| Bits & Pieces
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WEST
BRITON AND CORNWALL ADVERTISER – 10 OCTOBER 1845
–
A
SUPERSTITION OF 1845
At
the execution of ELLISON, at Bodmin, in August last,
it was noticed that there was a very active demand for
pieces of the rope by which the poor wretch was
suspended, for each of which the executioner received
one shilling. Many conjectures were hazarded as to the
future use of these mystical fragments, but no one was
willing to reveal the secret. It happened a few days
since, as one of the surgeons of the infirmary was
dressing a patient,
who had a wound in his back, that he espied a dirty
cord about his neck, from which hung, over the breast,
a little chintz bag. On asking what it contained, he
was told that is was "some of the roop what cured
his back last time." This answer only whetted the
curiosity of his surgeon to hear more, and after a
little further questioning he learnt "that it waz
a bit of roop the man waz anged wi' to Badment - that
tather bit waz buried, and az the roop ratted the
wowned hailled." Of course a piece of stout rope
required some time to "rat"; and as there
was nothing malignant about the ulcer, and rest was
allowed, dame nature at length effected a cure, but
the hangman's rope ran away with the credit. How much
"useful knowledge" is still wanted in our
remote parishes, this specimen of the existing
"thick darkness" abundantly proves.
The
above is gleaned from the Newsletter of the Cornish
Association of Western Australia
SENT
IN BY PAT BANKS.
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THE OX AND THE ASS.
According to Mr. Brand, "a superstitious notion
prevails in the western parts of Devonshire, that at
twelve o'clock at night on Christmas-eve, the oxen
in their stalls are always found on their knees, as
in an attitude of devotion; and that (which is still
more singular) since the alteration of the style,
they continue to do this only on the eve of old
Christmas-day. An honest countryman, living on the
edge of St. Stephen's Down, near Launceston,
Cornwall, informed me, October 28, 1790, that he
once, with some others, made a trial of the truth of
the above, and watching several oxen in their stalls
at the above time, at twelve o'clock at night, they
observed the two oldest oxen only fall upon their
knees, and, as he expressed it in the idiom of the
country, make 'a cruel moan like christian
creatures.' I could not but with great difficulty
keep my countenance: he saw, and seemed angry that I
gave so little credit to his tale, and walking off
in a pettish humour, seemed to 'marvel at my
unbelief.' There is an old print of the Nativity, in
which the oxen in the stable, near the virgin and
the child, are represented upon their knees, as in a
suppliant posture. This graphic representation has
probably given rise to the above superstitious
notion on this head." Mr. Brand refers to "an old
print," as if he had only observed one with this
representation; whereas, they abound, and to the
present day the ox and the ass are in the wood-cuts
of the nativity on our common Christmas carols.
Sannazarius, a Latin poet of the fifteenth century,
in his poem De Partu Virginis, which he was several
years in revising, and which chiefly contributed to
the celebrity of his name among the Italians,
represents that the virgin wrapped up the new-born
infant, and put him into her bosom; that the cattle
cherished him with their breath, an ox fell on his
knees, and an ass did the same. He declares them
both happy, promises they shall be honoured at all
the altars in Rome, and apostrophizes the virgin on
occasion of the respect the ox and ass have shown
her. To a quarto edition of this Latin poem, with an
Italian translation by Gori, printed at Florence in
1740, there is a print inscribed "Sacrum monumentum
in antiquo vitro Romæ in Musea Victorio," from
whence the preceding engraving is presented, as a
curious illustration of the obviously ancient mode
of delineating the subject.
