Cornwall's Maritime Churches Project PRESS RELEASE: Final event for ‘Cornwall’s Maritime Churches Project / Eglosyow Morek Kernow’ – a Young Roots heritage project with the Institute of Cornish Studies and the Student Union’s History Society

PRESS RELEASE: Final event for ‘Cornwall’s Maritime Churches Project / Eglosyow Morek Kernow’ – a Young Roots heritage project with the Institute of Cornish Studies and the Student Union’s History Society

Thursday 29 April 2021, 6.30pm-7.30pm, Online Zoom Event

In 2018, the Institute of Cornish Studies and its principal youth partner, the Falmouth & Exeter Students’ History Society was awarded £40,000 of Young Roots funding by the National Heritage Lottery. The ultimate goal was to pioneer a new and exciting history project with university and sixth form students between the ages of 18-25 and offer them opportunities to gain creative and academic skills. Funding was initially used to create a small team under the supervision of Dr Garry Tregidga with Victoria Jenner acting as Project Manager, Rebecca Orchard as the coordinator for the volunteer researchers and Dr Jo Esra advising on research skills and maritime history. 2019 saw a lecture series for both students and the wider community involving key experts from such fields as archaeology, history and heritage studies and findings have now been disseminated through a variety of media, with a particular focus on the creation of an online digital trail including a blog and film series.

Initially meant to span over 18 months, the project has continued to thrive for an additional year due to the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. Unable to host floating lectures on sailing boats and kayaking adventures around the maritime churches of the Roseland, Victoria has attempted to find alternative methods of telling the world about their new research.

“I am so proud that the incredible research developed throughout the first phase of the heritage project has now been disseminated in such a thought-provoking and engaging way. Once the pandemic hit, we postponed all physical events to meet government recommendations to minimise transmission of the coronavirus. However, knowing that accessing art and culture online can positively help health and well-being, I set up different online channels (our website, our Instagram and YouTube) to encourage our volunteers to pursue their research and share it from home in engaging ways.”

The round table event on Thursday will thus celebrate all the achievements of the project. From an interactive map illustrated by Falmouth student, Selina Jenner, to an illustrated story-book put together by Student Coordinator and former history student, Lucy Geal.

Keynote speakers will include Dr Garry Tregidga (Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies), Dr Jo Esra (Lecturer of Maritime History) and Charlotte Harries (Former President of the History Society). Amongst the contributors will be Sam Gill, Founder of ‘Behaviour Change Cornwall’, a Looe-based company that pursues freediving to care for Cornwall’s sea-life and Will Forbes, former president of the University’s kayaking society. Both Sam and Will shall demonstrate how sports related to the sea and rivers of Cornwall can run hand-in-hand with history projects, allowing researchers to learn from their immediate historical landscapes. Victoria will host the event and additionally take the participants of the round table through the ‘behind the scenes’ activities of the film-side of the project, which has used outdoor pursuits, such as swimming, running and kayaking, to explore the maritime churches of Cornwall in a three-part documentary series.

Overall, the round table will celebrate new cutting-edge research that sheds light on some obscure and rural churches across Cornwall, whilst celebrating Cornish identity and language. What’s more, the film series and articles online examine how far religion and the sea have played a prominent role in cultural constructions of Cornwall through time. Ten churches have been especially investigated by volunteers for their cultural identity in relation to their communities and for their connections to changing patterns of work in relation to the sea, religious behaviour through time, ritual, place and the Cornish language, the iconic importance of the sea and folklore for Cornwall and communal stories of smuggling, piracy and wrecking. The result of these investigations today is a full profile online which can be found by selecting the animated churches on www.cornishmaritimechurches.co.uk

SCHEDULE OF THE EVENT

6.30pm – Introduction given by the Project Manager, Victoria Jenner

6.40-6.50pm – The importance of researching Cornwall’s Maritime Church history with Dr Garry Tregidga and Dr Jo Esra

6.50-7.10pm: Volunteer stories: Hear from the experts and student volunteers

7.10-7.25pm – ‘What is a Maritime Church to you?’ Reflection session with members of the community and participants

7.25pm – Thanks and details regarding the project’s Film Premiere series taking place Fri 29 Apr – Sun 2 May 2021, YouTube LIVE.

ACCESS

The online event will be hosted on Zoom. A link will be sent to those who have registered for tickets closer to the time.

NOTES TO EDITORS

The Institute of Cornish Studies brings together academic research in and about Cornwall. We want to understand better the histories that make up this place, what Cornwall is like right now, and what kind of futures we can move towards.

As you can see from our website, we have brought together our research into four themes. Culture, Heritage and Society; Politics and Government; Economy and Business; Environment and Health. What we present you with is a selection of the research that has been happening across the University of Exeter’s campuses in Truro and Penryn to share with the wider community in Cornwall and elsewhere and provoke discussion. Whether you are a member of the public, work in local or national government, have business interests in Cornwall, or work in the charity/voluntary sector, we hope that you can find something that is of interest to you.

More at http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/history/research/centres/ics/

For more information, please contact Victoria Jenner, vj225@exeter.ac.uk, 07894515818