Old London Bridge must have been an amazing place to see, if the etching below is anything to go by. Buildings, three or four storeys high, crowded, noisy and probably smelly and dirty too! What kind of people lived there? Shooting through the gaps in the bridge on a boat must have been quite an adventure. I read somewhere (oops, forgot my source citation!) that the watermen who navigated around the bridge had to be highly skilled to manage this feat.
There is still a London Bridge, but it is an entirely different bridge now – an ugly 1970s structure. Near the bridge, on the southern bank of the Thames, is Southwark, which was the home of my paternal Cook family.
Southwark has a long and complex history, but some of the more famous associations include Charles Dickens (1812-1870), who featured many Southwark locations in his novels; the feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797), whose daughter Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein; and one of my favourite authors when I was a child, Enid Blyton (1897-1968).
London Bridge and Southwark Cathedral
Old London Bridge, with Southwark Cathedral in the foreground, engraving by Claes Van Visscher, 1616 (Public Domain, Wikipedia)
Southwark Cathedral started out as an Augustinian priory in 1106 and was known as the priory of Saint Mary Overy. It became a parish church in the 1500s and was renamed St Saviour’s. We almost lost it when the old London Bridge was being demolished, but fortunately it was restored instead. It became Southwark Cathedral in 1905.[1]
Exterior of Southwark Cathedral
My paternal 3x great grandfather, Charles Cook (the father of Emma, see above), was baptised in this church in 1791. His parents Charles and Susanna were married there in 1788, and Susanna was baptised there in 1768. Unfortunately her parents are not named in the baptismal record so I have not been able to trace her line back. I think this is the only baptism I have ever seen where neither parent is listed. Very frustrating! There are many memorial slabs from that timeframe in the floor of the church and I inspected as many as I could, but unfortunately I found no reference to anyone with the surname Cook.
Example of a memorial in the floor of the Southwark Cathedral
Rare wooden carving of a knight
Shakespeare memorial
St George the Martyr Church
Charles (3x great grandfather, mentioned above) was buried in St George the Martyr Church in 1846. The burial grounds closed for burials in the 1850s and became a garden in 1882. Land on both sides of the church is now road, so I was unable to find any sign of his grave.
St George the Martyr Church
Borough Markets and the Tate Modern
According to Britannica, Southwark was a market town from early Saxon times, due to its location at a junction of roads and the approach to London. It is where the Romans built a bridge over the Thames. There are still markets there, the famous Borough Markets, and this is where I had lunch. Seems everyone else had that idea too – it was extremely crowded.
Tate Modern was less crowded, but there was still a queue to get in! I won’t post much of the art, as the artists might object.
Exhibition by the Guerilla Girls about gender-based discrimination in museums and galleries
Sources
Anon, ‘Our History‘, Southwark Cathedral, accessed 16 April 2024.
Anon, ‘Old Southwark‘, Britannica, accessed 4 May 2024
I have really been looking forward to visiting Twickenham. It’s not your typical tourist destination, but a family historian is not your typical tourist! The only thing of interest that tourism websites can suggest is a visit to the football stadium! No thanks. I am here for the watermen.
The Thames was ‘the highway along which all the traffic of London passed… hundreds of watermen with their boats for hire, the water continually in motion with their labouring oars’[1] p104
Twickenham was the home of my father’s Redknap family before they moved to Lower Mall, Hammersmith. My direct ancestors were in Twickenham from about 1650 to the 1790s, though the extended family seems to have been there longer as there was a baptism in 1816 (see below).
Twickenham is a suburban district of London, in the west, just past Richmond. It lies on the River Thames, close to where the river becomes tidal. Historically, it was part of Middlesex and since 1965 has been part the London Borough of Richmond Upon Thames.
The Thames at Twickenham (Lautrec, 2024)
A little bit about Twickenham
Twickenham formed part of a grant of land from the King of Essex to the Bishop of London in 704. It passed through many hands until it became part of the manor of Isleworth in 1086, owned by Walter of St Valery. He also owned Hampton. Manors were a form of landed estates that had their origins in the Middle Ages. They had dependent tenants living on the land of the manor and working the land, with others living in villages on freehold land. At the time my family were residing in Twickenham, there were 13 free tenants and 36 copyholders. [2] I do not know which category my family were, but they worked as watermen so is likely that they lived in the village on the waterfront.
Extract from map of Southwest London by John Rocque, published 1746 [2]
Twickenham local museum
I scheduled my visit to Twickenham to coincide with a day and time that the local museum would be open. It is run by volunteers, who also maintain a great website with heaps of information about the history of the local area. The building that holds the museum was once home to a family of watermen and is believed to have been standing there when my family lived in the village!