Every-Day Book, Volume II (1825)
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Penzance May Celebrations
A native of Penzance, in Cornwall, relates to the
editor of the Every-Day Book, that it is an annual
custom there, on May-eve, for a number of young men
and women to assemble at a public-house, and sit up
till the clock strikes twelve, when they go round
the town with violins, drums, and other instruments,
and by sound of music call upon others who had
previously settled to join them. As soon as the
party is formed, they proceed to different
farmhouses, within four or five miles of the
neighbourhood, where they are expected as regularly
as May morning comes; and they there partake of a
beverage called junket, made of raw milk and rennet,
or running, as it is there called, sweetened with
sugar, and a little cream added. After this, they
take tea, and "heavy country cake," composed of
flour, cream, sugar, and currants; next, rum and
milk, and then a dance. After thus regaling, they
gather the May. While some are breaking down the
boughs, others sit and make the "May music." This is
done by cutting a circle through the bark at a
certain distance from the bottom of the May
branches; then, by gently and regularly tapping the
bark all round, from the cut circle to the end, the
bark becomes loosened, and slips away whole from the
wood; and a hole being cut in the pipe, it is easily
formed to emit a sound when blown through, and
becomes a whistle. The gathering and the "May music"
being finished, they then "bring home the May," by
five or six o'clock in the morning, with the band
playing, and their whistles blowing. After dancing
throughout the town, they go to their respective
employments. Although May-day should fall on a
Sunday, they observe the same practice in all
respects, with the omission of dancing in the town.
On the first Sunday after May-day, it is a custom
with families at Penzance to visit Rose-hill,
Poltier, and other adjacent villages, by way of
recreation. These pleasure-parties usually consist
of two or three families together. They carry flour
and other materials with them to make the "heavy
cake," just described, at the pleasant farm-dairies,
which are always open for their reception. Nor do
they forget to take tea, sugar, rum, and other
comfortable things for their refreshment, which, by
paying a trifle for baking, and for the niceties
awaiting their consumption, contents the farmers for
the house-room and pleasure they afford their
welcome visitants. Here the young ones find
delicious "junkets," with "sour milk," or curd cut
in diamonds, which is eaten with sugar and cream.
New made cake, refreshing tea, and exhilarating
punch, satisfy the stomach, cheer the spirits, and
assist the walk home in the evening. These
pleasure-takings are never made before May-day; but
the first Sunday that succeeds it, and the leisure
of every other afternoon, is open to the frugal
enjoyment; and among neighbourly families and kind
friends, the enjoyment is frequent.
Every-Day Book, Volume II (1826)
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To enliven the subject a little, we may recur to recent
or existing usages at this period of the year. It may be
stated then on the authority of Mr. Brand's collections,
that the Eton scholars formerly had bonfires on St. John's
day; that bonfires are still made on Midsummer eve in
several villages of Gloucester, and also in the northern
parts of England and in Wales; to which Mr. Brand adds, that
there was one formerly at Whiteborough, a tumulus on St.
Stephen's down near Launceston, in Cornwall. A large summer
pole was fixed in the centre, round which the fuel was
heaped up. It had a large bush on the top of it. Round this
were parties of wrestlers contending for small prizes. An
honest countryman, who had often been present at these
merriments, informed Mr. Brand, that at one of them an evil
spirit had appeared in the shape of a black dog, since which
none could wrestle, even in jest, without receiving hurt: in
consequence of which the wrestling was, in a great measure,
laid aside. The rustics there believe that giants are buried
in these tumuli, and nothing would tempt them to be so
sacrilegious [sic] as to disturb their bones.
"Brand's popular antiquities of Great Britain. Faiths and
folklore; a dictionary of national beliefs, superstitions
and popular customs, past and current, with their classical
and foreign analogues, described and illustrated" 1924
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Taking
Football (Soccer) Around the World
The Mexican
national game of football was first played in Mexico by
Cornish miners at Pachuca in 1900, a fact that is celebrated
each year. The first soccer club in the country, the Pachuca
Athletic Club, was also founded in that year. A little known
and scarcely believed fact in a country so devoted to 'futbol',
the national sport. The first team consisted of Charles Dawe,
John Dawe, James Bennetts, John Bennetts, William Blamey,
Richard Sobey, William Bragg, William Thomas, Percy Bunt,
Lionel Bunt, Albert Pangelly and William Pengelly. A decidedly
'Cornish' team.
Taken from http://www.cornish-mexico.org/mexicosoctoday.htm
The Red Devils Win First Soccer Match From West New York.
