The document summarizes activities and projects from the Institute of Cornish Studies (ICS). It discusses: 1) The "Kevewya Kernow" project which documents people and places of importance in Cornwall through workshops. 2) Student projects exploring cultural landscapes in Helman Tor and West Penwith through oral histories and photographs. 3) The "First Wave" oral history project celebrating early surfing pioneers in Britain. 4) Upcoming events including a talk on family photographs, the ICS annual conference on Cornwall's global connections, and collaboration with the Cornwall Heritage Trust.

1. Institute of Cornish Studies
(ICS)
Newsletter, June 2014
Kevewya Kernow
Celebrating the People & Places of Cornwall
The Institute of Cornish Studies has launched a new outreach project titled ‘Kevewya Kernow’
(Celebrating Cornwall). This project is now touring Cornwall to document and share the people and
places that make Cornwall special. This will happen through a series of workshops, which will ask
people to share memories about the people and places that are important to them, for example a
local landmark, special building, a person you know or someone significant from the past. People
and places will be documented and added to a large map of Cornwall, as well as archived on the
project blog: www.kevewyakernow.wordpress.com
Sarah Chapman, who has helped develop this project explains:
Often when we’re visiting a different community in Cornwall someone will say to us, “you know so-Often when we’re visiting a different community in Cornwall someone will say to us, “you know so-
and-so?” We reply, “no, I’m afraid I don’t”, ”You don’t?! Oh well, she/he was….”
And the story continues… amazing characters who make Cornwall what it is, often characters who
go un-documented, but whose name will spark a story amongst anyone who knows that particular
community. It is those people that we hope to document as part of this project. And it’s the same
for places… there are many places that escape the books, internet and sometimes even the maps,
but which have so many rich and interesting stories connected to them.
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Over time it is hoped that the Kevewya
Kernow project will provide a living
archive of Cornwall that can also inform
future academic work at the Institute
and be a point of interest and reference
for a range of audiences. It is important
to map the cultural landscape of
Cornwall at the micro level so that we
can understand perceptions of place in
relation to such factors as
environmental sustainability, political
and religious behaviour, community
boundaries and sites of memory.
A community-based project of this nature can combine public involvement with academic research
on an inter-disciplinary basis. If you would like to be involved with this project or know of a group of
people who might be interested in holding a workshop, then please contact Sarah on
sarah.chapman@exeter.ac.uk

2. Journey through Cornwall:
The Cultural Landscapes of Helman Tor and West Penwith
A new project exploring the way people think and form ideas about their identity in relation to the
landscapes of Cornwall recently featured in a travelling photographic exhibition throughout
Cornwall. Libraries in Bodmin, Truro and Penzance hosted the exhibition on 17, 24 and 31 May,
which was set up by undergraduate students in collaboration with the Institute of Cornish Studies.
The West Penwith project was carried out by History students Abi Stocker and Will Orchard, who
looked at photographs and conducted oral interviews to assess the relationship of place and
identity in modern-day Cornwall. Abi explained: “Talking to people in the area has been insightful
for comparing outsider representations and local perspectives. We found that several themes
recurred during the interviews, including a sense of home and belonging to iconic landmarks, such
as St Michael’s Mount. This appeared to add to the collective and social understanding of place
through memory.” Many of these perspectives linked into the wider context of Cornish identity
and reflected the research involved in the Institute’s Cornish Story Programme.
Helman Tor is near Bodmin and the project for this area was conducted by History student Katie
Taylor as part of her year-long placement scheme on the Public History module. It involved talking
with various members of the Tor’s local community for local knowledge and through this close
rapport Katie was able to discover the Tor’s rich past. By looking at autobiographies,
archaeological reports and photographic collections the project was also able to explore the
relationships between internal and external ideas and views of Cornwall. Katie said: “Projects like
Helman Tor and the one focusing on West Penwith are very important in recording local histories
so that they can be exhibited and enjoyed by the wider public.”
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The study of Cornwall’s cultural landscapes is emerging as one of the Institute’s core areas of
research following on from the publication in 2012 of Memory, Place and Identity by Francis Boutle
Publications. Garry Tregidga, the new Director of the ICS, added that “The project is a great
example of the work carried out by the university’s students, as well as an opportunity to expand
the study to more sources and areas and tap in to the knowledge of people themselves.” The
exhibition will also feature later this year at Gunwen Chapel on 18th September and at the
Institute’s annual conference on 24th/25th October.
(from left to right: Katie Taylor, Will Orchard and Abigail Stocker at Truro Library)

