John Harris Society

THE

Newsletter

JHS

No 62 Winter 2018

The grey-headed man, clad in rags as he goes,

And the water-cress girl, with the frost in her toes,

I saw them to-day creeping down the dark lane,

And they trembled with cold, and were weeping with pain.

Thou hast but a season, old Winter, to roar,

And then I know surely thy reign will be o’er,

And thou must be off to the frost-bitten zone,

And beautiful Spring have thy septre and throne.

Taken from Harris’s poem Winter.

Old winter, old winter, come, hie thee away

Headgear at South Crofty on a grey, winter’s day.

Picture by Paul Langford

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rdEve has served The Society since its

inception in 1998 and has been Chair-man, Vice Chairman and a most loyal member of The Committee. Her pre-sent state of health caused her to not stand for election as vice-chairman at our AGM, but I’m delighted that she will continue to serve on the commit-tee.

We owe Eve a real debt of gratitude as she smoothed the way for me when taking over the chairman’s role and has always been someone who could be relied upon.

Eric’s health problems, too, are mak-ing life difficult for them both so we send our best wishes to them.

MRS EVE PARSONS

Did people 200 years ago complain about the cold weather as we do today? I dare say they were far more accept-ing of it and resilient to it – living in houses with gaps but no windows, and none of the home comforts that we take for granted today.

Really, it’s not that long ago, which leads me to think that we live in privi-leged times. Well, with confidence, we await the full arrival of Spring, already in evidence in our gardens as buds are forming and daffodils are blooming!

Kind regards to all – at home and abroad!

WINTER IS PASSING!

The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies’ Winter Festival at Redruth School on Saturday, November 4, was a most interesting day when we found much interest in John Harris from people who had never heard of him. Christine, Tony and I were able, as descendents of the poet, to read his poetry as they had requested.

I was then informed that I could be seen and heard on YouTube, doing my bit! A considerable number of flyers for the 2020 Bi-Centenary Festival were distributed together with the society’s membership leaflets.

An exhibition was set up at Truro College on a large wall-mounted display board on November 8 and will remain there until March 28. We are grateful to tutor Marilla Walker for assisting us and monitoring the wallet containing both 2020 flyers and mem-bership leaflets.

The display is in an area used by many students and by outside organisations and the feedback has been positive.

Exhibitions of a more permanent nature are being developed at King Edward Mine and at Poldark Mine.

EXHIBITIONS

CONTACTS THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

We are grateful to member Duncan Yeates for responding to an enquiry from Camilla Bloxham, an English degree student who is studying Harris’ poem ‘The Mine’. Duncan was able to reply from his knowledge gained through his research for his PhD.

Recently, an enquiry has been re-ceived from Margaret Floyd, a Western Australian with Cornish roots.

She is writing the social history of her Cornish copper-mining ancestors by the name of Snell from Chacewater.

Having courteously asked permission to quote from Harris (whom she’s just discovered through our website) Tony and I have been able to furnish her with further information and a 2020 flyer. She has really ‘fallen’ for Har-ris’ works and wished she could have attended our AGM. She is considering whether October 2020 should be her next trip to Cornwall where she stays with friends when visiting the U.K.

Facebook, which member Caroline Palmer set up and manages, now has 125 followers. Caroline has received an enquiry from Troy Mayne who lives in Wisconsin. He is a descendent of Hen-ry Mayne who lived at Bolenowe Croft and emigrated to the USA in 1841 for the same reasons as the siblings of John Harris. Troy is most interested in the John Harris story.

IT’S SUBS TIME AGAINWe need the £6 per annum from

our members to fund our day to day work. Subs are due on 1st January. This payment is something that can be easily overlooked so please check whether you’ve paid and, if not, please use the information on the back of this newsletter to settle your account. Thank you, in anticipation that you will attend to this matter. Lastly, this is entirely a personal suggestion but I am asking each member to consider mak-ing an additional financial gift, however small, as the collective amount would indicate to potential sponsors, a degree of commitment to the 2020 Festival. I made a similar appeal at the AGM and that day, £98 was received by our treasurer. Your commitment, indicated by a gift, will be greatly appreciated.