The Palisades Park Football Club opened its soccer season
Labor day against the West New York State Football club of the
New York State League before a large crowd, possibly one of
the largest that has turned out to any sporting event that has
ever taken place in this town. Mayor Todd started the season
by making the first kick off. The lineup of the Red Devils
were: Goal F S Mather, right back: J Hayes, left back: L
Stone, right half: T Rodda, centre half : W. H. Collins, left
half : S. Brown, outside half : T. E. Kirkham, inside right :
F. Whitfield, centre forward : W. C. Duncan, inside left : H
Owens, outside left : W Jacka. The Red Devils who are mostly
Cornishmen, opened up the second half with a wonderful display
of speed and dash, and swept the visitors off their feet, and
if they continue this style of game they will never suffer
defeat. The final score was 7 -3 in favour of the Red Devils.
This Sunday the Red Devils play the Cyclone Football Club of
Union hill, and if both teams play up to the names they have
given themselves it ought to be some game - Red Devils against
the Cyclones. Any Cornishmen around New York who wish to join
the Red devils or who wish to see a good game of Football can
obtain information from Manager Thomas Hosking, Box 404,
Palisades Park New Jersey.
Transcribed
from the Cornishman Newspaper 21st November 1921
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Mining
in Redruth and Gwennap
As
the mining operations below have been so extensive, the
surface of the district is covered with rubbish, and its
general aspect is most barren and uninviting. The
following tolerably accurate and very graphic description of
it, and of the habits and employment of its population, is
from the pen of Sir Francis Bond Head, Bart., and with it we
shall conclude: -
"To
one unaccustomed to a mining country, the view from Cairn Marth,
which is a rocky eminence of 757 feet, is full of novelty.
Over a surface which is neither mountainous nor flat, but
diversified from sea to sea by a constant series of low and
undulating hills and vales, the farmer and the miner seem to
be occupying the country in something like the confusion of
warfare. The situations of the Consolidated Mines, the
United Mines, the Poldice Mine,
&c,&c,
are marked out by spots a mile in length, by half a mile in
breadth, covered with what are termed "the deads"
of the mine, sadly, poisonous
rubbish thrown up in rugged heaps, which, at this distance,
give the place the appearance of an encampment of soldiers'
tents. This lifeless mass follows a course of the main
lode (which generally runs east to west); and from it, in
different directions, minor branches of the same barren
rubbish diverge through the fertile country, like the streams
of lava from a volcano. The miner, being obliged to have
a shaft for air at every hundred yards, and the Stannary
laws allowing him freely to pursue his game, his hidden path
is commonly to be traced by a series of heaps of "deads",
which rise up among the green fields, and among the grazing
cattle, like the workings of a mole. Steam engines and
shims (large capstans worked by two or four horses) are
scattered about; and in the neighbourhood
of the old, as well as of the new workings, are sprinkled, one
by one, a number of small white-washed miners' cottages which,
based neither on a road, nor near a road, wear, to the eye of
the stranger, the appearance of having been dropped down
apropos to nothing."
"Early
in the morning the scene becomes animated. From the
scattered cottages, as far as the eye can reach, men, women
and children of all ages begin to creep out; and it is curious
to observe them all converging like bees to the small hole at
which they are to enter their mines. On their arrival,
the women and children, whose duty it is to dress or clean the
ore, repair to the rough sheds under which they work, while
the men, having stripped and put on their underground clothes
(which are of course flannel dresses) one after another
descended the several shafts of the mine by perpendicular
ladders to their respective levels or galleries. As soon
as they have all disappeared, a most remarkable stillness
prevails; scarcely a human being is to be seen. The tall
chimneys of the steam-engines emit no smoke; and nothing is
seen in motion but the great "bobs" or levers of
those gigantic machines."