3. The First Wave
The Cornish Audio Visual Archive at the ICS works with a range of community groups. One such
project that was completed earlier this year was The First Wave with Helen Munro Berry as
Project Manager. Belly boarding, or ‘surf riding’, was well underway by the early part of the 20th
Century, but only a small handful of ‘solo pioneers’ had experimented with stand up surfing
before 1950 and it was the 1960s before surfing really began to take off in Britain.
The First Wave was an oral history project that celebrated these pioneers. It also charted the
development of surfing over the decades through the stories of the people who were there by
recording first-hand accounts. In order to collect the interviews we selected and trained a group
of enthusiastic volunteer Surf History Researchers across Britain as well as a group of talented
Surfing in Britain: An Oral History
of enthusiastic volunteer Surf History Researchers across Britain as well as a group of talented
young people in Cornwall.
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As well as bringing together pre-1950s
material, The First Wave has recorded stories
from people who have had an influence on the
development of surfing in Britain from the 50s
and 60s to the present day. The full interviews
and written summaries have been deposited
with the Cornish Audio Visual Archive (CAVA)
and edited highlights of the interviews as well
as some rare archive footage have been pulled
together to form a display which was on show
at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall
during 2013 and will be at the Museum of
British Surfing in 2014.
The First Wave was set up and delivered by Porthtowan Surf Life Saving Club with support from
the National Maritime Museum Cornwall, the Museum of British Surfing and the Cornish Audio
Visual Archive. The First Wave was funded by The Heritage Lottery Fund and sponsored by
Skinner’s Brewery.
More details about the project, a short film and edited clips from all 125 interviews can be found
online at www.thefirstwave.co.uk
Surfing legends Tris Cokes and Johnny Manetta enjoy
listening to surfing stories at The First Wave display launch
© Andy Hughes

4. Sarah Chapman - Community and Education Outreach
Sarah has worked with the Institute of Cornish Studies on a range
of community and education outreach projects over the past 4
years. These include ‘Family, Farming & Tradition,’ ‘Tallys an Tir;
Traditions & Stories of the Land’ and more recently ‘Landmark
Travels; Your past in a suitcase’ (pictured below) and ‘Kevewya
Kernow.’ Sarah is particularly interested in documenting first hand
accounts of Cornwall’s rich history and specializes in using digital
storytelling to share memories to all ages. Over the past couple of
years Sarah has taken the ICS’s work into primary schools to help
engage younger generations with Cornwall, both past and present,
looking into the future.
Sarah has recently set-up an organization called
‘Storylines’ with artists and educators Ali
Roscoe and Kim Pilgrim, both of whom also
worked on ‘Tallys an Tir’. Storylines specialises
in delivering creative, narrative based projects,
enabling people of all ages to express
themselves, share experiences and learn from
one another. Storylines will continue to
collaborate with the Institute of Cornish
Meet more members of the ICS team
A new face amongst the staff of the Institute of Cornish Studies
is Jasmin Ehrhardt, a German postgraduate student at the
Brandenburg University of Technology in Cottbus with a
background in World Heritage Studies and Museology.
Originally from the city of Berlin, she travelled to Cornwall to
support the Cornwall Heritage Trust during a three-months
internship and is based at the Institute for Cornish Studies as
part of the first stage of a long-term partnership programme
between the ICS and the Cornwall Heritage Trust.
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collaborate with the Institute of Cornish
Studies, with some exciting projects in the
pipeline.
Jasmin Ehrhardt – Heritage Intern for ICS and the Cornwall Heritage Trust
Her work will primarily focus on the development and
implementation of a cohesive communication strategy for the
Cornwall Heritage Trust and the exploration of a joint research and outreach programme between
the Institute for Cornish Studies and the Cornwall Heritage Trust. Jasmin's work will build on the
Landmark pilot project.