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Exciting events organisedReach a hundred years of age, and

you receive a special communication from the Queen.

Unfortunately no-one is likely to reach the 200-year mark, unless, of course in the future, you will be re-membered, and although not involving Her Majesty, there will be a special event in your honour.

So it is for Bolenowe-born John Har-ris, poet, sometime Methodist preach-er, and Quaker. He has been compared to no less than Shakespeare.

John entered this world in 1820. And so to celebrate this, the John Harris Society is organising a series of excit-ing events between October 16 and 18, in the year 2020.

Already the main committee, and a special ‘Festival’ planning team, have been meeting to plot and plan. Tony Jasper, a Cornishman, author, writer and broadcaster, was asked to draw up a weekend of activity with outreach stretching to Cornish people across the globe, special attention paid to the US, Canada, Australia and Europe, and wherever Cornish societies exist.

With vision and bravery the commit-tee agreed with Jasper’s idea to hold most events at one central venue, and indeed to invite visitors to take a holi-day there, attend the arranged gather-ings and spend later time exploring the

Duchy. The venue is Truro’s splendid Alverton Hotel.

Residency is for anyone, and so spend a weekend conversing, chatting, eating and drinking, and be part of ac-tivities in Truro, Troon and Falmouth.

Note though - of course anyone can drop into the special happenings. Indeed the committee want your pres-ence very much. No one is required to spend the weekend as a hotel resident but it seems a good idea.

As for the weekend - a special dinner and speaker, poetry readings of John Harris and conversation with literary Cornish figures, obviously outline to his life and evaluation, out and about

for a Truro history walk, to see the John Harris plaque in Falmouth, visit Troon Methodist, a special church service, and especially for our visitors, a Cornish evening of stories and dance, of memories and, who knows, discov-ery of family connections here with someone from overseas.

Tony Jasper will be revisiting his lecture of some years back for the London Cornish Society.

You will be able to drop in as you please, but we would hope that many of you will see fit to attend the whole festival even if you decide not to stay at the hotel. We will provide you as and when with relevant details. We may have a general ticket which would mean you can come to all or drop in as you please, but when added up there would be a saving.

Attend the special dinner and cost will be the hotel charge and full details will be available soon. Should you de-cide to spend the weekend at the hotel then we will provide you as and when with relevant details.

So, time passes! Just think it over. This is a one-off event, a promised experience to be remembered and treasured.

If you like, email me, Tony Jasper at tony.jasper@btinternet.com and ask me to send you relevant details, and start keeping you in touch.

BY TONY JASPER

Tony Jasper is the 2020 bicente-nary festival’s administrator.

BICENTENARY FESTIVAL 2020

Treasurer’s notes

Thank you to all members who have supported the Society so well.

The committee works quite hard on your behalf to promote the story

of John Harris’s life and works.We none of us claim expenses, but

we do rely on your annual member-ship fees of £6 per person to pay the costs of newsletters and exhibitions etc. If you have not already done so, we’d be grateful if you could either send me a cheque for £6, payable to “The John Harris Society”, or pay by

PayPal, the addresses for which are both on the back of this newsletter.

If you would prefer, you could ar-range to pay by standing order on January 1st each year, and if you ring me on 01209 713863, I will giv eyou the bank details.

Once again our thanks,Christine Cowls

Copy deadline for the summer newsletter is June 1

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sExtracts from the West Briton - life in Cornwall in the early 19th century

At a village [near] Cury Cross-Lanes, two bailiffs from Helston pounced with great fury on the humble cot of a poor labourer, at the suit of a neighbouring cobbler.

On approaching the lonely cot of their victim, they found, to their great astonishment, that the inmates had flown, and left only a solitary bed-tye for their heartless visitors.

Not a little chagrined, as may be im-agined, at the circumstances, the bailiff and his follower took the bed-tye to a public-house in the neighbourhood, and quickly began their jollification.

A scheme was then immediately concocted to deprive the bailiff of their prey, by five old village dames, one of whom volunteered to dance a hornpipe for their amusement, to the music of Willie, the follower, who often figures to great advantage on the fife, while his master was enjoying his yard of clay, and almost enveloped in the odorifer-ous perfumes of tobacco.