As
soon as the men emerge to grass, they repair to the
engine-house, where they generally leave their underground
clothes to dry, wash themselves in the warm water of the
engine-pool ,and put on their
clothes, which are always exceedingly decent. By this time the
maidens and little boys have also washed their faces, and the
whole party migrate across the
fields in groups, and in different directions, to their
respective homes. Generally speaking, they now
look so clean and fresh, and seem so happy,
that one would scarcely fancy they had worked all day in
darkness and confinement. The old men, however, tired
with their work, and sick of the
follies and vagarities of the
outside and inside of this mining world, plod their way in
sober silence, probably thinking of their supper. The
younger men proceed talking and laughing, and where the grass
is good, they will sometimes stop and wrestle. The
big boys generally advance by playing at leap-frog; while
urchins run as before to gain time to stand on their heads;
while the "maidens", sometimes pleased and sometimes
offended with what happens, smile or scream as circumstances
may require. As the different members of the group
approach their respective cottages, their number of course
diminish, and when the individual who lives farthest from the
mine, like the solitary survivor of a large family, performs
the last few yards of his journey by himself."
From
November 15, 1839 - West
Briton and Cornwall Advertiser
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The
following comes from the West Briton 18 November 1842
The
TRESAVEAN MAN ENGINE A CURE FOR THE LIVER COMPLAINT
"There was never a better machine than that at Tresavean
mine, invented for the miner," said an old and venerable
man, a short time ago, "it will do wonders. Old Doctor
___ of Truro, used to say that the average age of our miners
scarcely exceeded 29 years, and he attributed it entirely to
climbing up from the deep mines; and in that opinion I
perfectly agree. Nor do I doubt but the miners will now live
very much longer than they have been used to. Besides this,
see what it will do for the liver complaint. Now, when I was
young, and the mines were not so deep, I scarcely heard of
such a disorder; nor is it known any where hardly but in
Cornwall. I will tell you how the disorder is brought on; when
the men climb up so far, you observe the whole frame is in
confusion, and the heart beats so violently up against the
liver as in time to beat a hole into it, and follow in course
the liver complaint." At this expression the old man's
auditor burst into a fit of laughter, which much incensed him;
and he turned on the heel and said - "you young gentleman
may laugh at what you call foolish, but what we old people
know true by experience; and I say again I believe MR. MICHAEL
LOAM'S Man Machine will do more good for the liver complaint
than all the pills in Truro."
Thanks to West
Briton Archives
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Following on from
correspondence on furze faggots in the Notes & Queries
section, I thought that members and others might be interested
in this photo of Mrs Jane Hosking, of Dowran, in St Just
parish who is seen dressed in her white apron and wearing
her Gook (bonnet), collecting fuel from the stack in the
farmyard. The photo was taken around 1900 by local
photographer William Thomas of Ballowal Place, St Just.
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West Briton
9 JUNE 1887, Thursday
A
Submerged Forest Near Mevagissey. -
Sir,
- It may interest you to know that at Portmellon beach,
which is about a half-mile to the west of this place, the
remains of a rather extensive submerged forest still exist.
Peat to a very considerable depth is found to underlie
nearly the whole of the beach from high to low water. When
the sand is washed aside then the peat with the trees lying
partially embedded in it appear. With these long continued
east winds portions of the beach are now free from sand, and
the peat and trees are very prominent objects. This week I
secured the remains of a very old gnarled and twisted tree
of about nine feet long and eighteen inches in
circumference. Not long ago I counted sixteen trees lying
along the beach; just now there are not so many to be seen.
