CORNWALL, the south-westernmost county of England, bounded N. and N.W. by the Atlantic Ocean, E. by Devonshire, and S. and S.W. by the English Channel. The area is 1356.6 sq. m. The most southerly extension is Lizard Point, and the most westerly point of the mainland Land’s End, but the county also includes the Scilly Isles (q.v.), lying 25 m. W. by S. of Land’s End. No county in England has a stronger individuality than Cornwall, whether in economic or social conditions, in history, nomenclature, tradition, or even in the physical characteristics of the land. Such individuality is hardly to be compassed within political boundaries, and in some respects it is shared by the neighbouring county of Devon, yet the traveller hardly feels its influence before passing west of the Tamar.
Physically, Cornwall is a great promontory with a direct length of 75 m. from N.N.E. to S.S.W., and an extreme breadth, at the junction with Devonshire, of 45 m. The river Tamar here forms the greater part of the boundary, and its valley divides the high moors of Devonshire and the succession of similar broad-topped hills which form the backbone of the Cornish promontory. The scenery is full of contrast. To the west of Launceston the principal mass of high land rises to 1375 ft. in Brown Willy, the highest point in the county. This district is broken and picturesque, with rough tors or hills and boulders. A remarkable pile of rocks called the Cheese-wring, somewhat resembling an inverted pyramid in form, is seen on the moor north of Liskeard. This district is for the most part a region of furze and heather; but after passing Bodmin, the true Cornish moorland asserts itself, bare, desolate and impracticable, broken and dug into hillocks, which are sometimes due to early mining works, sometimes to more modern search for metals. The seventy miles from Launceston to Mount’s Bay have been called not untruly “the dreariest strip of earth traversed by any English high road.” There is hardly more cultivation on the higher ground west of Mount’s Bay, or in the Meneage or “rocky country,” the old Cornish name for the promontory which ends in the Lizard. Long combes and valleys, however, descend from this upper moorland towards the coast on both sides. These are in general well wooded, and, in the luxuriance of their vegetation, strongly characteristic. The small rivers traversing them in several cases enter fine estuaries, which ramify deeply into the land. Such are, on the south coast, the great estuary of the Tamar, and other streams, on which the port of Plymouth is situated (but only the western shore is Cornish), the Looe and Fowey rivers, Falmouth Harbour, the most important of the purely Cornish inlets and accessible for the largest vessels, and the Helford river. On the north are the estuaries of the Camel and the Hayle, debouching into Padstow Bay and St Ives Bay respectively. The Fowey and Camel valleys almost completely break the continuation of the central high ground, and the uplands west of Mount’s Bay are similarly parted from the main mass by the low tract between Hayle and Marazion. Except at the mouth of a stream or estuary the coast is almost wholly rock-bound, and the cliff scenery is unsurpassed in England. Three different types are found. On the north coast, from Tintagel Head and Boscastle northward to Hartland Point in Devonshire, the dark slate cliffs, with their narrow and distorted strata, are remarkably rugged of outline, owing to the ease with which the waves fret the loosely-bound rock. On the south, in the beautiful little bays in the neighbourhood of the Lizard Point, the serpentine rock is noted for its exquisite colouring. Between Treryn and Land’s End, at the south-west, a majestic barrier of granite is presented to the sea. The beautiful Scilly Isles continue the line of the granite, and the intervening sea is said to have submerged a tract of land named Lyonesse, containing, according to tradition, 140 parish churches, and intimately connected with the Arthurian romances.