The scheme succeeded to admiration, and the bailiff were amused with their music and pipe, the youthful villagers walked quietly off with the bed-tye.

8th July 1842

TWO BAILIFFS FROM HELSTON

THE AMAZONIAN ROWERS

A prize, to be contended by amateur rowers, open to all the world, having been offered by the committee of the Havre Regatta, our far-famed Saltash-ers, who have recently acquired so much celebrity by beating their oppo-nents at Portsmouth, boldly ventured to seek renown on the French waters, and accordingly entered themselves for the stakes.

They left Plymouth in the Brunswick for Southampton, whence they pro-ceeded to Havre in the Grand Tyrk...

[On their arrival] the French-men, we presume, like the Portsmouth [a crack team of dockyards-men] not wishing to risk a defeat by women, and, above all, English-women, they declined the proposed encounter.

However, a match they must have, and at length one was concluded between the Saltash women, headed by Anne Glanville, and a boat’s crew from The Grand Turk...

The race was immediately com-menced, and concluded in favour of the Amazonian Rowers, amid the deaf-ening plaudits of 20,000spectators.

26th August 1842[The ‘Saltashers’ competed in many

regattas and were widely known for their rowing garb---white dresses, and white caps with ribbons---as well as their unfailing success. In 1847, for example, they competed in the Fleet-wood Regatta, but not before the ves-sel in which they and their rowing gig were shipped was blown by gales across the Irish Sea to Dublin.]

THE DEVON AND CORNWALL MILITIA

When this regiment of militia was at Plymouth, it was reviewed by General England, on Mount Wise.

After going through the exercise, the word was given to ‘dismiss’, upon which all the men left the ground, with the exception of those belonging to the corps of a place west of Truro.

Astounded at this, the General asked the officer in command, why they did not follow the others, as he had given the word ‘dismiss’?

‘O’, said the officer, they don’t under-stand you; if you’ll allow me, I’ll soon send them off’.

Then turning to his men, he ex-claimed ‘Company!’ At which they pricked up ears. ‘attention to your officer! Scat up’. They all vanished im-mediately.

4th November 1842

‘Not a little chagrined, as may be imag-ined, at the circumstances, the bailiff and his follower took the bed-tye to a public-house in the neighbourhood, and quickly began their jollification.

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5THE AGM

Our president, Peter Bickford-Smith chaired the annual general meeting on Saturday, February 17, guiding the busi-ness matters through on time.

This included Paul Langford deliv-ering his chairman’s report and Tony Jasper, festival administrator, giving an upbeat promotion of the John Harris Bi-Centenary Festival 16-18 October 2020 (see page 3 in this newsletter).

Christine Cowls presented the au-dited annual accounts and Steve Cross-man gave an update on press and publicity matters, including dis-tributing samples of a brochure he had prepared publicising the 2020 festival.

The following were elected to of-fice: Chairman, Paul Langford; vice-chairman, John Gillbard; secretary, Tony Langford; treasurer, Christine Cowls; press and publicity officer, Steve Crossman; committee members, Eve Parsons, Caroline Palmer and Duncan Yeates.

Following formal business, Peter Bickford-Smith introduced guest speaker Duncan Yeates, who gave an interesting and informative illustrated talk on the techniques used by John Harris in his poetry writing (see a sum-mary by Duncan on this page).

Upbeat promotion of festivalBY TONY LANGFORD

Director of English at Mounts Bay Academy, Duncan is studying for a Phd at Falmouth University.

A vote of thanks was given by Paul

Langford and Peter Bickford-Smith thanked everyone for coming and closed the meeting. Refreshments fol-lowed.

Talk on John Harris and his workDuring the society’s recent an-

nual general meeting, I was fortunate enough to be able to present some of my doctoral research into John Harris.

During his lifetime, much of the criticism of Harris praised the fact that he had produced so much poetry as a labouring man.

Victorian reviewers also commented on the themes of Harris’s work and its moral message rather than comment-ing on the poems themselves.

Here is an example from the literary periodical The Athenaeum: “What we admire in his [Harris’s] poetry is its simplic-ity, its honest piety, and the limitation of its matter to the facts of his own experience.” Here the emphasis is on the content of the work rather than his formal abili-ties as a poet.