Twickenham local museum (Lautrec, 2024)
Royal watermen
It was while the Redknap family were living in Twickenham that some of them became royal watermen.
Royal watermen served the needs of the royal family, transporting them between their riverside residences. Presumably, those based in Twickenham served Hampton Court Palace. A book about the Thames watermen refers to a list of the King’s servants in 1641 that says there were forty-four watermen serving the King and another list that says there were twenty five serving the Queen in 1662. This book also states that the royal watermen worked on barges, which makes sense as I cannot imagine a royal sitting in the standard waterman’s rowing boat![4] They probably continued to use their standard rowing boat when their services were not required by the royals.
A waterman’s uniform in the local museum (Lautrec, 2024)
Emblem on the waterman’s shoulder (Lautrec, 2024)
I know that my seven times great grandfather John Redknap and his son Enos were both royal watermen, but there may have been more. Enos was apprenticed to John in 1715. As with many professions at the time, a man was required to spend a specified period of time apprenticed to a qualified waterman before qualifying. From 1603, that period was seven years. Watermen’s sons could begin at age sixteen, though that rule seems to be a bit flexible as Enos was only fifteen in 1715. [4]
Perhaps this is a royal barge? Extracted from an etching of Twickenham by John Boydell 1753 (public domain, on the British Library Flickr account)
Famous connections
I am not interested in famous people merely because they are famous. However, the FFANs principle encourages us to look at sources of people related to, or associated with, our families because those sources can sometimes provide an insight into our family history. [5] The benefit of looking at famous people is that they tend to have more sources created about them and more of such sources are preserved for the future. I doubt that my family, poor watermen, were family, friends or associates of anyone famous or rich, but they were neighbours. And sure enough, researching some of these people did provide me with some awesome material.
Alexander Pope was a prominent English poet of the early 18th century. He moved to a villa in Twickenham in 1719, so he was a contemporary of my Redknap family. Known as the Bard of Twickenham, examples of his work are available on the Internet Archive. His villa was demolished in 1808. Some of the grotto remains, but I chose not to visit. Many images of Pope’s villa survive and, since it was located on the river, these images often depict watermen. Maybe one of these men was a relative of mine?
Pope’s Villa, Twickenham, showing boats on the river, by Pieter Rysbrack 1735 (Public Domain)
Thomas Twining (1675-1741) was another famous resident of Twickenham who was a contemporary of my family. As an avid tea enthusiast, this connection pleases me, though sources about him have not provided me with any information relevant to my family (yet!). His house (Dial House) still stands, next door to St Mary’s church. It was owned by the family until 1889 and is now used as the official residence and office of the Bishop of Kensington.[6]
Dial House, once the home of Thomas Twining (Lautrec, 2024)
The museum has the Twinings family tree on display (Lautrec, 2024)
And a memorial tin of tea! (Lautrec, 2024)
St Mary’s Church
The local parish church is on Church Street, of course. Like many old English churches, the current building contains parts dating from different periods. Some date back before the medieval period, with a tower from the 15th century. The church was rebuilt in 1713-14 and enlarged in 1754. The museum’s website states that the earliest recorded incumbent was 12 November 1332, but there was likely an earlier building before that.[7]
St Mary’s Church, Twickenham (Lautrec, 2024)
I was lucky – a group of volunteers were in the church preparing a floral display and they let me inside for a look, and we chatted about the area and my family history.
The oldest part of the church is the tower, which dates from Saxon times (Lautrec, 2024)
Memorial inside St Mary’s Church, Twickenham (Lautrec, 2024)
Plaque to Alexander Pope inside St Mary’s Church, Twickenham (Lautrec, 2024)
Plaque to Thomas Twining on an outside wall, St Mary’s Church, Twickenham (Lautrec, 2024)
Both Alexander Pope and Thomas Twining are buried under a slab in the church.
My family is also buried there, but not in the church and, of course, I could not find any of their headstones (if they ever had any). The earliest burial record that I have found is my eight times great grandfather Peter Redknap, who died in 1697, and his wife Elizabeth who died in 1703. The most recent was my five times great grandmother Susanna Redknap (nee Coleman), who died in 1795. Family members were also baptised there. Peter and Elizabeth’s son, William, was the earliest recorded, in 1651. The most recent was my three times great grandfather, in 1816, though his older siblings were baptised in Kingston Upon Thames.
Headstones lining the wall, St Mary’s Church Twickenham (Lautrec, 2024)
Key locations in Twickenham (Lautrec, 2024)
I did not get a chance to take a boat trip along the Thames, so instead, I walked along the river from Twickenham to Richmond. It was a really lovely walk, so here are a few pictures.