5. The Cornish Research Group held their fourth
Seminar at Penryn Campus on 11 June.
The Cornish Research Group Seminar Series
Landmark Travels; Your Past in a Suitcase - Sarah Chapman has been developing the
community aspects of the project to give children the opportunity to explore historic local
landmarks. Pupils from Luxulyan Primary School visited Treffry Viaduct and St. Just Primary School
made a similar trip to Carn Euny. During the workshops children enjoyed a community picnic and
produced some great artwork – as you can see below! The project will also be looking at research
themes in relation to notions of heritage and landscape in conjunction with Cornwall Heritage Trust.
Luxulyan Primary School pupils
at Treffry Viaduct
Pupils from St Just Primary
School at Carn Euny
A pupil’s artwork badge
Images courtesy of A Cornish Eye
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Seminar at Penryn Campus on 11 June.
Phil Hosken of the Trevithick Society and Garry
Tregidga discussed an exciting new project
exploring maritime links between Cornwall and
South Wales involving both documentary
research in local archive centres and oral
history interviews.
Sarah Jane, Archivist and Special Collections Officer at Falmouth and Exeter Universities talked
about her role and the variety of material held in the Cornish Collections in the library at Penryn
Campus. This includes over 13,000 images by Cornish photographer Charles Woolf, capturing
everyday life and communities.
Deborah Tritton of the Cornwall Record Office also joined the group to talk about plans for the
new Kresen Kernow archive centre due to be opened in Redruth in 2017.
Although the maritime link dates back at least to the eighteenth century, it is fascinating that
stories relating to connections between the two regions have been passed down through certain
families and the project hopes to record this rich source for the Cornish Audio Visual Archive.
To find out more about how to join the Cornish Research Group or to become an Associate member
of the Institute of Cornish Studies, please go to:
http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/history/research/centres/ics/associatescheme/
Or for more information please email: cornishstudies@exeter.ac.uk

6. The aim of the series is to provide some practical guidance in regard to how you go about
discovering the location and dating of photographs, for example studio portraits from the Victorian
and Edwardian periods, or images from the arrival of cheap mass produced cameras and the rise of
'popular photography' in the inter-war period. Finally it will consider the way in which the history of
photography itself can provide insights into your own family photographs.
Unpacking your Memories; Looking at Family Photographs
In future editions of the ICS
newsletter, historian Bob Keys will be
running a short series on the evolving
role of the family photograph and its
significance in researching and
analysing family histories over the last
one hundred and fifty years. The
family album has played an important
role as an adjunct to memory, both in
remembering and in celebrating
individual family members and is
often linked directly to narratives of
the family and the recording of
special events, which have been
passed down the generations.
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photography itself can provide insights into your own family photographs.
Portrait photography of individuals and family groups often provided the bulk of the output of the
early studio photographers and here posture, fashions in dress and even studio props and bric a brac
can help date a photograph, while the back of each 'carte de visite' usually provides vital information
about the original location of the photograph. In the case of those who had migrated from Cornwall
in search of work or a better life, these include 'photos home' from Australia, South Africa, or the
USA, even more exotically from Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America. While photographs sent
home in time of war and military service are another genre often linked to the most poignant and in
some cases tragic events for particular families. Postcard/photographs are a specific sub-genre that
became popular in the context of the growth of mass tourism, while photographs of the world of
work, the industrial landscape and the labour of ordinary people are much rarer in the family album,
despite the rise and popularity of photo-journalism, reflected in magazines such as Life and Picture
Post.
The series will try and provide useful information on internet links to more specialised sites and
archives for those interested in following up the complex relationship between, photography and
family history. More importantly it will conclude by considering the way in which the photographic
'visual image' helps to 'fix' and both condense and displace the world of appearances into
'recognisable' individual and community identities caught at a moment in time.
If you have any comments or recognise people or places in the photographs we will being using,
we’d love to hear from you.

7. The Cornish World/
An Bys Kernewek
3rd
Annual Conference of the Institute of Cornish Studies
24th
/25th
October
2014
Penryn Campus,
Tremough
The third annual conference of the Institute of Cornish Studies focuses on the
theme of Cornwall’s global connections. Topics to be discussed include the
history and contemporary culture of the Cornish overseas, comparative studies
of the other Celtic nations with a particular emphasis on Brittany, cultural and
economic links with communities around the world, global achievements of
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For further details and to reserve a place at the conference contact Institute of Cornish Studies,
economic links with communities around the world, global achievements of
individuals with Cornish connections, the impact of global factors on Cornwall
like world war, economic depression and environmental change, and theoretical
perspectives including the relationship of Cornish Studies to wider disciplines.
If you are interested in giving a presentation of your work at the conference
please send an abstract of about 200 words to cornishstudies@exeter.ac.uk by
30th
July 2014. Talks will be roughly 20 minutes with up to 10 minutes for
discussion. The conference will also include a themed research strand on
Cornwall’s relationship with Brittany with the support of the CRBC (Centre de
Recherche Bretonne et Celtique) and BMA (Bretagne Monde Anglophone).
Conference organisers would also like to hear from community heritage
organisations in Cornwall who would like to promote their activities and from
Cornish groups overseas who might be interested in being involved via Skype
and in organising any related events.
For further details and to reserve a place at the conference contact Institute of Cornish Studies,
College of Humanities, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE
Email: cornishstudies@exeter.ac.uk Tel: 01326 371 888