It is not an uncommon occurrence for the inhabitants of the
cove to drag the trees out of their old resting place to
some spot above the sea and dry them, as they make a good
winter fire. Recently I selected portions of a tree as a
specimen for a museum from a quantity heaped up for the
purpose of future burning. The peat is rather more
interesting than the trees, for in it are embedded a great
variety of vegetable matter. The leaves in it are from
several kinds of trees, and are as perfect in form as when
growng. When this inundation happened is much shrouded in
mystery. I am inclined to believe that in Mr. Robert Hunt's
stories of the West of England there is something more than
drolls and romances, when so many of his treasured
traditions point to a catastrophe happening in Cornwall in
the 11th century. This overwhelming of the Portmellon
valley, geologically speaking, must have been quite recent,
and no doubt belongs to the same date of submerged forests
given by Hunt. In the Mount's Bay and Whitsands Bay, near
Plymouth, vestiges of like forests have also been found - at
Mevagissey, Pentewan, and Porthpean, near St. Austell - all
of which point to a cataclyism which destroyed at once the
whole Cornish coast line. Not long ago, when examining this
peat at Portmellon, I found in it, near the surface, several
seeds, the form of which seems to indicate that they are
those of a plant which belong to the natural order
umbellifer[?]. As these seeds are dropped in the autumn of
the year, and as they had not sprouted, one is led to
believe the catastrophe must have happened soon after the
seeds had been thrown off. I also noted that the bulrush
embedded in the peat is long, stiff, and green - a state the
bulrush is not likely to be in at any other season of the
year than the autumn. On my last visit there I was much
surprised on splitting some small lumps of peat washed up by
the sea to find something shining against me like polished
metal and throwing off beautiful iridiscent hues. Under the
glass I found it was the wings and legs of beetles. As these
creatures would hardly be in this form in the winter or
spring, this evidence goes to narrow the inundation to the
summer or autumn. Portmellon beach is one of the most
sheltered corners on the Cornish coast, hence the reason why
the forest is so well preserved, but the peat and trees are
gradually fretting away by the erosion of the sea, and the
pounding on the beach of the keel of an occasional vessel
which may come there to discharge her cargo. If the
scientific authorities wish to take note of the beach the
opportunity should not be left much longer. I well recollect
the state of the forest near fifty years ago; when a little
boy I visited the spot with my father and grandfather. Then
the trees were much farther out at sea, and far more
plentiful than at present. I can safely say full two-thirds
of them are gone. Yours, &c., Matthias Dunn, [?] 30th,
1887.
Thanks to West
Briton Archives |
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Burials
at the Quaker Burial Ground, Brea, Sennen
5 Jun.....1677: John Wallish of St.Just.
25 April1687: Seth Vingoe son of Jenkin Vingoe of Sennen.
6 Feb....1690: Ann Wallish wife of Nicholas Wallish of
Sennen.
16 Apr..1702: Ann Wallish wife of Robert Wallish of
Sancrett (Sancreed)
.............1703: Mary Wallish
26 Oct. 1705: Jenkin Vingoe of Sennen
29 Feb..1708: Mary Vingoe widow of Jenkin Vingoe.
3 Mar.. 1714: Richard Dennis of Buryan.
11 Jan..1715: Margaret Reed wife of Tobias.
28 Jan..1716: Sampson Olivey
22 Dec.1723: Jane Dennis of Buryan
22 Sep..1724: William Bottrell of Sancreed.
31 Aug 1730: John Ellis of Penzance
16 Jan..1733: John Williams of Sennen.
25 Mar.1733: Prudence Wallish of St. Levan wife of Nicholas
Wallish of St.Levan at Brea.
1 Mar...1737: Jane Richards of Sennen w of Richard of Paul
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A
Mystery From the Times of London, June 1805.
The
Times, Saturday, Jun 01, 1805; pg 2.
"The
performance at the Penzance Theatre on Monday night, were
interrupted in consequence of it being publicly announced to the
audience that Lord Nelson had fallen in with the Combined Fleets
and captured ten sails of the line and four frigates, and one
gun-brig, with 8,000 troops on board. The spectators threw up
their caps and sang 'God Save the King,' and 'Rule Britannia,'
as might have been expected. The information was said to have
been obtained from the boat belonging to the Plover sloop
of war, which was seen working into the Bay on the following
evening, as was said to be charged with dispatches for
Government. We wish we could say that their was the slightest
foundation for the honest exultation of the loyal inhabitants of
Penzance. The Plover is on the Newfoundland
Station."
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The
Cornish & Cricket
West
Briton - 15th February 1839
PROFANATION
OF THE SABBATH - A Correspondent complains of the profanation
of the Sabbath by a party of young men who were engaged on the
afternoon of Sunday last, in playing cricket in a field near
Truro. We quite agree with our correspondent as to the
propriety of cautioning those individuals against a repetition
of such disgraceful conduct, and of urging on the Magistrates
the necessity of putting a stop to such exhibitions, revolting
as they are to common decency, and which, if permitted to
proceed unnoticed, must be attended with the worst
consequences.