Geology.—One of the most striking features of Cornwall is the presence of the four great masses of granite which rise up and form as many elevated areas out of a lower-lying region occupied by rocks almost entirely slaty in character, generally known as “Killas.” The granite is not the oldest of the Cornish rocks; these are found in the Lizard peninsula and are represented by serpentine, gabbro and metamorphic schists. With the exception of a small tract about Veryan and Gorran, of Ordovician age, all the sedimentary rocks, as far as a line joining Boscastle and South Petherwin, were formerly classed as Devonian; to the north of the line are the Culm measures—slates, grits and limestones—of Carboniferous age. The extensive spread of Killas is not, however, entirely Devonian, as it is shown on most maps. In the northern portion, Lower, Middle and Upper Devonian can be distinguished; the lower beds at Polperro, Looe and Watergate, the higher beds along the line indicated above. Farther south it has been shown that an older set of Palaeozoic rocks constitutes at least a part of the Killas; the Veryan series, with Caradoc fossils, is succeeded in descending order by the Portscatho series, the Falmouth series and the Mylor series; the lowest Devonian beds represented here by the Menaccan series, rest unconformably upon these Ordovician beds. Upper Silurian fossils have been found near Veryan. All these rocks have been subjected to severe thrusting from the south, consequently they are much contorted and folded. After this thrusting and folding had taken place, intrusions of diabase, &c., penetrated the sedimentary Strata in numerous places, but it was not until post-Carboniferous times that the granite masses were intruded. The principal granite masses are those of St Just and Land’s End, Penryn, St Austell and Bodmin Moor. To the granite Cornwall owes much of its prosperity; it has altered the Killas for some distance around each mass, and the veins of tin and copper ore, though richest in the Killas, are evidently genetically related to the granite. The principal metalliferous districts, Camborne, Redruth, St Just, &c., all lie near the granite margins. The china clay and china stone industry is dependent on the fact that the granite was itself altered in patches during the later phases of eruptive activity by the agency of boric and fluoric vapours which kaolinized the felspar of the granite. Later eruptions produced dykes of quartz-porphyry and other varieties, all locally called “elvans,” which penetrate both the granite and the Killas. Small patches of Pliocene strata are found at St Erth and St Agnes Beacon. Blown sand is an important feature at St Pirran, Lelant, Gwythian and elsewhere, and raised beaches are frequent round the coast. A characteristic Cornish deposit is the “Head,” an old consolidated scree or talus. Many rare minerals have been obtained from the mines and much tin ore has been taken from the river gravels. The river gravel at Carnon has yielded native gold.
Climate.—The climate of Cornwall is peculiar. Snow seldom lies for more than a few days, and the winters are less severe than in any other part of England, the average temperature for January being 34° F. at Bude and 43.7° at Falmouth. The sea-winds, except in a few sheltered places, prevent timber trees from attaining to any great size, but the air is mild, and the lower vegetation, especially in the Penzance district, is almost southern in its luxuriance. Geraniums, fuchsias, myrtles, hydrangeas and camellias grow to a considerable size, and flourish through the winter at Penzance and round Falmouth; and in the Scilly Isles a great variety of exotics may be seen flourishing in the open air. Stone fruit, and even apples and pears, do not attain the same full flavour as in the neighbouring county, owing to the want of dry heat. The pinaster, the Pinus austriaca, Pinus insignis and other firs succeed well in the western part of the county. All native plants display a perfection of beauty hardly to be seen elsewhere, and the furze, including the double-blossomed variety, and the heaths, among which Erica vagans and ciliaris are characteristic, cover the moorland and the cliff summits with a blaze of the richest colour. On the whole the climate is healthy, though the prevalent westerly and south-westerly winds, bringing with them great bodies of cloud from the Atlantic, render it damp; the mean annual rainfall, though only 32.85 in. at Bude, reaches 44.41 at Falmouth, and 50.57 at Bodmin.
Agriculture.—About seven-tenths of the total area is under cultivation, but oats form the only important grain-crop. Turnips, swedes and mangolds make up the bulk of the green crops. The number of cattle (chiefly of the Devonshire breed) is large, and many sheep are kept; nearly 60,000 acres of hill pasture being recorded. As regards agricultural produce, however, Cornwall is chiefly famous for the market-gardening carried on in the neighbourhood of Penzance, where the climate is specially suitable for the growth of early potatoes, broccoli and asparagus. These are despatched in large quantities to the London market; the Scilly Isles sharing in the industry. Fruit and flowers are also grown for the market. In the valleys the soil is frequently rich and deep; there are good arable and pasture farms, and the natural oak-wood of these coombes has been preserved and increased by plantation.
