From September to April each year the Society arranges a series of talks held in Fowey, Bodinnick and Polruan. These are open to all and Members have reduced price entry.
We will also be holding a number of talks by Zoom, as these have popular.
To join, or to renew your Membership for 2022/23, please contact Kath Pearce on 07977 572268 or email FHHSociety@gmail.com
The programme of talks for 2022/23 is as follows;
Saturday 10 September 2022, Fowey Town Hall at 2pm. Mary Bryant, the creation of a Cornish legend, by Charlotte Mackenzie
Saturday 15 October 2022, Fowey Town Hall at 2pm. Maps, Plans and Charts, Fowey in two dimensions, by Alex Lewis
Saturday 12 November 2022, Whitecross Village Hall at 2pm. Polperro - Cornwall's forgotten art centre, by David Tovey
Saturday mid December 2022, pub quiz. Details to be confirmed
Saturday 14 January 2023, 7pm by Zoom. Medieval Cornwall by Dr Sam Drake
Saturday 11 February 2023, 7pm by Zoom. The work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, by Tony Smith
Saturday 11 March 2023, Fowey Town Hall at 2pm. A pictorial history of the coastal sailing barges of Devon and Cornwall, by Stuart Hunkin
Saturday 8 April 2023, Polruan Village Hall at 2pm. AGM followed by The Pinwell sisters, by Helen Wilson
Mary Bryant, the creation of a Cornish legend. A talk by Charlotte Mackenzie
Date/Time: 10 September 2022, 2pm
Venue: Fowey Town Hall
Cost: £5 for FHHS members, £8 for non members.
Contact: Andrew Gardner 07769 977116 or andrew@gardner.be Or via Ticket Tailor https://buytickets.at/foweyharbourheritagesociety
Mary Broad the creation of a Cornish legend.
Transported to Australia in the First Fleet, locally born, Mary Bryant made a daring escape across 1,000s of miles of sea to freedom and eventually returned to England.
Who was Mary Broad / Bryant and what really happened?
What new things does her historical experience reveal about Georgian Cornwall?
When and why was Mary Broad's story embellished and fictionalised?
Why was it only in recent decades that she became a Cornish legend?
Charlotte MacKenzie writes and researches Cornwall's history, including the new biography Mary Broad the documentary (2021).
She lives in Cornwall and is a former university senior lecturer in history.
Maps, Plans and Charts, Fowey in two dimensions. A talk by Alex Lewis
Date/Time: Saturday 15 October 2022, 2pm
Venue: Fowey Town Hall
Cost: £5 for FHHS members, £8 for non members.
Contact: Andrew Gardner 07769 977116 or andrew@gardner.be Or via Ticket Tailor https://buytickets.at/foweyharbourheritagesociety
An exploration of the changing face of Fowey over the centuries as seen by the map and chart makers. These show Fowey’s development and some sites that are long gone.
Alex is a retired solicitor, a member of Fowey History Group and previous Chairman of Fowey Harbour Heritage Society.
She has a particular interest in medieval history and gives popular talks on many aspects of local heritage.
Polperro - Cornwall's forgotten art centre. A talk by David Tovey
Date/Time: Saturday 12th November 2022 at 2pm
Venue: Whitecross Village Hall, Bodinnick. PL23 1NF
Cost: £5 for FHHS members, £8 for non members.
Contact: Andrew Gardner 07769 977116 or andrew@gardner.be Or via Ticket Tailor https://buytickets.at/foweyharbourheritagesociety
Polperro is known for its fishing and smuggling heritage, but it was also once a rival to St Ives as a centre for artists. David has researched the many artists attracted to this small village and presents an illustrated talk on an unknown aspect of Cornish art.
David is an independent art historian, who specialises in Cornish art. His interest derived from the fact that his great-grandfather, William Titcomb, was one of the first settlers in the St Ives art colony in the late 1880s. He has written a dozen books on Cornish art and curated numerous exhibitions on the subject for Penlee House Gallery, Penzance, Tate St Ives, Falmouth Art Gallery and other public galleries around the country. For the last four years, he has concentrated on detailed, ground-breaking research into the development of Polperro as an art centre and in 2021 published a two volume history - 'Polperro - Cornwall's Forgotten Art Centre' - and this was also the subject of an exhibition that he curated at Falmouth Art Gallery between April and June this year.