From
the West Briton 7th June 1839
Cricket
Match - About a month since, the members of the Liskeard
Cricket Club sent a challenge to play a match with the members
of the Callington Club, which was accepted. The play was
ultimately agreed upon to come off at Liskeard on Monday, the
3rd instant, in a field at the eastern part of the town, at
which place the members of both clubs met on the most
agreeable terms. The following were nominated to play: From
Callington - Messrs. William NATTLE, Thomas GRIGG, Thomas
GODDING, W.H. NATTLE, John RYALL, William PETER, Francis
BURNHAM, Edward MILLS, Simon PHILP, John EDGCUMBE, and Robert
ROSEKILLY. From Liskeard - Messrs. Richard CLEMENS, William
CHAPMAN, W. G. SARGENT, Joseph CHAPMAN, Charles MILTON, James
MEDLAND, Richard MEDLAND, Anthony CHAPMAN, C. ROGERS, John
KNIGHT, and W. SARGENT. The bowlers for the Callington club
were Messrs. W. H. NETTLE, Simon PHILP, and Johhn RYALL; for
the Liskeard club, Messrs. James MEDLAND, and Richard CLEMENS.
The umpires were Mr. R. G. DYMOND, of Callington, and Mr.
Frederick RICKARD, of Liskeard, who were highly complimented
for the candour and honesty shown by them in their decisions.
The bowling on the part of Callington was of the best
description and far excelled that of their opponents. The
number of notches made by each party were as follows:
First innings, Liskeard...25 Bye balls.. 1
26
2nd ditto ditto
21
ditto ...3 24
total 50
First innings, Callington, 56, making amajority for Callington
of six notches, without taking the second innings.
After the play was over, the different parties, with their
friends, amounting to upwards of fifty, adjourned to the Red
Lion Inn, in Liskeard, kept by Mr. John KNIGHT, where they
were bountifully supplied with good old English fare. The
evening was very agreeably spent, both parties being on the
most intimate terms with each other, and agreed to play the
return match at Callington within three weeks, the Liskeard
club having the privilege of changing their players.
Thanks to West
Briton Archives
0-0-0-0
Cornish
Inventors & Cricket
This
excerpt is taken from an article which appeared in the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Annual
Report in 1930 and was entitled Cornish Inventors. The Author
was Mr J Hambley Rowe and it was a transcript of his
Presidential address which he gave at the Penzance Exhibition
on the 15th July 1930. Mr Hambley Rowe states in his article
that:: -
"Roger Vivian of Tuckingmill devised improvements
in the construction of balls for cricket and other
games".
He
also stated that " William Christophers, Pattern-maker of
Hayle, invented the spliced bat and showed it to Lillywhite at
the great match of 1856 - Eleven of all England v Twenty two
of Cornwall, at Clowance Park. Lillywhite took it up and its
universal adoption quickly followed."
On
the 1841 census a William Christophers aged 15 is living with
his widowed mother Margaret at Bodriggy in Philack, Hayle. His
occupation is shown as being a labourer. He Married a Jane
Roberts whose father was a shoemaker at St Kevern on the 30th
of October 1850. At the time of his marriage he is shown as
being a "Moulder in the Foundry at Hayle."
The1851
census shows William Christophers, as an Iron founder, aged
29 living with his wife Jane and widowed mother
Margaret at Bodriggy in Phillack, Hayle.
By
the 1861 Census William and his wife have disappeared from the
Cornwall census.
Sent
in by George Pritchard, Redruth OCS.
0-0-0-0
Jack
Crapp Cricketer 1912 - 1981
A
Cornishman, Player & Gentleman.
John
Frederick Crapp was born in St Columb on 14th October 1912. he
was brought up in Bristol where he died on 15th February 1981.
he visited St Columb on many occasions. Jack was the first
Cornishman to play for England.