Thames riverfront, near Richmond (Lautrec, 2024)
Marble Hill, built between 1724 and 1729 as the home of Henrietta Howard, Countess of Suffolk (Lautrec, 2024)
Sources
Ackroyd, Peter, Thames. Sacred River, Vintage Books, London, 2008
Anon, ‘Twickenham: Manors‘, British History Online, accessed 2 March 2024
It is difficult to know what to say about my visit to the Roman Baths, as they are so iconic and much represented in websites all over the internet. I spent almost two hours there. The free audio tour was really well done and provided a lot of interesting information. I found the dark lighting quite frustrating, it is almost as if they want to discourage people taking photographs, but I did manage quite a lot. Not all worked well, though.
Entrance to the Roman Baths
View of the main baths from terrace. This area was not open during Roman times, as it had a huge domed roof.
Even with the audio tour descriptions, I found it very difficult to imagine what the baths looked like in Roman times, as much of the structures that remain date from much later, during the Georgian spa town era.
Bust from a tombstone
Another carving from a tombstone
Pulteney Bridge
Bath is situated on the River Avon and across that river runs Pulteney Bridge. Some might wax lyrical about the architecture, but as a genealogist my first thought was, who was it named after?
The bridge was constructed in 1774 to connect the city with the land owned by the Pulteney family, where they created a town called Bathwick. Unusual perhaps, is that the key players were women. The bridge is named for Frances Pulteney (1725-1782) because she inherited the estates of her first cousin once removed, the Earl of Bath. Her husband, William Johnstone, took her surname! Her daughter, Henrietta Laura Pulteney (1766-1808), is also memorialised in street names.
Postcard of Pulteney Bridge dating between 1903-1959, by Charles E. Flower (public domain, Internet Archive)
Okay, the architecture is great too. It is a rare example of a bridge with shops along it. So, of course, I had to stop for lunch at one of the cafes. The buildings are very narrow!
My photo of Pulteney Bridge
Narrow bridge cafe for lunch
Weir on River Avon, near Pulteney Bridge
Lovely walk along the River Avon
Sources
Anon, ‘Pulteney Bridge‘, Wikipedia. Annoyingly, Frances does not have a Wikipedia entry, though her father does, as he was an MP. Her Wikitree entry was also particularly sparse, but I have rectified that somewhat.
In 1915, a man called Cecil Chubb bought Stonehenge for £6,600. It reminds me of that old joke, ‘if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you’, but in this case he really did obtain it legally. Was the site was not considered significant enough to be owned by the government? It was excavated in 1620 by the Duke of Buckingham, so there was at least curiosity by some.[1] Perhaps they could not afford to purchase it, after all, England does have a lot of historic and archaeological sites. Lucky for them, and for us, Chubb donated it to the nation in 1918. Restoration work and investigations began soon afterwards.
Well, restoration as it was envisaged in that time period. I doubt the works conducted then would still be regarded as appropriate. Stones were straightened and some were set in concrete. Further works were conducted in the 1950s and 60s, and then more in 2021 to undo the damage they caused. [2]
I do not mean to sound critical. My point is to demonstrate that the way that we value the past and relics of the past changes over time, as does our knowledge. To further reinforce this point, the Government has now approved plans to replace part of the major road running through the site with a tunnel, to reduce the impact on the heritage values.[3]
The use and meaning of places also change over time, and Stonehenge has been around a very long time. Stonehenge was constructed in stages, over hundreds of years. Which means that different parts were constructed by different people and, presumably, for different reasons.
The earliest parts of Stonehenge are the blue stones, which were brought from the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, Wales. The larger stones, known as sarsens, were added about 500 years later and came from a more local quarry.
‘“This demonstrates how early farmers, settled in what is now Wiltshire, had a strong connection to their ancestral lands in Wales and needed to reinforce those connections through the movement and building of a great megalithic monument.”’ [4]
It is impossible to determine why Stonehenge was built, but there are many theories. The information on which the theories are built is improving with each archaeological and historical investigation, but consensus has not yet been reached. This is understandable, as history is formed from our understanding and interpretation of events in the past. It is an important lesson to keep in mind for all historical research, including genealogy.
About Stonehenge
Stonehenge is one of the most well-known monument sites in Britain, perhaps the world. However, by ‘well-known’ I mean people have heard of it and recognise photos of it. I expect that many do not actually ‘know’ a lot about it. So, here is a quick summary.
A view of Stonehenge in 1723, by William Stukeley [6] (Public Domain). Note all the fallen and leaning stones.
