An archive now running to over 30,000 items accessible by subject, collection, location or by simply searching using the provided search tool. Includes photographs, film and sound recordings. Caution needed in using this collection as captions and details (eg photo orientation) are not always correct.
Includes abstracts of over 950 Cornish wills and admons, probate indices for Penwith parishes, abstracts of the Manor Court records of Ludgvan Lese, Cornish Court Deposition abstracts, the Gwithian Page and mini trees and outlines of various Penwith area families. Also includes a description of Cornish Probate Records available on film through the LDS Family History Centres. No longer updated but lots of useful info.
A searchable archive of mainly local British newspaper titles including most editions of the Cornishman, Cornish Telegraph, Cornish Times, Royal Cornwall Gazette, Sherborne Mercury, West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser. Although the scanning is sometimes imperfect – and searches will therefore often miss important items – the text can be exported into Word. You can subscribe for a fixed period, or pay as you go.
No longer maintained but a wealth of resources and references including some transcribed texts.
The place for info on bal maidens, includes the full text of The Royal Commission for Inquiring into the Employment and Condition of Children and Young Persons in the Mines of Cornwall and Devonshire, 1842 (Barham Report). Site owner Lynne Mayers has produced a series of books on bal maidens by mining district eg Bal Maidens of the St Just Peninsula.
There are lots of places to access online census data but this one has a killer attraction, it's free. Although it has a limited search facility and only covers 1841-1901 (the project came to an end in 2008) it still has many uses.
Specialises in books on Cornwall and Devon and has many electronic versions.
A growing online archive of photographs of Penzance and Penwith.
Alma Place, Redruth, TR15 2AT Tel: 01209 216760
See Kresen Kernow
Materials from this Collection are housed at Falmouth University, Penryn Campus, and can be viewed by appointment with us in Archives & Special Collections, Level 0, The Exchange. Make use of the online catalogue before your visit. Records of Camborne School of Mines, along with other relevant resources, are also deposited with Kresen Kernow in Redruth.
This is a search engine that provides some useful links
Email via website
Formed in 1981 as a forum for local historians in Cornwall and publishes both a newsletter and a journal twice a year. Also organises an annual conference and up to four full day visits each year. Website features a useful links directory.
Morrab Library, Morrab Gardens, Penzance, TR18 4DA tel: 01736 364474
Penzance subscription library established in 1818. Two hundred years of collection building has seen the gathering of some real treasures and resources of real value to local historians.
This is the personal website of Dr Lesley Trotter of St Day whose main area of research she describes as "The Cornish Wives Left Behind". The married women who were left in Cornwall when their menfolk left for overseas mining camps in their thousands, the women of the diaspora. Not so much an information source as an example of where local history may take you.
Holds a wide range of catalogued general material such as postcards, bills of sale, family trees, census data etc much of which has been digitised. There is also an art archive containing information and artefacts organised into galleries, modern art, arts and crafts and the Newlyn Artists.
Cornwall Record Office, Old County Hall, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 3AY Tel: 01782323127
See Kresen Kernow
Based at the Institute for Historical Research this is a digital library of key sources for the history of Britain and Ireland 1300-1800. Subscription required for full access but much of the collection is available and searchable free of charge.
Very active society of over 50 years standing which organises numerous events, regular digs and publishes an excellent annual journal.
Tel: 01872 264044
Runs a library in Truro and will carry out research on your behalf for a modest fee. Very small so you are advised to ring and make a booking before a visit.
Like many museums RCM is busily digitising its collection of old photographs and making it available online. Organised by broad topic with sub-categories by district where necessary. Includes quite a number of Penwith photographs and a good selection on mining themes. Includes the J.C. Burrow collection of underground photographs.
The website of Cornwall Council Historic Environment Service. Includes the Historic Environment Record, Access to Monuments (a guide to historic sites), Flying Past (aerial photography), Mining World heritage and the urban and industrial settlement surveys. Linked to the mapping service which can provide invaluable insights but needs a bit of persistence to come to to terms with it.
01326 560970
Focused on the history of St Hilary church and parish the centre houses a unique collection of Newlyn School paintings formed by a former vicar, Bernard Walke. The centre also houses a collection of Walke's plays together with information on local mining, emigration and dialect.