In
1984 Mr. & Mrs. Ackers agreed to the St Columb Old Cornwall
Society's request to place a plaque on a granite plinth in
their garden at No. 25 Bridge where Jack was born. In October
Mr. Harry Crapp (Jack's brother) came down to unveil the
plaque. Also Mr. G. Parker former Secretary to the Gloucester
County Cricket Club spoke highly of Jack, being the first
Professional Captain of the club. Mr. G Wiltshire,
Gloucestershire County Coach presented the Old Cornwall
Society with Jack's M.C.C. Blazer ( now on display in the St
Columb Post Office.
Jack
played for Gloucestershire from 1936 - 1956 and was Captain in
1953 and 1954.
His
England Test Appearances were as follows:
v.
Australia, 3rd test at Old Trafford in 1948.
v.
Australia, 4th test at Heddingley in 1948.
v.
Australia, 5th test at the Oval in 1948.
v.
South Africa, 2nd test at Johannesburg in 1948/49
v.
South Africa, 3rd test at Cape Town in 1948/49
v.
South Africa, 4th test at Johannesburg in 1948/49.
v.
South Africa, 5th test at Port Elizabeth in 1948/49.
Written
by Mrs Nick Glanville, St Columb Old Cornwall Society.
Sent
in by Bill Glanville of St Columb OCS.
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To
Choose a Wife.
Ascertain the date of the month of the young
woman's birth, and refer to the last chapter of Proverbs in the
Bible. Each verse from 1st to the 31st is supposed to indicate,
either directly or indirectly, the character, and to guide the
searcher - the verse corresponding with her birth date
indicating the woman's character.
Old Cornish Tradition.
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West
Briton - 28 APRIL 1887
St. Austell
Valley Railway
For years we have
felt in St. Austell the depression in trade, and not a small
number have left the neighbourhood in order to gain a
livelihood elsewhere. Returning from my Easter holidays, I
found nearly a score at the various stations from Penzance,
and at St. Austell quite as many leaving for America. This
week we have a repetition of the same thing, but I hope that
now the St. Austell Valley Railway Bill is passed, and the
loan granted for the proposed new harbour at Mevagissey, we
shall see better times. If these works are carried out it will
not only mean employment for a large number, but after its
completion Mevagissey, Pentewan, and St. Austell will, from a
commercial standpoint, derive much benefit. And not only so,
but, with railway communication, Pentewan would doubtless
become popular as a holiday resort. This would mean the
erection of more suitable buildings, and as there is a very
large beach and a green on which cricket, lawn tennis,
&c., can be played, Pentewan should see a large measure of
popularity.
Since writing the foregoing I find no time is to be lost by
the promoters of the railway scheme. On Friday dialling and
other preliminary work was renewed, and I understand the
construction of the line is to be vigourously pushed forward.
Thanks to West
Briton Archives
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Cornish Whiddles
Told by Mrs Frank Morris
Published by T. Fisher Unwin
1898.
The
following proverbs I found in "The Cornish - English
Vocabulary" published in 1790 by Dr. William Pryce, of
Redruth:-
1.
"Sav a man, kebnor tha li, ha ker tha'n hal; Mor-teed
a metten travyth ne dial"
Translation,
"Get up, take thy breakfast, and go to the moor; The sea-tide
of the morning is nothing worth."
The
above proverb is spoken in St Just in Penwith, where are both
fishermen and tinners."
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2.
"Ne Vedn nevera doas vas a tavaz re hir; Bes den heb tavaz a
gollas e dir."
Translation
"Never will come good from a tongue too long. But a man
without a tongue shall lose his land."
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3.
"Rowsa nebaz, ha rowsa da; Mez rowsa nebaz an gwella."
Translation.
"Speak little, and speak well; But to speak little is
best."
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4.
"Cusal he teg, sirra wheage, Moaz pell."
Translation.
"Soft and fair, sweet sir, Goes far."
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5.
"Ha'n Dew euhella, vedn ry, Peth yw gwella ol rag wht."
Translation.
"And God supreme, for thee will do, what He thinks best is
good for you."
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sent
in by Bill Glanville of St Columb OCS
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