A boy born in 1895 could be said to have been born at an unfortunate time. By 1914 he'd be 19 years old old and a prime candidate to be a soldier in World War One. This was the destiny fate had in store for Willie Tonkin....

If you walk along along the road from Nancherrow Bridge to Tregeseal you'll see, on your right, a small “well” behind a metal fence. This is the shote and the fence carries a notice to the effect that this shote was the sole source of water for the people of Nancherrow until 1963.

The shock is felt throughout the county – from Land’s End to Callington. On a night unusually dark at St Ives; “thick and hazy with very little wind” out at Ding Dong; the earth moves.

Window dressing - sounds harmless enough, not exactly a high risk activity.......or so I thought

On 11th January 1851 the 250 ton Whitby-built brig New Commercial hit the Brisons ledge off Cape Cornwall in thick fog and a high wind. Bound for the ”Spanish Main” from Liverpool she was immediately dashed to pieces but everyone on board, nine men and one woman, the wife of the captain, managed to get off onto the ledge.......

On 10th January 1893 about 40 men and boys were underground, having descended the Cargodna Shaft which lies part way down the cliff below the Wheal Edward engine house. A cross-cut was being driven at 65 fathoms, at 8.45am charges were fired.............

Penzance, Saturday morning, 9th January 1937. What’s on at the pictures, darling? Shall we look and see?

We tend to suppose that people in the past didn't really have holidays, but maybe that isn't true…. On 8th January 1856 the Reverend Henry Usticke wrote to his brother William, who lived in London, to report on local news including William's mining interests around St Just......

James Halse was MP for St Ives between 1826 and 1838, a period which saw six general elections and the passing of the Great Reform Act of 1832. He lost the seat briefly at the August 1830 election but regained it the next year in July 1831. He was elected for the 4th time on January 7th 1835.

There have been complaints. And today there is a hearing. The Penzance and Newlyn men are at it again......

At first, it feels like an earthquake. Windows shatter in Penzance, and oscillation disturbs mid-morning visitors to St John’s Hall. At St Ives, shops lose their plate glass and roofs are damaged. The earth rumbles; a “dull, hollow boom” is in the air. But then the rumours start.....

January 4th 1828. Launched at St Ives, the Levant Packet – a “fine-built brig of 190 tons burden”, built and registered at St Ives. “Finally” launched at St Ives, one might say. For this is not the first attempt

A brand new newspaper for the brand new year. And what better title? How else to suggest the exhilarating pace of modern life, the new communications media that are changing the world?

New Year’s Day – resolutions, new beginnings; we somehow expect major events. January 2nd can be an anti-climax. So, on January 2nd in a typical Victorian year - 1886 for example? What is going on in West Penwith?

In his diary entry for 1 January 1870 John Tregerthen Short of St Ives records that the Wolf Rock Light was illuminated for the first time.