' travelled to London to player 'demonstration matches' of the sport several times in the seventeenth century. Rugby union has the largest following in Cornwall (more so than football), with two teams in national league 1, Cornish Pirates (recently renamed from Penzance & Newlyn RFC) and Launceston RFC "the Cornish All Blacks" (who were promoted to national league 1 in the 06/07 season). Redruth R.F.C. "the Reds" are also in the national league 2 and get good support. Penzance based Mounts Bay are the newest national league team, being promoted as champions from South West 1 in 2007. Both Mounts Bay (EDF Intermediate Cup) and the Cornish Pirates (EDF National Trophy) were successful at Twickenham in 2007.
The Cornish rugby team (dubbed ''Trelawny's Army'') regularly draws large crowds of supporters to its matches in the county championship, especially if they are progressing towards a Twickenham final. London Cornish are an exiles team along the lines of London Irish, London Scottish and London Welsh.
Despite playing in Devon, Plymouth Argyle F.C. attract a lot of supporters from Cornwall. The highest ranked, and arguably most popular football team in Cornwall is Truro City F.C., though football is often overshadowed by rugby and other sports.
The Cornwall Cougars basketball team are the only National League representatives from the county, based in St Austell, though Devon-based professional club Plymouth Raiders, of the top-tier British Basketball League, pull in many supporters from Cornwall.
One of the earliest references to cricket in Cornwall is 1816 and Sir William Pratt Call of Whiteford house in Stoke Climsland, organised a match against the Plymouth Garrison, and noted:- ''tea and a meal in a marquee at 6 o'clock''. Cornwall County Cricket Club competes in the Minor Counties Championship, the second tier National County structure. Talented players, produced by the vigorous County league sides, have frequently found employment in the First Class Counties and two have gone on to represent England.
Due to its large coastline, various maritime sports are popular in Cornwall, notably sailing and surfing. International events in both are held in Cornwall. Cornwall hosted the Inter-Celtic Watersports Festival in 2006. Surfing in particular is very popular, as locations such as Bude and Newquay offer some of the best surf in the UK. Pilot gig rowing has been popular for many years and the World championships takes place annually on the Isles of Scilly.
Rock climbing on the sea cliffs and inland cliffs has been popular since the pioneering work of A. W. Andrews and others in the early 1900s, and is now highly developed.
Euchre is a popular card game in Cornwall, it is normally a game for four players consisting of two teams. Its origins are unclear but some claim it is a Cornish game. There are several leagues in Cornwall at present.
A recent application for a place in the 2006 Commonwealth Games was refused by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF). The Cornwall Commonwealth Games Association claimed that Cornwall should be recognised with a team, in the way that other sub-state entities such as England, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are. However, the CGF noted that it was not their place to make political decisions on whether or not Cornwall is a separate nation.^[60]
On September 2, 2007, 300 surfers arrived at Polzeath beach, Cornwall to set a new world record for the highest number of surfers riding the same wave (as part of the Global Surf Challenge and part of a project called Earthwave to raise awareness about global warming). The official world record stands at 44, set by Lahinch surf school in Ireland (unofficially the highest figure is 73, held by the Kahuna Surfing Academy in South Africa).^[61]
On September 2, 2007, in Brazil, 84 surfers caught the same wave (from Australia, South Africa, Portugal, Britain and the US, to beat the former record of 73 surfers on a wave). But while 300 turned up in Cornwall and Capetown, the Brazilian waxheads won. With only 120 people, surfers in Santos, south-east of Sao Paulo, smashed the South African record.^[62]

