Alfred Snowden
The following article was received by email from Michael Key on 9th January 2013: The following strange coincidence may be of…
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Archive
51 stories preserving local research, photographs, memories and records from Pensilva and St Ive.
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Childhood Memories of an Evacuee - Sunday Observance
A fascinating article, kindly sent to us by John Tinham. John lives in Farnborough, Kent which he tells us is now in the London…
Read story →Craddock Moor Mine
With an annual production of just over 2000 tons this was the smallest mine in the area that managed to yield dividends. The operation…
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Daniel Gumb
Daniel Gumb was the most celebrated character to live on the moors near Pensilva. He is best known for his home among the rocks at the…
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Do you recognise these cottages?
A lady from up country has provided this photograph in the hope of finding out where the building is today. It is somewhere in…
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Early Memories of an Evacuee
The following has kindly been sent by John Tinham who was evacuated to Pensilva during the war. John has lived in the village of…
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Emily Hobhouse
The following article, written by J.S. Wenmoth, appeared in the Parish Pump some twenty or so years ago. "A prophet is not without…
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Fool's Corner
The following article written in 1984 is reproduced by kind permission of Yvonne Gilbert. Pensilva almost 40 years ago Fool's Corner…
Read story →George Sidney Strode
The Strode family of Newnham Park, Plympton, Devon, were wealthy landowners owning land and property in Devon and Cornwall in the…
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Glasgow Caradon Mine
This mine lay astride the granite/killas junction to the east of Caradon Hill just north of Pensilva which at that time was called…
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Going to the Well
The following article written in 1984 is reproduced by kind permission of Yvonne Gilbert. Pensilva almost 40 years ago Going to the…
Read story →Gypsies in Pensilva
The following email has been received form Mrs Marie Bennett in Hertfordshire: My Mum worked in my Aunty Hilda's shop in Princess…
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Jubilee Farm
The census of 1841 shows just one house and one family living in Pensilva or 'Bodmonland' as it was called at that time. The house was…
Read story →Kelly's Directory 1883
The following information is extracted from Kelly's Directory of 1883. PENSILVA is a large village, two and a half miles north west of…
Read story →Local Ghost Story
The following article is reproduced by kind permission of Yvonne Gilbert: FOLK TALE OF THE GROVE As you stand beside the entrance to…
Read story →Memories of St Ive Village
The following memories of the village have kindly been provided by Dennis and Doreen Cardew of St Ive. Dennis Cardew Memories from…
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Middle Hill - Sale of Land and Buildings
On the 24th July 1919 Major GSS Strode of Newhnam Park, Plympton, Devon sold off by auction his family's holdings of land and…
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Mrs Marie Bennett
The following has been received from Mrs. Bennett who lives in Hertfordshire: I was born in Pensilva in 1935 at a farm called SILVER…
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My House in Middle Hill
I live in a cottage which is one of a small terrace in Lower Middle Hill, Pensilva. It was built, I believe around 1850 at the start…
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My Life as a Rural Doctor's Wife over 3 Decades
The following talk was given by Jane Mann to the Pensilva History Group on Wednesday 28th November 2012. The full content of Jane's…
Read story →Old Newspaper Clippings
We have been reprinting extracts from old newspapers on our Homepage and regularly replacing them with different articles. Many of…
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Old St Ive Postcard
This copy of a postcard was sent to us by Susan Maunder. The postcard was sent at 6.45pm on 30th May 1908 to Susan's Grandfather, Mr.…
Read story →PC Bill Lyle and Family of Pensilva
The following email has been received from Sally Perkins in Australia: Good evening, my family lived in Pensilva for a couple of…
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Pensilva - A Brief History
The census of 1841 records only two houses in Pensilva, a farmhouse (now called Jubilee Farm and situated on Jubilee Road) is the…
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Pensilva - World Heritage Site
In 2006 Pensilva was given World Heritage status because of its uniqueness as a rapidly expanding Victorian industrial settlement much…
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Pensilva and St Ive Schools
The History Group was very pleased to receive these photos from Ian Titchner of Pensilva. He had spotted this unusual old postcard for…
