March 4, 2024
The Archives on Penryn Campus, shared by the University of Exeter (Cornwall) and Falmouth University, have appointed a new project Archivist and work has begun to catalogue four key Collections relating to Political movements in Cornwall in the mid twentieth century, from our Institute of Cornish Studies Archives: the papers of Mary Mann, Len Truran, Royston Green and Dr Adrian Lee.
Cataloguing Archivist, Lizzie Pridmore, has joined FX Plus Archives and Special Collections in Penryn and has launched the one-year project to catalogue the four Cornish collections, with the view to make them more accessible for all. This has been made possible thanks to the £35,000 grant funding awarded by Archives Revealed Cataloguing Grants Scheme, supported by The National Archives, The Pilgrim Trust and The Wolfson Foundation.
Lizzie said: “I am looking forward to getting to know these collections better and as an archivist, bringing order to the collections through cataloguing and then making them available for reading and research is very satisfying! I’m interested in Cornish culture and identities so it’s a real privilege to work with these particular collections and I’m excited about the potential they have for exploring the political ideas that have helped to shape Cornwall as it is today.”
These collections share a common theme in the examination and documentation of the birth and growth of the Cornish Nationalist movement; however, the subject coverage is wide spanning – everything from proposed postage stamps to political posters are covered – including papers of industry, tourism, transport, employment, migration, devolution, language and more.
Having just skimmed the surface of the collection in the week since she joined us, Lizzie treated us to a glimpse of a few items from the collections that have already caught her eye. Below, you can see some of the treasures pictured and we cannot wait to see more in the coming year. Once completed, the collections will be made available for students, staff and the public to view by appointment at the Archives on Penryn campus.
Lizzie Pridmore, Cataloguing Archivist at FX Plus, with one of her favourite finds from the Royston Green collection, an introduction to the Cornish language, Kernewek, looking at the meaning of different place names.
A log book detailing work on the Falmouth & Camborne Liberal Association’s 1966 electoral campaign, from the papers of Mary Mann
From left to right: Electoral campaign poster for Len Truran, Meybon Kernow. Rules and Aims for the political party Mebyon Kernow. Press cutting from the Cornish Guardian, 7 June 1979, describing the formation of a Cornish Assembly and including a photograph of five members.
Poster for a production of a medieval Cornish mystery play, ‘Gwyrans an Bys’, ‘The Creation of the World’, at Piran Round.