Stonehenge is on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. It is believed to have been constructed about 4-5000 years ago, in the Neolithic period. Which means it pre-dates the Roman occupation and the Druids. So, no, it was not built by the Druids, though they appear to have used it. [5]
‘In the popular imagination, Stonehenge and Druidism now go together like tea and crumpets. Historically, Stonehenge, a product of Neolithic Britain, predates Caesar by thousands of years. It had nothing to do with Druids and certainly nothing to do with modern Druidism.’[7]
Reconstruction of the village where the builders of Stonehenge are believed to have lived
Avebury
Avebury is about 24 kilometres from Stonehenge, but it is part of the same World Heritage Area. Avebury is also a Neolithic henge monument and is actually larger than Stonehenge. It is believed to have been built between 2850 BC and 2200 BC. ‘the henge survives as a huge circular bank and ditch, encircling an area that includes part of Avebury village. Within the henge is the largest stone circle in Britain – originally of about 100 stones’ [8]
The ditch
A view of Avebury in 1723, by William Stukeley [6] (Public Domain)
It is important to consider any historical object, event or piece of information in context. Stonehenge and Avebury are no different.
‘Stonehenge is the most architecturally sophisticated prehistoric stone circle in the world, while Avebury is the largest. Together with inter-related monuments, and their associated landscapes, they demonstrate Neolithic and Bronze Age ceremonial and mortuary practices resulting from around 2000 years of continuous use and monument building between circa 3700 and 1600 BC. As such they represent a unique embodiment of our collective heritage.’ [9]
I visited these two sites on a day tour from Bath with Mad Max Tours. It was a really fantastic tour! We also visited two beautiful villages in the Cotswolds. I’ll post some of those photos on Facebook and Instagram.
William Stukeley, antiquarian, is blamed for the druid story, see Ashworth, William, ‘Scientist of the day – William Stukeley‘, Linda Hall Library, March 2016. Despite his misguided beliefs, his investigations into Stonehenge and Avebury did provide some useful information and the sketches in this post
Stukeley, William, Stonehenge. A temple Restor’d to the Druids, London, 1740; and Stukeley, William, Abury, A Temple of the British Druids, London 1723.
As soon as I saw how close St Michael’s Mount was to my accommodation, I just had to visit! As you can see from the pictures, it is a very steep ascent to the top and the official website warned that it is not an easy climb. Despite my bad knees and asthma, I was determined, so I actually trained for a couple of months to make sure my body was capable of managing the climb. And it was worth it!
St Michael’s Mount is a tidal island in Mount’s Bay, off the coast of Marazion, Cornwall. It contains a castle, a village and remains of monastic buildings dating back to the 12th century. It is owned and managed by the National Trust.
It was low tide when I arrived, so I walked across the causeway
Historically, St Michael’s was part of the parish of St Hilary, which is where my maternal Matthews family line is from (Lydia’s father’s line). In 1820, at the time my family was there, John Thomas published a book about Mount’s Bay. His response to St Michael’s provides an insight into how my family may have envisaged it.
‘This sublime spectacle … is one of those rare and singular objects which impress the mind with sensations of veneration, pleasure, and astonishment, the instant it is seen. Even a distant view of St. Michael’s Mount excites ideas of solemn grandeur; but the effect is considerably heightened, when the spectator gradually ascends its craggy sides, and slowly winds his way to their summit, among pendant rocks and awful precipices, from which he looks down on diminishing objects below, and catches the fire of enthusiasm, from a recollection of departed ages, and from a vast expanse of sea and land that becomes instantly exposed to his view.’ [1]
St Michael’s Mount, from The History of Mount’s Bay, Thomas, 1820 [1] (Public Domain)
I spied this metal structure near the entrance. The date on it is 1793.
The gardens were not open, but I managed this photo from the parapets
History
It is difficult to gain a decent understanding of the history of St Michael’s when limited to online sources, as most of them seem to regurgitate the same sensationalised mix of information and legend aimed at entrancing tourists. As a historian and genealogist, I have found it quite frustrating.
There does appear to be agreement that the island was given to the Benedictine order of Mont-Saint-Michel, in return for their support of William the Conqueror in his claim to the English throne. This association explains the similarities between the island and the more famous Mont St Michel in Normandy, France. There is speculation that the island may have been the site of a monastery from the 8th to early 11th centuries. Wikipedia refers to evidence from archaeological investigations of occupation during the Neolithic and a cliff castle dated to the 1st millenium BC, so perhaps that report contains some reliable evidence about the early monastery.[2] Unfortunately, I have not been able to view the archaeological reports myself. As an ex-archaeologist, I would be interested to read them, so it is on my To Do list!
Weapons on display in St MIchael’s Mount
Would love to have so many family lockets!
Mythology
In family history, it is not uncommon for family stories to be passed from family member to family member, with misinterpretations, embellishments and alterations along the way. If we, as researchers, fail to investigate the details of the stories, their origins and sources, we can inadvertently repeat erroneous stories and perpetuate the myths.
