Cornwall is a peninsula bounded on the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean and on the south by the English Channel. On the east it is bounded by Devonshire with the river Tamar forming most of the boundary between the counties. Cornwall is approximately 78 miles long at its maximum length and its maximum width is 42 miles.

The mountain system immediately to the west of the river Tamar rises to the summit of Brown Willy at 1,375 feet. Westwards, beyond the valley of the river Camel, is the high central moorland which rises to Hensbarrow Beacon. It is follwed to the north-west by a lower moorland to another area of hills north of the Lizard and extending to Redruth. A broad valley separates these hills from the final high hills at the western end of the county. Deep and fertile valleys sweep from the sides of the moors to the sea. They are watered by a number of short rivers, including the Camel, Fowey, Hayle and Looe. Although the county has no great rivers, the rise of sea-level during the end of the last ice-age has produced spectacular features such as the Fal estuary.

The majority of the coastline consists of cliffs which attracts many visitors to the county.

The mild and damp climate produces lush vegetation in the fertile valleys of the mainland and the Scilly Isles. Market gardening produces large quantities of early vegetables and flowers. There is also a great deal of pasture on which sheep and cattle are raised.

By the late 17th century, the anguage was restricted to older speakers in the western parts of Cornwall and few children could speak it. By the mid-18th century, it was restricted to a handfull of individuals between penzance and Land's End. Dorothy (sometimes recorded as "Dolly") Pentreath died in 1777 and is reputed to have been the last person who could speak the language although Henry Jenner claims there were others who could speak Cornish into the mid-19th century.

Henry Jenner's Handbook of the Cornish Language, published in 1904 led to a revival of interest in the language which is now spoken by some 2,000 people although only a small number are fluent speakers.

Cornwall is well-known for it many monuments dating from the Bronze Age including stone circles, rows and single standing stones or menhirs, and barrows with kist graves.

The county is famous for its tin mining which may have drawn the Phoenicians to is shores. Other minerals such as copper have been mined on a large scale but the industry declined to the point of extinction at the close of the 20th century in the face of competition from cheap large-scale streaming in places such as Malaysia and Nigeria. A handfull of mines now operate as heritage centres. Fine clays, the result of thousands of years of decay of granite and suitable for making fine porcelain are mined in large open-cast operations.

Fishing has always been an important part of the economy of Cornwall with huge quantities of pilchards caught as well a mackerel, eels and herrings but the industry has declined here as elsewhere in Britain.

Henry Jenner's "Handbook of the Cornish Language", published in 1904 caused a resurgence of interest in the Cornish language.

CORNWALL   DEVON   DORSET   HAMPSHIRE   ISLE OF WIGHT   SOMERSET   WILTSHIRE  

<a href=BAAAGCEK.php title=" The County of Cornwall ">

A-Z Index Bibliography Climate Cornish Languge Discuss this Page Economy History Legals Links Locally Maps Statistics Time-Line Topography

Hits on this Page

Hits on this page since December 6th

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

current year:

previous year:

	Links Other Counties

ALPHABETICAL SITE INDEX Select ;- Aa-Az   Ba-Bz   Ca-Cz   Da-Dz   Ea-Ez   Fa-Fz   Ga-Gz   Ha-Hz   Ia-Iz   Ja-Jz   Ka-Kz   La-Lz   Ma-Mz   Na-Nz   Oa-Oz   Pa-Pz   Qa-Qz   Ra-Rz   Sa-Sz   Ta-Tz   Ua-Uz   Va-Vz   Wa-Wz   Ya-Yz    SW COUNTIES CornwallDevonDorsetHampshireIsle of WightSomersetWiltshire

Only Members of the Site can post messages in this section. Signing in is easy from our Home Page.

A-Z Index Bibliography Climate Cornish Languge Discuss this Page Economy History Hits on this Page Links Locally Maps Statistics Time-Line Topography

Legals

DISCLAIMER: Whilst we endeavour to ensure the content of this site is correct, we cannot undertake that information you find here, is, or will remain accurate and complete. We do not warrant that any information contained on this site is fit for any purpose. If you wish to place reliance on any such information you must check its accuracy by some other means before doing so. MEMBERS get aditional features on our pages and will soon be able to interact with the site and add their views and informastion. Sign up, from the Home-Page, is simple and involves typing in your email address and a password of your choice. If you are in any way connected with any location or interested in the subject mentioned on this page and have an hour or two a month to spare, we would welcome you as a local moderator - please email the webmaster by CLICKING HERE. Privacy Policy last updated on Copyright © 2000-2003 swukink.com page ref: BAAAGCEK