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Pensilva Coronation Day - 2nd June 1953
The following article has been written and researched by Sandra Pearson, Secretary of the Pensilva History Group. From The Cornish…
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Peter Skews
The distinguished looking gentleman sporting a long white beard and carrying a bell in his upraised right hand is a local character…
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Put On - Take Off Stones
If you drive through the village of St Ive Cross, just before the single track road begins a long, steady uphill climb, a small…
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Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee
The following article has been written and researched by Sandra Pearson, Secretary of the Pensilva History Group: Here is a flavour of…
Read story →Richard Kelly Hornabrook
The following email has been received from Patricia McCartney (nee Hornabrook): About a year ago I was searching the internet for…
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Rillaton Barrow and the Gold Cup
Dating back to the early Bronze Age (c2500 1500BC) the Rillaton Barrow (Grid reference SX260719) is the most famous burial cairn on…
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S.S. PENSILVA
Although the use of the name 'Pensilva' does not appear till the 1891 census, and then only as Pensilva or Bodminland, it has managed…
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South Caradon Mine
South Caradon Mine lies about half a mile from the summit of Caradon Hill, on its southern slopes and in the Caradon Mining District…
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Sunday School Outing 1973
This photograph and the following information had been kindly sent by Ruth Baker of Pensilva. Sunday School outing 1973 Pensilva,…
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The Cornish Penny
Cornish currency has been issued in various forms since medieval times and possibly earlier. One early story tells that the Cornish…
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The Davis Family
The above photograph has been kindly sent to us by Deborah Hodgson, the daughter of Marie Bennett. The photograph shows Daniel and…
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The Independent Order of Rechabites
The Independent Order of Rechabites was a Friendly and Temperance Society who took their name from a biblical tribe who were…
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The Northcott Family
This family history has been compiled and kindly sent to Pensilva History Group by Anne Jackson of Melbourne, Australia assisted by…
Read story →The Research Hub - Local and Family History
A new research 'hub' has been built in Liskeard to help local residents trace their family roots and research local history. The new…
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The Salvation Army
The photographs show the Salvation Army Hut in Lower Middle Hill in Pensilva. As well as the Salvation Army the hut has accommodated…
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The Story of Trebeigh at St Ive
At the time of the Norman Conquest there was a farm in South East Cornwall with the Cornish name of "Trebighan", meaning 'Little…
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The Tregilgas Family
The following email has been received from Janet Knowles: My maiden name was Janet Tregilgas born 19/02/1951 in Burnley, and I am the…
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Visiting the Cemetery
The following article written in 1984 is reproduced by kind permission of Yvonne Gilbert Pensilva almost 40 years ago Going to the…
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War Memorials in Pensilva and St Ive
World War One 1914 – 18 BROWNING, Herbert John 2nd South African Rifles 491 Died 1/05/1918 Age 45 [Mangochi Town Cemetery, Malawi.…
Read story →Wheal Ludcott Mine
Wheal Ludcott was located just south of the Liskeard to Callington road and was one of a group of lead mines on the eastern side of…
Read story →Wheal Wrey Mine
This mine amalgamated with the adjacent Wheal Ludcott in 1861 after Wheal Wrey's impending closure had threatened the flooding of…
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Wilkie Collins
In 1850 the renowned Victorian author Wilkie Collins visited our area with his artist friend Henry Brandling. In his aptly named book…
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William Bath
The following history of the Bath Family has been kindly provided by Professor Michael Jefferson. William Bath was originally a copper…
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William Pollard
William Pollard was born around 1776 in Menheniot. The 1856 Post Office Directory shows a William Pollard as "Farmer and Tax Collector…
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William West
William West was part of that generation of engineers who brought the performance of the Cornish engine to its peak. He was reputed to…
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