Other forms of history are not immune to this problem. Much of the hype about St Michael’s Mount centres around stories about the archangel Michael appearing on the Mount. It appears, for example, on the National Trust’s website for the Mount and in the book by Thomas I referred to earlier. [1] Another blogger has debunked this story and his argument seems reasonable, though I have not verified it myself. [3] It demonstrates why just citing sources is not sufficient. You also need to analyse the evidence and strength of the conclusions.
The family of St Michael’s
The island has been home to the St Aubyn family since 1659, when it was purchased by John St Aubyn, who had been military governor of the island’s garrison. His son, also called John, was created 1st Baron of St Aubyn and Clowance in 1671, and was the Member of Parliament for St Michael between 1679 and 1681, though he is reported as living at Clowance, not on St Michael’s Mount. [4]
His descendants did live there and made many alterations to the buildings and structures. The family gave the Mount to the National Trust in 1954 but they continue live there, under lease.
Just a few of the many beautiful windows
Nice place to read!
Military role
I am not into military history, but it is difficult to ignore the fortifications and cannons on the island. I thought it strange that most of the cannons appear to be aimed at the town of Penzance, rather than out into the ocean, but there must be a good reason.
Cannons aimed at Penzance
Painting appears to be of the attack by the Spanish Armada, painter unknown
In 1588, the first beacon was lit on St Michael’s Mount to warn of the arrival of the Spanish Armada – seven years later, the Spanish returned and burned most of Penzance, Newlyn, Mousehole and Paul. Marazion and the Mount escaped unscathed from the invasion. [1]
The tide was in when it was time to return to the mainland, so I had to catch a boat. It was definitely a great day out!
Sources and more information
Thomas, John, The History of Mount’s Bay, comprising Saint Michael’s Mount, Marazion, Penzance, Newlyn, Mousehole, etc, Penzance, 1820.
Herring, Peter, St Michael’s Mount Archaeological Works, 1995-8. Truro: Cornwall Archaeological Unit, 2000, cited in ‘St Michael’s Mount‘, Wikipedia
If you have been following my travel posts you will have noticed by now that I love museums and art galleries. So, of course, I had to visit Penlee House while in Penzance as it has both.
You may be wondering what Penlee House has to do with the Bronte family and if you read their website you would be no wiser about the connection, as they do not mention it. I read on some other websites that the mother and aunt of the Bronte sisters, Maria and Elizabeth Branwell, lived on Chapel Street and one mentioned that they came from a successful Penzance family of merchants. [1] Penlee House was built in 1864 for ‘the wealthy Penzance miller and merchant, John Richards Branwell’. So of course, the genealogist in me immediately asked, can I find a connection between these families?
But first, a bit about Penlee House and its collections.
Penlee House is located in Penlee Park, a short walk from my accommodation. It was bought for the town in 1946 as a War Memorial, and to house historic and art collections. The original museum dates back to 1839 and its focus was, like many of that time, natural history and ‘antiquities’. It still houses exhibitions about Cornwall’s past, including archaeological discoveries and the history of mining. It also hosts art exhibitions featuring local artists and artists from the Newlyn School of art. Newlyn is the next town along from Penzance and the Newlyn School was a colony of artists that were resident there in the late 1880s.
Newlyn Bridge, by Harold Harvey
Collecting seaweed for farming, Mount’s Bay (Photographer unknown)
The Bronte connection
So, back to the Bronte sisters and the Branwell families.
I researched John Richards Branwell, the original owner of Penlee House. I added him to Wikitree, then extended his family back in time. I got a wonderful surprise then, as Wikitree informed me that he was related to me! Fourth cousin five times removed, but that kind of distance does not bother us genealogists! It turns out that his grandmother was Anne Pollard and the mother of my Cornwall convict (Lydia Matthews) was also a Pollard.
Maria Branwell was born in Penzance in 1783, to Thomas Branwell and Anne Carne. [2] It was a little tricky finding the connection as the Branwells were not terribly imaginative with their sons’ names, so there were a lot of Richards, Roberts and Johns, and I had to correctly allocate each to the right family. Eventually, though, I made the connection. John Richards Branwell, owner of Penlee House, was the second cousin once removed of the Bronte sisters.
Almost two hundred years ago, a young dairy maid from Madron was convicted for stealing a shirt valued at 3 shillings. If it were not for this act, I would not be here today.
My great great great grandmother, Lydia Matthews, was baptised in Madron in 1813. Her parents were Charles Matthews and Jenifer Pollard. Lydia was their youngest child and the only one to be baptised in Madron, as the others were all baptised in Charles’ home town, St Hilary.