In my talk, I argued that not enough criticism of Harris has focused on his skills in using different metrical forms such as blank verse and ottava rima.

In the Victorian era, poets were also interested in inventing and appropriat-

ing new metrical forms and Harris was no exception.

I discussed the idea that his use of heptasyllabic (seven syllable) lines to represent drunkenness in his play Caleb Cliff was an example of Harris using an unusual metrical scheme to create some very deliberate bodily ef-fects on the reader.

Anyone who is interested in contact-ing me about my research is welcome to e-mail me at: lallocropia@gmail.com.

nDuncan Yeates is Director of English at Mounts Bay Academy

BY DUNCAN YEATES

The annual meeting was

held in the Guild Room atTroon

Methodist Church.

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DEATH OF THE MOTHER OF JOHN HARRIS, THE CORNISH POET

The mother of John Harris, the Cornish poet, died at Troon, Camborne, on Saturday morning last, September 17th, 1881, in her 82nd year. She has left behind her seven sons and two daughters, of whom John is the eldest.

Five of her sons and one of her daughters, are now in America, and the others are in England. Eight are members of Christian churches; and five of her sons are preachers of the Gospel.

Besides these, two of her children have died - one in manhood, and one in infancy. Her husband has been dead upwards of 30 years.

She was a member of the Wesleyan society for more than fifty years, and gently passed away, relying on the merits of Christ.

The poet touchingly alludes to his mother in several of his volumes. Here is what he said of her in his last book, “Monro.”

His gentle mother nursed her fair first-born,And called him Monro in her dream of joy;

And prayed she for him every night and morn,And rocked the cradle singing to her boy.

A bliss was hers the world could not destroy,Or the great clamour marching o’er the steep,Nor want’s worn visage at the hearth annoy.Her love was like and angel’s, pure and deep;

She hushed him when he sighed, and kissed him in his sleep.

She soothed his sobbings with the simplest sounds,The simplest words and tenderest looks that be;

While in the dell the waterfall resounds,As it foams downwards by the hollow tree.

“Do good, my child, though no good comes to thee.The highest task is to relieve distress,To save a brother from the boiling sea

Of bitter waters, when huge woes oppress,And wintry darkness drops upon life’s wilderness.

“Let love and mercy in thy bosom reign,And hold not back thy hand in time of need;

Be thou the soother of another’s pain,Nor ever cause thy neighbour’s heart to bleed.

For worth and virtue and pale pity plead,And serve thy Maker with a faith sincere,

So shall Jehovah bless the pious deed,And give my child a richer portion here,

And more than tongue can tell in that eternal sphere.”

She is buried at Treslothan, Camborne, where the grass is green and the daisies beautiful, where the youngest daughter of the poet is also interred, and who has been sleeping there, under the violets, for 26 years.

Discovered recently, in the Falmouth & Penryn Weekly Times of Saturday, September 24, 1881, is a report of the death of John Harris’s mother. Note the

fact that she is not mentioned by name - a sign of those times.

HISTORICAL REPORT

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Prolific writer Caroline Palmer, a JHS committee member, has just brought out a new book, Mawla, Nancekuke and More About Porthtowan and Towan Cross (published by Pen and Ink at £9.99). It follows in the wake of her popular Porthtowan and Towan Cross, published in 2013. Caroline has been busy pouring over old newspa-per accounts, studying old documents and listening to first hand accounts by members of local families. The stories of local people, “some funny, some sur-prising, some tragic,” proved particu-larly helpful.

Profusely illustrated with black and white photographs, the book covers many topics from farming to family life, from mining to Methodism and much else. Caroline points out that the four areas under scrutiny “are com-pletely different, though connected by proximity and often ties of blood and friendship, as well as occupation.” Both Mawla and Nancekuke get a mention in the Domesday Book, Towan Cross dates from the sixteenth century but Porthtowan arrives much later. Mawla, says Caroline, “feels so different from the coastal area, serene and self-con-tained, tucked away.” Letters of the Simmons family of Mawla, some nearly a hundred and fifty years old, provided useful background information. Court-ship and family doings, births and deaths and chapel life were some of the topics recorded.

