Last Saturday, towns up and down Cornwall celebrated St Piran’s Day. It was great to be able to celebrate it properly again after two years of Covid restrictions. St Piran’s day in 2020 came just before we went into the first lockdown. I attended the event in Redruth again last weekend. Although it wasn’t possible to do the usual parade this year, we still had a good turnout. person in Redruth this year, particularly after last year’s more muted celebration. It was a beautiful, albeit cool day on Saturday and the choir gave a great rendition of Trelawny. As we celebrated our own Cornish identity and pride, we all also took a moment to pause and reflect as we prayed for the people of Ukraine at this appalling time for their country as their identity, and existence as a nation is under attack.
Over the past few years, we have seen a growing interest in Cornwall’s history and culture. Camborne, Redruth, and Hayle are at the very heart of this revival, and it’s great to see these industrial towns leading the way in promoting our rich and wonderful history. Cornwall has a distinct culture and an industrial heritage to be proud of, with Redruth playing a particularly important role as one of the birthplaces of the industrial revolution and as the centre of the Cornish diaspora across the world. In its prime, Redruth was at the heart of the tin mining industry and there were many feats of engineering developed in Cornwall at that time. We exported mining expertise around the globe from Australia and South Africa to California, South America, and Mexico.
Redruth has seen considerable regeneration over the past few years. The Highstreet Heritage Action Zone, centred around Fore Street and the Buttermarket, was awarded £1.68 million by Heritage England last year. This has allowed work on projects like the Buttermarket to proceed swiftly. The current proposals are very exciting, and I am looking forward to seeing how they can play an important role in regenerating the town centre. Furthermore, the Kresen Kernow Cornish Archive, based in Redruth, is an excellent facility to record our history and store important artefacts. It was a major breakthrough for the town to be designated as the chosen location and has regenerated the old brewery site. Redruth Town Council has shown tremendous enthusiasm for the new archive project and credit should also go to both existing and former local councillors for their support in getting this great project completed.
Cornwall has a unique place within our United Kingdom. It was constitutionally recognised as having its own distinctive character early in our history. The Stannary Parliament gave Cornwall a veto over certain tax laws recognising that Cornwall contributed so much to the wealth of the nation. Through the Crown, Cornwall was always recognised as distinct with the Duke of Cornwall going on to become the Monarch. Cornwall is very committed to the UK union, but we are very proud of our own distinctiveness, and we should find better ways of recognising that within our Constitution.