Lydia’s mother’s line is associated with Madron for many generations. The earliest record that I have found is the baptism in 1646 of my eight times great grandfather, Jehu Pollard. Her father died in 1823 and her mother in 1824. Losing both parents at an early age no doubt had a big impact on Lydia and may account for her crime.
At age 15, Lydia was convicted at Devon Quarter Sessions and sentenced to seven years transportation as a convict. She arrived in Australia in 1829 on the ship Sovereign. Two years later she was charged for her involvement in a riot in the Parramatta Female Factory and sentenced to three years in Newcastle Gaol. While in Newcastle she met her first husband, John Shaw, and they married in 1832. He died in 1841 and she then married Robert Webb in 1844. I have not yet been able to determine whether I am descended from John or Robert (or another unidentified man!). [1]
A little bit about Madron
Madron is a parish and village in the county of Cornwall, just 15 minutes north of Penzance.
A text written in 1730, Hals’ History of Cornwall, recounts a story about the origin of the name, Madern: ‘Galfridus Monmouthensis tells us in his Chronicle that one Madan was a British King in these Parts before Julius Cæsar landed in Britain, and probably that he lived or died here, in memory of whom this parish is called Madran, now Maddarne.’
Madron was record in the Domesday Book, within the manor of Alverton. Like Hampton, this church was once under the control of the Knights Hospitallers of Jerusalem.
Madron Parish Church
Madron is named after Saint Madern’s Church, which used to be the mother church of the Penzance region. It is unclear if Saint Madern and King Madan were the same person, or if it is just a matter of two different origin stories.
(Lautrec, 2024)
The whole timing of my trip to Cornwall was based around visiting this church, as it is only open to visitors for at this time of year for one hour each Friday. The bus from Penzance only goes to Madron once an hour and I was unclear about where it would stop and if I could get back again, so instead I used a local taxi. Very pleasant and helpful driver, even came and picked me up again after I had finished!
The church is a grade 1 Listed building (the highest level of protection) and was consecrated in 1336. I am still having trouble getting my head around buildings this old, as Australia’s oldest building dates to 1793 (Elizabeth Farm in Parramatta).
13th century section of Madron Parish Church (Lautrec, 2024)
Carved pews in the 13th century section of Madron Parish Church (Lautrec, 2024)
I was made to feel very welcome by the staff and volunteers at the church, a few of whom stopped to chat to me about the church and my family connections.
Gorgeous stained glass windows inside Madron Parish Church (Lautrec, 2024)
The graveyard no longer accepts burials and is maintained by the County Council and volunteers. I know of 8-10 family members buried there, but I had no expectations of finding their gravestones. I was right. Of the visible headstones, the earliest dated from about the mid 1800s, so mine are probably somewhere below them.
I did find one headstone with the family name, Pollard, but I will need to do some research to determine how I am connected to them.
Grave of Joseph Pollard, died 1871 and wife Ann, died 1875 (Lautrec, 2024)
Lydia’s mother Jennifer Matthews (nee Pollard), d1824
Jennifer’s parents, John Pollard d1775 and Lydia Nekerwis d1813
John’s parents, Christopher Pollard d1770 and Mary Ellis d1764
John’s grandparents, John Pollard d1739 and perhaps wife Ann
John’s great grandparents, Jehu Pollard d1709 and perhaps wife Joan
Jehu’s parents, John Pollard d1658 and perhaps wife Mary
St Just in Penwith
Lydia’s maternal grandmother was Lydia Nekerwis (aka Nankerwis), from St Just in Penwith. St Just is a town and parish, west of Penzance. My helpful taxi driver took me from Madron to St Just, waited while I explored for a bit, then took me back to Penzance.
Beautiful vistas on the road to St Just (Lautrec, 2024)
The St Just Parish church is dedicated to St Just. I was unable to find any information about the identity of Saint Just. There was a medieval church on the site, but current one dates from the 15th century. The external design is almost identical to the church in Madron.
Unfortunately, the church was not open, so I had to content myself with the exterior and the graveyards.
Parents: Christopher Nekerwis, baptised 1712 died 1742 married 1737 to Martha (nee Reynolds) baptised 1717, died 1789
Grandfathers: Charles Ankerwis, baptised 1680 died 1736 married 1703 to Jane Edwards; James Reynolds baptised 1689 died 1747 (burial not found)
Great grandfather: John Ankerwis, baptised 1651 died 1727 married 1679 to wife Joan William, died 1725 (need burial records)
2x great grandfather: Henry Ankerwis baptised 1822, died 1696 (need records) married Elizabeth Philips in 1649
3x great grandfather: John Nankervis, unconfirmed 1585-1630, married Mary about 1610
Headstone, St Just Parish Church yard (Lautrec, 2024)
Down an almost hidden pathway labelled Old Churchyard, lie more burials behind St Just Parish Church (Lautrec, 2024)
Wikitree game of connections
The only key people in this location are on my direct line, so I have not listed my connections. However, if you want to see how you are connected to them you can check these on Wikitree:
Penzance is known to many because of the Gilbert and Sullivan opera, the Pirates of Penzance. I googled Cornish pirates to see if I could find out the extent of any historical basis to the story and was annoyed to find that the top search results were all for a rugby union team. Google’s AI also provided answers to unimportant and perhaps offensive questions that I did not ask, such as, ‘Why do Cornish people sound like pirates?’