Food and drink

Cornwall has a strong gastronomic heritage. Surrounded on three sides by the sea amid fertile fishing grounds, Cornwall naturally has fresh seafood readily available; Newlyn is the largest fishing port in the UK by value of fish landed.^[63] Television chef Rick Stein has long operated a fish restaurant in Padstow for this reason, and Jamie Oliver recently chose to open his second restaurant, Fifteen, in Watergate Bay near Newquay. Masterchef host and founder of Smiths of Smithfield, John Torode, in 2007 purchased Seiners in Perranporth. In St Ives Porthminster Cafe is a renowned beach restaurant as is The Boardroom at The Blue Bar in Porthtowan. One famous local fish dish is Stargazy pie, a fish-based pie in which the heads and tails of the fish stick through the pasty crust, as though "star-gazing". The pie is cooked as part of traditional celebrations for Tom Bawcocks Eve.
Cornwall is perhaps best known though for its pasties, a savoury dish made from pastry containing suet. Today's pasties usually contain a filling of beef steak, onion, potato and swede with salt and white pepper, but historically pasties had a variety of different fillings. For instance, the licky pasty contained mostly leeks, and the herb pasty contained watercress, parsley, and shallots.^[64] Pasties are often locally referred to as ''oggies'' or ''Teddy Oggies''. Historically, pasties were also often made with sweet fillings such as jam, apple and blackberry, plums or cherries. Cornish Recipes, Ancient & Modern. 22nd edition, 1965, , Edith, Martin, , , Recently the origin of the Cornish pasty has been challenged, with neighbouring county Devon claiming to have the oldest known recipe.^[65]
The wet climate and relatively poor soil of Cornwall make it unsuitable for growing many arable crops. However, it is ideal for growing the rich grass required for dairying, leading to the production of Cornwall's other famous export, clotted cream. This forms the basis for many local specialities including Cornish fudge and Cornish ice cream. Cornish clotted cream is protected under EU law^[66] and cannot be made anywhere else. Its principal manufacturer is Rodda's based at Scorrier.
Local desserts include Saffron Cake, Cornish Heavy (''Hevva'') Cake, Cornish fairings Biscuits, Figgy 'obbin, and Whortleberry Pie.
There are also many types of beers brewed in Cornwall — the St Austell Brewery is the best-known — including a stout, and there is some small scale production of wine, mead, and cider. Swanky beer is a traditional local brew which is produced for festive occasions. It is brewed specifically for the Kernewek Lowender, the world's largest Cornish Festival- convened biennially in the Copper Coast region of South Australia.

Settlements and communication

Cornwall's only city, and the home of the county council, is Truro. Nearby Falmouth is notable as a port, while the ports at Penzance, the most westerly town in England, St Ives and Padstow have declined. Newquay on the north coast is famous for its beaches and is a popular surfing destination, as is Bude further north. St Austell is Cornwall's largest town, and a centre of the china clay industry. Redruth and Camborne is the largest urban area in Cornwall, and both were significant as the centre of the global tin mining industry.
Cornwall borders the county of Devon at the River Tamar. Major road links between Cornwall and the rest of Great Britain are the A38 which crosses the Tamar at Plymouth via the Tamar Bridge and the town of Saltash, the A39 road (Atlantic Highway) from Barnstaple, passing through North Cornwall to end eventually in Falmouth, and the A30 which crosses the border south of Launceston. A car ferry also links Plymouth with the town of Torpoint on the opposite side of the Hamoaze. A rail bridge, the Royal Albert Bridge, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1859) provides the only other major transport link.
Newquay Airport shares RAF St. Mawgan's runways and facilities and connects Cornwall to the rest of the UK and Ireland. However, the future for the airport is uncertain, as the Ministry of Defence has announced that military flights from RAF St Mawgan will cease from August 2008. The handover of the runways will depend on funding being available to maintain the airport at civil aviation standards once the current military facilities are withdrawn.
Cardiff and Swansea, across the Bristol Channel, are connected to Cornwall by ferry, usually to Padstow. Swansea in particular has several boat companies who can arrange boat trips to north Cornwall, which allow the traveller to pass by the north Cornish coastline, including Tintagel Castle and Padstow harbour. Very occasionally, the Waverley and Balmoral paddle steamers cruise from Swansea or Bristol to Padstow.
The Isles of Scilly are served by ferry (from Penzance), helicopter (Penzance Heliport) and fixed wing aeroplane (Land's End Aerodrome, near St Just). Further flights to St. Mary's, Isles of Scilly, are available from Exeter International Airport in Devon.