The links between the Simmons family and Mawla are strong. A farm-ing family, they at one time also had a butchers shop in Redruth. Ken Simmons recounted memories of his grandfather, George Simmons. An ex-cellent all-round farmer, George raised cattle and did butchery, the animals be-ing slaughtered on the farm. He looked after the land very well and was expert at building stone hedges.

It was on an holding of the Simmons family, Stencoose Farm that South West Water carried out an archaeologi-cal investigation in 1996. It revealed the remains of a large prehistoric struc-ture, Bronze and Iron Age pottery and

Caroline Palmer’s new bookBOOK REVIEW

BY TONY LANGFORD

signs of an ancient field system.Nancekuke hit the headlines in 2000

when it was reported that former workers at the Ministry of Defence es-tablishment there had died as a result of exposure to nerve gas. An airfield for RAF Portreath had been constructed at Nancekuke during the Second World War. It played a key role in the war effort and many well-known people passed through, including General (later Field Marshall) Montgomery, General de Gaulle and Anthony Eden. In the 1950s it became an outstation of the Chemical Defence Establish-ment (Porton Down) and for a while

the nerve agent Sarin was produced there. Many local people were em-ployed there at this time and Caroline tells of their experiences, including the memories of a former chemist. In 2000, Candy Atherton, the then MP for Falmouth and Camborne, raised the health issues of former workers at Nancekuke in Parliament. These days, RAF Portreath operates an air defence radar station at Nancekuke.

Writing this book has clearly been a labour of love for Caroline, whose aim was to “create a feel of how the past has given birth to the present.” She has certainly succeeded in doing that.

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THE JOHN HARRIS SOCIETY

This newsletter is published three times per year, by the John Harris Society, free to members.All articles for inclusion to: Press and publicity officer Stephen Crossman8 Rose-an-GrouseCanonstown, Hayle TR27 6JN.Phone: 01736 753912Email:stephenc123@icloud.com

CONTACTS

NEWS

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WEBSITEwww.johnharrissociety.org.uk

FACEBOOKwww.facebook.com/johnharrissociety

Grateful thanks go to all those who have contributed news articles in the past and more articles from you, our readers, will be most welcome for possible inclusion in future editions - anything connected with Cornwall, John Harris, poetry, including other poets and Cornish life.OF

FICER

S President: Peter Bickford-Smith

Chairman: Paul Langford01209 213146pandglangford@gmail.com

Secretary: Tony Langford01209 215918tony46langford@gmail.com

John Harris 1820 -1884John Harris was born in 1820 at

Six Chimneys on Bolenowe Carn, near Camborne, the eldest of 11 children.

Largely self-educated - he started school when he was six or seven years old, before finishing at the age of nine - John had an insatiable appetite for reading from his early years.

On his ninth birthday he started work, briefly as a ploughboy, then for a tin-streamer or tinner, operat-ing in Forest Moor.

When he was 13, John went to work underground at Dolcoath. He was to ply this arduous occupa-tion for 24 years, seeing the famous mine pass from copper to tin.

Poetry, or verse-making as he called it, had been part of John’s life since his first attempts at rhyme at school when he was just eight years old.

Whatever he was doing, verses were forming in his mind and he scribbled these down whenever and wherever and on whatever he could. He used the clean side of cast off labelled tea wrappers,

and when no paper was available, would scratch his poems on slate, using a sharp pointed nail.

In his mining days his miner’s ‘hard’ hat was sometimes used for this purpose. When no ink was available, he used blackberry juice.

He fitted his writing into a busy life that, apart from his work and his family responsibilitiies, includ-ed being a Methodist lay preacher and a Sunday School teacher.

John Harris left Dolcoath in 1857 to take up an appointment as a Scripture Reader at Falmouth, a post which he threw himself into with enthusiasm.

He continued writing poetry, and began writing peace tracts and became a Quaker.

John Harris died in 1884 and lies buried in Treslothan Churchyard.

BY TONY LANGFORD About the poet

Subscription fee - £6 per year (and other cheques) to:Hon treasurerChristine Cowls‘Trematon’20 Westborne RoadCamborne, TR14 7JD Phone:01209 713863Or by:PayPal to:pandglangford@gmail.com