Digging deeper, I found the website of the Penwith Local History Group, which provides more useful information. It says that Penzance and other towns along the coast were raided by pirates from North Africa for about 200 years. Penzance also suffered incursions from Spain and Turkey, and it has a history of smuggling.[1] I am planning to spend Saturday in the local library and archives, so I look forward to exploring Penzance’s history in more depth.
‘This town originally rose from a few fishermen settling near the present quay, and building for themselves a chapel dedicated to St. Anthony, that universal patron of fishermen … Thus begun, the town extended up the side of the hill, from the site of the pier to the ground now occupied by the church. When it had acquired some degree of importance, a fort was built by one of the family of Tyes, in whose manor of Alwarton the town now stands.’[3]p40
Penzance is my base for the next four nights. It’s a popular tourist destination in Cornwall, but I chose it because it is central to many of the places that my Cornish families came from. My accommodation is the Longboat Inn. I wanted to get the English pub experience, so this is it!
Penzance, my accommodation and key locations (Lautrec, 2024)
Penzance is both a town and a parish, in the Penwith district of Cornwall. Most of the core part of the town and the harbour are within a conservation area, with some Georgian and Regency era buildings. One of the buildings that everyone seems to rave about is known as the Egyptian House, but I found some other interesting ones. I’ll post some here and then add more on Instagram over the next few days, and possibly update this post.
The Egyptian House, now a shop (Lautrec, 2024)
The Old Lifeboat House, Mount’s Bay, Penzance (Lautrec, 2024)
Admiral Benbow Inn (Lautrec, 2024)
Nelson appears almost everywhere I go! Union Hotel, Penzance (Lautrec, 2024)
Penzance is the terminus of the railway line that brought me here. The station opened in 1852, the current pier on the harbour opened in 1853 but Thomas’ history of Mount’s Bay refers to an earlier pier built 47 years before his book, which would mean a date of 1773.[3] The lighthouse was built in 1855. The coming of the railway must have had a big impact on the area.
Wall engraved with the date of 1839 (Lautrec, 2024)
Lighthouse, Mounts Bay, with St Michaels Mount in the background (Lautrec, 2024)
My impression of Penzance is far is that it tolerates rather than embraces tourists. Almost everyone who got off the train with me headed straight to the Visitor Information Centre, only to find it closed. After checking in to my accommodation, I spent ages trying to find a way down to the water and just kept being blocked by concrete or stone walls. I did finally find a place, photo below. Then for dinner I thought I would grab a pastie or fish and chips and sit near the water. Almost all the shops closed at 5, though I did finally find a bakery that stayed open a bit later, I had to sit on a bench outside to eat it.
Finally found my way down to the water. Beautiful! (Lautrec, 2024)
I have arrived in Cornwall, or Kernow, as the locals call it!
Cornwall is a county on the southwestern peninsula of England, with the English Channel to the south and the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west. My train trip took about five and a half hours, which tells you just how far it is from London! Although I am used to traveling great distances within Australia and still being in the same country, traveling to Cornwall almost feels like traveling to a different country.
Why did I choose to come to Cornwall? I do have family from here, but I also have family from at least half the counties in England, yet I chose Cornwall. I am not really sure why, I just feel drawn to the place.