Mining.—The wealth of Cornwall, however, lies not so much in the soil, as underground and in the surrounding seas. Hence the favourite Cornish toast, “fish, tin and copper.” The tin of Cornwall has been known and worked from a period anterior to certain history. There is no direct proof that the Phoenician traders came to Cornwall for tin; though it has been sought to identify the Cassiterides (q.v.) or Tin Islands with the county or the Scilly Isles. By ancient charters the “tinners” were exempt from all jurisdiction (save in cases affecting land, life and limb) other than that of the Stannary Courts, and peculiar laws were enacted in the Stannary parliaments (see [Stannaries]). For many centuries a tax on the tin, after smelting, was paid to the earls and dukes of Cornwall. The smelted blocks were carried to certain towns to be coined, that is, stamped with the duchy seal before they could be sold. By an act of 1838 the dues payable on the coinage of tin were abolished, and a compensation was awarded to the duchy instead of them. The Cornish miners are an intelligent and independent body, and the assistance of a Cornishman has been found necessary to the successful development of mining in many parts of the world, while many miners have emigrated from Cornwall to more remunerative fields abroad. The industry has suffered from periods of depression, as before the accession of Queen Elizabeth, who introduced miners from Germany to resuscitate it; and in modern times the shallow workings, from which tin could be easily “streamed,” have become practically exhausted. The deeper workings to which the miners must needs have recourse naturally render production more costly, and the competition of foreign mines has been detrimental. The result is that the industry is comparatively less prosperous than formerly, and employs far fewer of the inhabitants. However, in the district of Camborne, Carn Brea, Illogan and Redruth, and near St Just in the extreme west, the mines are still active, while there are others of less importance elsewhere, as near Callington in the south-east. And when, as in 1906, circumstances affecting the production of foreign mines cause a rise in the price of tin, the Cornish mines enjoy a period of greater prosperity; the result being the recent reopening of many of the mines which had been closed for twenty years. The largest tin-mine is that of Dolcoath near Camborne. Copper is extracted at St Just and at Carn Brea; but the output has decreased much further than that of tin. As it lies deeper in the earth, and consequently could not be “streamed” for, it was almost unnoticed in the county until the end of the 15th century, and little attention was paid to it until the last years of the 17th. No mine seems to have been worked exclusively for copper before the year 1770; and up to that time the casual produce had been bought by Bristol merchants, to their great gain, at rates from £2 : 10s. to £4 per ton. In 1718 John Coster gave a great impulse to the trade by draining some of the deeper mines, and instructing the men in an improved method of dressing the ore. The trade thereafter progressively increased, and in 1851 the mines of Devon and Cornwall together were estimated to furnish one-third of the copper raised throughout Europe, including the British Isles. Antimony ores and manganese are found, and some lead occurs, being worked without great result. Iron in lodes, as brown haematite, has been worked near Lostwithiel and elsewhere. In the St Austell district the place of tin and copper mining has been taken by that of the raising and preparation of china clay. Granite is largely quarried in various districts, as at Luxulian (between St Austell and Lostwithiel), and in the neighbourhood of Penryn. This is the material of London and Waterloo Bridges, the Chatham docks, and many other great works. It is for the most part coarse-grained, though differing greatly in different places in this respect. Fine slate is quarried and largely exported, as from the Delabole quarries near Tintagel. These slates were in great repute in the 16th century and earlier. Serpentine is quarried in the Lizard district, and is worked there into small ornamental objects for sale to visitors; it is in favour as a decorative stone. Pitchblende also occurs, and is mined for the extraction of radium.
Fisheries.—The fisheries of Cornwall and Devon are the most important on the south-west coasts. The pilchard is in great measure confined to Cornwall, living habitually in deep water not far west of the Scilly Isles, and visiting the coast in great shoals,—one of which is described as having extended from Mevagissey to the Land’s End, a distance, including the windings of the coast, of nearly 100 m. In summer and autumn pilchards are caught by drift nets; later in the year they are taken off the northern coast by seine nets. Forty thousand hogsheads, or 120 million fish, have been taken in the course of a single season, requiring 20,000 tons of salt to cure them. Twelve millions have been taken in a single day; and the sight of this great army of fish passing the Land’s End, and pursued by hordes of dog-fish, hake, and cod, besides vast flocks of sea-birds, is most striking. The principal fishing stations are on Mount’s Bay and at St Ives, but boats are employed all along the coast. When brought to shore the pilchards are carried to the cellars to be cured. They are then packed in hogsheads, each containing about 2400 fish. These casks are largely exported to Naples and other Italian ports—whence the fisherman’s toast, “Long life to the pope, and death to thousands.” Besides pilchards, mackerel and herring are taken in great numbers, and conger eels of great size; mullet and John Dory may be mentioned. There is also a trade in “sardines,” young pilchards taking the place of the real Mediterranean fish.