Famous People from Cornwall

Main articles: List of notable residents of Cornwall

See also

★ List of topics related to Cornwall

★ List of places of interest in Cornwall

★ Cornish Model Railway

References

1. Halliday, p52.
2. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; Halliday, p102
3. ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.''
4. Simon Keynes and Michael Lapidge (tr.), ''Alfred the Great - Asser's Life of King Alfred and other contemporary sources'', London, Penguin, 1983, p175; cf. ''ibid'', p89.
5. Michael Swanton (tr.), ''The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles'', (2nd ed.) London, Phoenix Press, 2000, p177. The Old English word translated by Swanton as "Cornwall" is "Wealas", which some translations render as "Wales". However, in the Anglo-Saxon period this terminology was applied equally to all Brythonic people and their lands, not specifically to Wales and the Welsh in the modern sense. Since this reference concerns a parcel of adjoining territories contiguous with Cornwall but not with Wales, and since Wales was not under English rule at this date whereas the evidence of Domesday Book indicates that Cornwall was, it may reasonably be concluded that the land in question was "West Wales" (ie. Cornwall), not "North Wales".
6. Ann Williams and G.H. Martin, (tr.) ''Domesday Book - a complete translation'', London, Penguin, 2002, pp341-357
7. Metallurgy in Archaeology, R.F. Tylecote, 1962
8. Cornwall County Council, "The County Flower."
9. Met Office, 2000. Annual average temperature for the United Kingdom.
10. Met Office, 2000. Annual average rainfall for the United Kingdom.
11. Met Office, 2000. Annual average sunshine for the United Kingdom.
12. County's unitary bid goes forward BBC
13. http://www.devon-cornwall.police.uk/v3/about/index.htm
14. Cornwall super-council go-ahead BBC
15. Cornwall (United Kingdom)
16. British Flags (United Kingdom) from The World Flag Database
17. Office for National Statistics, 2001. Population Change in England by County 1981-2000.
18. Office for National Statistics, 2001. Births, Deaths and Natural Change in Cornwall 1974 – 2001.
19. Office for National Statistics, 1996. % of Population of Pension Age (1996).
20. London School of Economics - Cornish ethnicity data from the 2001 Census
21. ONS December 2006
22. Eurostat
23. Halliday, p69.
24. Halliday, p182.
25. ''Poverty and deprivation in Cornwall'' (June 2006)and
26. Cornwall Tourist Board, 2003. .
27. Scottish Executive, 2004. ''A literature review of the evidence base for culture, the arts and sport policy''.
28. http://www.linecaught.org.uk/links.htm
29. . UNESCO Page on the Cornwall & West Devon application
30. http://www.uec.ac.uk/csm/
31. http://www.cornish-mining.org.uk/
32. http://www.gosw.gov.uk/gosw/docs/254795/mode_of_use.doc
33. Cornish in United Kingdom
34. Daphne du Maurier
35. The Birds
36. The Killer Mine
37. The Little Country
38. Over Sea, Under Stone
39. The Adventure of the Devil's Foot
40. Biography of William Golding
41. William Sydney Graham
42. St Enodoc Church
43. ORME Nicholas(2000) ''The saints of Cornwall'', ''see also'' Article on "Saint Uny" at http://www.lelant.info/uny.htm. The patron Saint of Wendron Parish Curch, "Saint Wendrona" is another example.
44. DOBLE GH (1960) ''The saints of Cornwall''
45. see for example absences from OLSON B and PADEL OJ (1986) 'A tenth century list of Cornish parochial saints' in ''Cambridge medieval Celtic studies 12''; and ''Nova legenda Angliae'' by John of Tynemouth and CAPGRAVE John
46. St. Piran - Sen piran
47. The Prayer Book Rebellion 1549
48. Methodism
49. Truro Cathedral website - History page
50. Newlyn
51. Elizabeth Adela Forbes
52. Samuel John Lamorna Birch
53. Virginia Woolf
54. Ben Nicholson
55. Naum Gabo
56. Bernard Leach and the Leach Pottery
57. Tate St Ives
58. ''Brass on the Grass'' concerts during the summer at Constantine
59. An-Daras.com
60. BBC News Online, 2006. "Cornish out of running for Games."
61. BBC NEWS, Surfers aim to break world record
62. SMH, Record breakers: Ready, set - now pucker up for Bosnia
63. Objective One media release [2]
64. http://www.alanrichards.org/cornish3.htm - Cornish recipe site
65. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/6144460.stm
66. Official list of British protected foods

Bibliography

★ History of Cornwall, 2nd edition. Main text same as 1959 edition but with afterword by Halliday's son., , Frank Ernest, Halliday, House of Stratus, , ISBN 0-7551-0817-5

Further reading

★ Price,J. H., Hepton, C.E.L. and Honey, S.I. 1979. The inshore benthic biota of the Lizard Peninsula, south west Cornwalll !. the marine algae: History; Chlorophyta; Phaeophyta. ''Cornish Studies.'' '7': 7 - 37.

External links

★ Cornwall County Council

★ Campaign for a Cornish Assembly

★ This is Cornwall, local news

★ Cornwall 24 - Cornwall's independent news and discussion site

★ Independent Photo Gallery - Photos from around the Lizard Peninsula