A little bit about Cornwall
The Cornish people are recognised as a distinct ethnic group, with Celtic origins to the ancient Britons who inhabited the area before the Romans invaded. In Cornwall the sub-groups of the Britons were the Cornovii and the Dumnonii, in the kingdom of Dumnonia. There has been some genetic research that seems to support the Cornish claim to being distinct from the rest of England, though I have not yet had a chance to read it myself. Apparently, they have less Anglo-Saxon ancestry. Something for me to investigate after my holiday. [2 cited in Wikipedia]
The history of Cornwall is also quite distinct. One of the big differences is that the Roman conquest affected Cornwall less than the rest of the continent. However it was significantly impacted by the Norman conquest and repeated incursions from across the channel. [3]
I have barely scratched the surface in my reading about Cornwall, so I apologise for the brevity and any mistakes I may make in this post. I really enjoyed reading Daphne du Maurier’s book, Vanishing Cornwall. [1] You may recognise her name – I remember her as the author of the Gothic novel, Rebecca. She moved to Cornwall in the 1920s and many of her books, including Rebecca, are inspired by Cornish locations.[4]
‘Rocks and stones, hills and valleys, bear the imprint of men who long ago buried their dead beneath great chambered tombs and worshipped the earth goddess. Nowhere else in England do these symbols of eastern ritual stand, but here in Cornwall the tombs are with us still. Great slabs of granite, weather-pitted, worn, with another mighty slab, tip-tilted, to form a roof; these were the burial places of priests, perhaps of queens. Set in the high places, amidst scrub and gorse… they stand as memorials to a forgotten way of life’[1]p19
‘To stand beside them… The present vanishes, centuries dissolve, the mocking course of history with all its triumphs and defeats is blotted out. Here in the lichened stone is the essence of memory itself.’[1]p20
Thought I was imagining things when I saw this pyramid from the train, near St Austell. Google search says it is made from china clay waste (Lautrec, 2024)
Cornish & Australia connections
Cornwall was the birthplace of my maternal great great great grandmother, Lydia Matthews. I will write more about her in subsequent posts, as I explore the home towns of different lines of her family. You can read about how I finally identified Lydia, after about fifteen years of research, on my page containing stories of my Hend line.
Some West Cornwall locations (Lautrec, 2024)
Many Australians can claim Cornish ancestry. Large numbers emigrated to Australia, as well as North America and the Caribbean, probably as a result of the impact that the depletion of mineral deposits had on the mining industry. Wikipedia quotes a 1996 figure of 4.3 per cent of Australians with Cornish ancestry, but this is based on only recent ancestry. [2] As a genealogist who traces their ancestry back centuries, if we included more distant ancestry the figure would be much much higher.
There are strong links between Australia and Cornwall. South Australia usually claims the strongest links, but there are also links in New South Wales (NSW) and Tasmania. NSW has Padstow, a suburb not far from where I lived my first seven years and St Ives, a suburb where a line of my father’s family lived. Both are named after towns in Cornwall.[3] Tasmania has the Tamar River, named after the river that marks the boundary between Cornwall and the rest of England and it also has a town called Launceston (see below for the origins of that name). [4]
There are also a lot of famous Cornish people in Australian history. I do not want to create a long list of these, as Wikipedia already does this, but I will list a few for the purposes of my Wikitree connection game:
There were 21 Cornish convicts on the First Fleet, incl. James Ruse (born in Lawhitton near Launceston, Cornwall) and Mary Bryant.
Prime Ministers Robert Menzies and Bob Hawke had Cornish ancestry.
Philip Gidley King, the third governor of the early New South Wales Colony, was Cornish. He ordered the occupation of Van Diemens Land as a convict settlement and named Launceston after the town of his birth. Perhaps he was also responsible for naming the Tamar River, or that may have been from Sir George Arthur, Lieut. Governor of VDL 1823-1837, who had Cornish parents. [6]
Sources
I apologise for using so many Wikipedia articles as sources, but it is a quick way to gather information for blog posts and I do endeavour to track down other sources where necessary if I have time.
Du Maurier, Daphne, Vanishing Cornwall, V. Gollancz, 1981
Leslie, S., Winney, B., Hellenthal, G. et al. The fine-scale genetic structure of the British population. Nature 519, 309–314 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14230
Weather forecast predicted that the rain would clear by 10am, which was good timing, as I had arranged to catch up with my friend Ruth at that time. Stayed grey all day but we did not get rained upon, fortunately.
Not a lot of flowers out yet, but it was great to see such a variety of trees that are unfamiliar to me. Ruth even pointed out some holly (pun not intended!) – I have only ever seen the plastic or fabric variety 🙂
Kew Gardens, view towards the Palm House (Lautrec, 2024)
Holly bush (Lautrec, 2024)
Queen Charlotte”s Cottage (Lautrec, 2024)
Pagoda (Lautrec, 2024)
Near Kew Palace is a lovely old building, known as Queen Charlotte’s Cottage. It started life as the home of a menagerie keeper and was then converted for use by Charlotte and her husband King George III as a retreat. You can read more about the cottage and the family on the Kew Palace website.
Fun fact for my fellow Aussies, the cottage paddock housed the first kangaroos that were brought to England, in the 1790s.
A short bus trip (my first ever London double decker!) to Richmond to see the remains of Richmond Palace. As my father’s Redknap line were watermen, with at least two of them royal watermen, they probably picked up and dropped off passengers here!
Richmond Palace now luxury housing (Lautrec, 2024)
Steps to the river that my watermen may have used (Lautrec, 2024)
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