14th Century Cornwall with a Focus on Fowey. A presentation by Dr Sam Drake.
Date/Time: Saturday 14 January at 19.00.
Venue: Delivered via Zoom. Talk starts at 19.00
Cost: £3 per screen for FHHS members, £6 for non members.
Contact: Andrew Gardner 07769 977116 or andrew@gardner.be Or via Ticket Tailor https://buytickets.at/foweyharbourheritagesociety
14th Century Cornwall with a Focus on Fowey.
Zoom talk by Dr Sam Drake.
Sam is an expert on 14th century Cornwall, when Fowey was a major port in the Southwest and the most important one in Cornwall. It was a time of pirates, the Fowey Gallants and more.
Sam is from Cornwall and did his PhD on medieval Cornwall at Royal Holloway, University of London
The work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. A presentation by Tony Smith
Date/Time: Saturday 11 February 2023, at 7pm via Zoom
Venue: via Zoom
Cost: £3 for FHHS members, £6 for non members.
Contact: Andrew Gardner 07769 977116 or andrew@gardner.be Or via Ticket Tailor https://buytickets.at/foweyharbourheritagesociety
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cares for graves across the world, from single graves in local churchyards to large memorials. They provide education and research help to ensure the legacy of the fallen lives on. This talk will cover the history of the Commission, why they were formed, and what they do today to care for the 1.7 million servicemen and women from the Commonwealth who they commemorate across 23,000 locations around the world.
Tony Smith is a volunteer speaker for CWGC and a qualified battlefield guide.
A pictorial history of the Devon and Cornwall coastal barges. A talk by Stuart Hunkin
Date/Time: Saturday 11 March 2023, at 2pm
Venue: Fowey Town Hall
Cost: £5 for FHHS members, £8 for non members.
Contact: Andrew Gardner 07769 977116 or andrew@gardner.be Or via Ticket Tailor https://buytickets.at/foweyharbourheritagesociety
Local barges were once an essential life line for coastal and river based communities. The Hunkin family of Polruan owned and ran some of the last working sailing barges in this area.
Stuart’s talk is based on diaries and photographs from his family archive.
›› Download details of the talk on A pictorial history of the Devon and Cornwall coastal barges. A talk by Stuart Hunkin (pdf)
The Remarkable Pinwill Sisters
Date/Time: 8 April 2023 at 2pm
Venue: Polruan Village Hall
Cost: £5 for FHHS members, £8 for non members.
Contact: Andrew Gardner 07769 977116 or andrew@gardner.be Or via Ticket Tailor https://buytickets.at/foweyharbourheritagesociety
AGM followed by a talk by Helen Wilson —The Remarkable Pinwill Sisters.
The Pinwill sisters, Mary, Ethel and Violet, worked as woodcarvers in Ermington and then Plymouth, Devon, from about 1889, setting up their own company, Rashleigh, Pinwill & Co. When Mary and then Ethel left the business, Violet became the sole proprietor and established a large workshop in Plymouth, ranked among the best in the Westcountry, producing ecclesiastical works in both wood and stone. By the time Violet died in 1957, Pinwill carvings featured in over 185 churches in Cornwall and Devon, including St Winnow and St Wyllow. This presentation will relate the development of the Pinwill company over nearly 60 years, with numerous illustrations of their fine and beautiful carvings.
Helen’s background is in Environmental Science at Plymouth University. After retirement from lecturing, she researched family and then local history, until a project emerged that really fired her imagination. Since 2012 Helen has presented numerous talks and written several papers on the Pinwill sisters, as well as their architect Edmund H. Sedding, culminating in 2021 with the publication of her book on these inspirational and highly talented women, entitled From ‘Lady Woodcarvers’ to Professionals: The Remarkable Pinwill Sisters.
main.jpg)
