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Cornish studies resourcesThose in peril on the sea: mariners in Victorian CornwallA region bordered on three sides by the sea might be expected to be home to a fair number of men described as mariners, seamen, sailors or Royal Navy personnel. In fact, in 1861 there were more of this description than there were fishermen, at least 2,514. ‘At least’ because we would expect a proportion of Cornish seamen to be absent at sea at the time of the census.Some absent married men could be captured through the description of their wives as both heads of household and wives of mariner/seaman etc and this has been done here. However, the 2,514 (or 2.6 per cent) of seafarers has to be regarded as a minimum. Interestingly, this proportion is not far below that usually cited for Cornish sailors present at the Battle of Trafalgar. <a href="https://bernarddeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/occupations-maritime.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a> Unlike fishermen, mariners were found on Cornwall’s north as well as south coast, although in far fewer numbers. In the south, they clustered particularly around the estuaries of the Fal and Tamar (in the latter case most being Royal Navy men) as well as the ports of <a href="https://bernarddeacon.com/cornish-towns/st-ives/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">St Ives</a>, Penzance and <a href="https://bernarddeacon.com/2022/08/05/hayle-powerhouse-of-cornish-engineering/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Hayle</a> in the west. St Ives and Hayle were at one end of the busy trading route to and from the smelting furnaces and coal mines of south Wales, a trade in coal and ore mainly carried in St Ives owned boats.Mariners clearly also had a fondness for the coast around St Austell Bay and east to <a href="https://bernarddeacon.com/2023/04/09/west-looe-the-sea-family-support-and-snooker/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Looe</a>. Indeed, the proportion of mariners at <a href="https://bernarddeacon.com/2022/01/24/fowey-pirates-and-policemen/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Fowey</a>, Cornwall’s premier port in medieval times, was the highest in Cornwall at one in four of its adult male residents.Another 929 men were recorded in the census as making their living from working on the water – boatmen, watermen, ferrymen, pilots and coastguards. Their distribution on the south coast from <a href="https://bernarddeacon.com/2021/05/16/the-falmouth-mutiny-of-1810/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Falmouth</a> to <a href="https://bernarddeacon.com/2021/09/28/the-maritime-connection/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Torpoint</a> broadly mirrored that of mariners with the largest numbers, as might be expected, working in and around the two major estuaries. However, the greatest proportion was found on <a href="https://bernarddeacon.com/2022/03/06/marriage-horizons-on-scilly/" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Scilly</a>, where over one in seven men plied their trade on the local waters, while a minimum of at least another one in seven were mariners.<a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://bernarddeacon.com/tag/fowey/" target="_blank">#Fowey</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://bernarddeacon.com/tag/hayle/" target="_blank">#Hayle</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://bernarddeacon.com/tag/looe/" target="_blank">#Looe</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://bernarddeacon.com/tag/penzance/" target="_blank">#Penzance</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://bernarddeacon.com/tag/scilly/" target="_blank">#Scilly</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://bernarddeacon.com/tag/st-ives/" target="_blank">#StIves</a> <a rel="nofollow noopener" class="hashtag u-tag u-category" href="https://bernarddeacon.com/tag/torpoint/" target="_blank">#Torpoint</a>

Jonathan WrightParadise Park celebrates penguin's 35th birthday<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-65302745" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-65302745</a><a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/ParadisePark" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#ParadisePark</a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Hayle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Hayle</a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Cornwall" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Cornwall</a> <a href="https://mastodon.world/tags/Penguin" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Penguin</a>

SebsterNew Year sunshine, Copperhouse Pool, <a href="https://mastodon.lol/tags/Hayle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Hayle</a>, <a href="https://mastodon.lol/tags/Cornwall" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Cornwall</a> / <a href="https://mastodon.lol/tags/Kernow" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Kernow</a>

SebsterStillness <a href="https://mastodon.lol/tags/Hayle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#Hayle</a> <a href="https://mastodon.lol/tags/harbour" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#harbour</a> <a href="https://mastodon.lol/tags/cornwall" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#cornwall</a> <a href="https://mastodon.lol/tags/kernow" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">#kernow</a>

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