Communications.—The principal ports are Falmouth and Penzance, but that of Hayle is of some importance, and there are large engineering works here. It lies on the estuary of the Hayle river, which opens into St Ives Bay, the township of Phillack adjoining on the north-east. A brisk coasting trade is maintained at many small ports along the coast. Communications are provided chiefly by the Great Western railway, the main line of which passes through the county and terminates at Penzance. Fowey, Penryn and Falmouth, and Helston on the south, and Bodmin and Wadebridge, Newquay and St Ives, are served by branch lines. A light railway runs from Liskeard to Looe. The north-eastern parts of the county (Launceston, Bude, Wadebridge) are served by the London & South-Western railway. Coaches are run in several districts during the summer, and in some parts, as in the neighbourhood of Penzance, and between Helston and the Lizard, the Great Western company provides a motor-car service to places beyond the reach of the railway. Many of the small seaside towns have become favourite holiday resorts, such as Bude, Newquay and St Ives, and the south-coast ports.
Population and Administration.—The area of the ancient county is 868,220 acres, with a population in 1891 of 322,571, and in 1901 of 322,334. In 1861 the population was 369,390, and had shown an increase up to that census. The area of the administrative county is 886,384 acres. The county contains 9 hundreds. The municipal boroughs are Bodmin (pop. 5353), the county town; Falmouth (11,789), Helston (3088), Launceston (4053), Liskeard (4010), Lostwithiel (1331), Penryn (3190), Penzance (13,136), St Ives (6699), Saltash (3357), Truro (11,562), an episcopal city. The other urban districts are Callington (1714), Camborne (14,726), Hayle (1084), Looe (2548), Ludgvan (2274), Madron (3486), Newquay (3115), Padstow (1566), Paul (6332), Phillack (3881), Redruth (10,451), St Austell (3340), St Just (5646), Stratton and Bude (2308), Torpoint (4200), Wadebridge (2186). Small market and other towns, beyond those in the above lists, are numerous. Such are Calstock in the east, St Germans in the south-east near Saltash, St Blazey near St Austell, Camelford, St Columb Major, and Perranzabuloe in the north, with the mining towns of Gwennap and Illogan in the Redruth district and Wendron near Helston, all inland towns; while on the south coast may be mentioned Fowey and Mevagissey, on either side of St Austell Bay, and Marazion on Mount’s Bay, close by St Michael’s Mount. Cornwall is in the western circuit, and assizes are held at Bodmin. It has one court of quarter sessions, and is divided into 17 petty sessional divisions. The boroughs of Bodmin, Falmouth, Helston, Launceston, Liskeard, Penryn, Penzance, St Ives and Truro have separate commissions of the peace, and Penzance has a separate court of quarter sessions. The Scilly Isles are administered by a separate council, and form one of the petty sessional divisions. There are 239 civil parishes, of which 5 are in the Scilly Isles. Cornwall is in the diocese of Truro, and there are 227 ecclesiastical parishes or districts wholly or in part within the county. The parliamentary divisions are the North-Eastern or Launceston, South-Eastern or Bodmin, Mid or St Austell, Truro, North-Western or Camborne, and Western or St Ives, each returning one member; while the parliamentary borough of Penryn and Falmouth returns one member.
Language.—The old Cornish language survives in a few words still in use in the fishing and mining communities, as well as in the names of persons and places, but the last persons who spoke it died towards the end of the 18th century. It belonged to the Cymric division of Celtic, in which Welsh and Armorican are also included. The most important relics of the language known to exist are three dramas or miracle plays, edited and translated by Edwin Norris, Oxford, 1859. A sketch of Cornish grammar is added, and a Cornish vocabulary from a MS. of the 13th century (Cotton MSS. Vespasian A. 14, p. 7a). (See [Celt: Language and Literature].) It may be mentioned that the great numbers of saints whose names survive in the topography of the county are largely accounted for by the fact that here, as in Wales, it was the practice to canonize the founder of a church. The natives have many traits in common with the Welsh, such as their love of oratory and their strong tribal attachment to the county.