The Cornwall section of a country wide county by county survey of genealogy resources, parish structure and administration. An excellent reference point for genealogy and parish based research.
Tel: 01736 753962
The strength of this site is the collection of photographs of Hayle and its residents but don't overlook the fact that the archive is open to visitors twice a week.
Your local OCS is always worth contacting with local history queries. This site includes a full directory of all branches as well as news from the network. OCS was established in 1920 to support and promote Cornish culture and heritage, encourage the study and use of the Cornish language and support the preservation of Cornish antiquities and relics.
Tel: 01208 72810
As well as the museum there is an extensive library and archive telling the story of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, the volunteers, militia and the home guard over some 300 years.
Geevor Tin Mine, Pendeen, Penzance, Cornwall TR19 7EW tel 01736 788662
Not just a mining museum with an underground tour, Geevor also has an extensive archive which can be consulted by arrangement and an oral history collection of increasing value.
Department of the University of Exeter created to study all aspects of Cornish history and culture, past, present and future. Publishes the journal Cornish Studies and disseminates its archive content via www.cornishstory.com which includes a wealth of multimedia resources. (previously CAVA)
01736 796408
Lots of information on the St Ives fishing industry and more besides including history of the local beaches, custom houses, disasters at sea, boatbuilding and other topics of local interest.
This is the online presence of Local History magazine so it's no surprise to find a fair bit of advertising. Beyond the advertising there is some solid content in the form of local history news, events, a directory of local history societies, courses and speakers.
Morrab Road, Penzance, TR18 4HE tel: 01736 363625
Focusing on Penzance and Newlyn the Penlee, which is owned by Penzance Council, has some splendid items in its collection, including the work of several members of the Newlyn School. It has recently acquired the Gibson collection of historic photographs (1870-1905) to add to its large photo archive.
The Trust owns and manages a number of significant heritage site in Cornwall including: the Hurlers, Trethevy Quoit, Tregiffian Burial Chamber, Carn Euny, Sancreed Beacon and the Treffry Viaduct. It also provides educational materials and various forms of funding. The Trust also administers the Sir Richard Trant Memorial Award for "unsung heroes" who have made a significant voluntary contribution to Cornwall's heritage - an award won in 2013 by Cedric Appleby of the Penwith Local History Group.
Tel: 0208876 3444
Email: see website for options
The official public archive of the government of the United Kingdom and while it holds a vast amount of top down information of government origin there is an equally large volume of material from local communities heading the other way. With such a vast quantity of material you need a good search engine and you get that with the National Archives. Also searches local archives.
Following publication of Volume 1 in 1906 the Cornwall VCH ground to a halt but was later revived. Of immediate relevance to Penwith is the second book produced by the revived project, "Cornwall and the Coast: Mousehole and Newlyn." The website has useful links to national events.
Tel: 01872 272205
The library of the Royal Cornwall Museum. Limited space but wonderful collection and extremely helpful librarian, Angela Broome, who has an encyclopaedic knowledge of her stock. Have a look at the Borlase Atlas of Tin Bounds surveyed by Charles Moody in the 1780s.
The Society is the leading industrial archaeology organisation in Cornwall with an active publications programme, regular meetings and a large and growing collection of documents and artefacts.
email via website
Site includes transcripts of the St Keverne parish registers, St Keverne Census 1841-1891, information shipwrecks, seine fishing, Methodism, wells and the Diggens archive of material gathered by the local vicar at the end of the 19th century.
Exactly what is says, a collection of oral history recordings capturing details of the recent past in Hayle and district.
Kresen Kernow is home to the world’s largest collection of documents, books, maps and photographs related to Cornwall’s history, and is now (since 2019) housed in a state-of-the-art new archive centre built in the shell of the former Redruth Brewery. The website includes guides tio the available resources and a search facility.
For anyone researching Cornish history, Kresen Kernow – easily accessible by public transport – is recommended as the first port of call.
Penwith Local History Group
c/o Morrab Library
Morrab Gardens
Penzance, Cornwall
TR18 4DA
Penzance, Cornwall
Photo Glyn Richards
Coastline near Zennor.
Photograph by intocornwall.com
Click on the photo above to view more photos
