A lady from up-country has provided this photograph in the hope of finding out where the building is today. It is somewhere in Pensilva and was occupied by one of the lady's ancestors an Emma Smith BROOKS who was born in Callington in 1854. According to census records Emma moved to Pensilva from…

The following article written in 1984 is reproduced by kind permission of Yvonne Gilbert. Pensilva almost 40 years ago - Fool's Corner Do you know where it was? It will date you. Marsh's Garage occupied the former wet-suit factory; the modern showrooms and garage didn't exist. Instead there was a…

This mine lay astride the granite/killas junction to the east of Caradon Hill just north of Pensilva which at that time was called Bodminland. Glasgow Caradon's name was derived from the city in which many of its investors lived, a long way from the Cornish moors on which they had gambled their…

The following article written in 1984 is reproduced by kind permission of Yvonne Gilbert. Pensilva almost 40 years ago - Going to the Well Did you ever taste the water from the well in St. Ive Road? On the hottest summer day it was icy cold, and it had a delicious flavour better than any spring…

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 what is now Jubilee Farm and the family were a farmer called William Jory, his wife Martha and their three sons and three daughters. It is thought that Jubilee Farm…

On the 24th July 1919 Major GSS Strode of Newhnam Park, Plympton, Devon sold off by auction his family's holdings of land and buildings in the Middle Hill Area of Pensilva. A detailed catalogue was produced showing the location of all the Lots, a detailed description of them and a Summary of Lots…

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 of the mining boom on Caradon Hill but I cannot find out the exact date. I bought my house on 4th December 1972. It was very small having just a sitting room, small…

The census of 1841 records only two houses in Pensilva, a farmhouse (now called Jubilee Farm and situated on Jubilee Road) is the older of the two and was occupied by William Jory aged 46, a Farmer by occupation, his wife Martha aged 35, their three sons William, Thomas and Edward and their…

In 2006 Pensilva was given World Heritage status because of its uniqueness as a rapidly expanding Victorian industrial settlement much of which can still be seen today. Much work was done by Cornwall Council and its Historic Environment Service in preparation for the World Heritage status bid and…

The History Group was very pleased to receive these photos from Ian Titchner of Pensilva. He had spotted this unusual old postcard for sale on E-Bay and asked if there was actually ever a school in St Ive. The History Group are again indebted to Yvonne Gilbert for the following information:- There…

If you drive through the village of St Ive Cross, just before the single-track road begins a long, steady uphill climb, a small granite marker post on the right hand side of the roadway is carved with the words "Put on". The road continues to climb and joins the main A390 towards Callington then…

Dating back to the early Bronze Age (c2500-1500BC) the Rillaton Barrow (Grid reference SX260719) is the most famous burial cairn on Bodmin Moor. Prominent on Rillaton Common, it appears to be aligned with the Hurlers, 500m downslope to the SSW. It is a large barrow, perhaps 3 metres high , with a…

Although the use of the name 'Pensilva' does not appear till the 1891 census, and then only as Pensilva or Bodminland, it has managed to have two ships named after it. The first S.S. Pensilva, built by William Gray & Co. Ltd of West Hartlepool, was launched on the 10th March, 1913 and completed four…

South Caradon Mine lies about half a mile from the summit of Caradon Hill, on its southern slopes and in the Caradon Mining District of East Cornwall. The mine was one of the major copper producing mines in Cornwall with a total output of 217,820 tons of copper ore. It lies in sixth posiition behind…

Cornish currency has been issued in various forms since medieval times and possibly earlier. One early story tells that the Cornish people raised the money by popular subscription to pay a ransom for the release of the Duke of Cornwall, Richard the Lionheart, during the Crusades. The 15 Gold Bezants…

At the time of the Norman Conquest there was a farm in South East Cornwall with the Cornish name of "Trebighan", meaning 'Little Farm'. This farm was part of the estates of the Abbot of Tavistock and the tenant farmer was Oswulf. After William, Duke of Normandy, was crowned on Christmas Day 1066 he…

The following article written in 1984 is reproduced by kind permission of Yvonne Gilbert Pensilva almost 40 years ago - Going to the Cemetery. Did you have a grandma who could tell wonderful stories? Mine could, and, when we went to the cemetery with flowers, she told me tales about her dead…