163-541: Launceston ( / ˈ l ɑː n s t ən , ˈ l ɔː n -/ LAHN -stən, LAWN - , locally / ˈ l æ n s ən , ˈ l ɑː n -/ LA(H)N -sən ; rarely spelled Lanson as a local abbreviation; Cornish : Lannstevan ) is a town, ancient borough, and civil parish in Cornwall , England , United Kingdom . It is 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the middle stage of the River Tamar , which constitutes almost
326-501: A Grade II* listed building on Castle St, houses the town museum. Madford is a house built in the second half of the 17th century by Sir Hugh Piper. By 1777 it came into the possession of Richard Vyvyan of Trelowarren through his marriage to Philippa Piper. Philip Vyvyan, son of Richard, conveyed it to the Rev. John Lethbridge whose successors were attorneys and also town clerks and deputy recorders of Launceston. The legal firm of Lethbridge
489-492: A common community language in parts of Cornwall until the mid 18th century, and there is some evidence for traditional speakers of the language persisting into the 19th century. Cornish became extinct as a living community language in Cornwall by the end of the 18th century , although knowledge of Cornish, including speaking ability to a certain extent, persisted within some families and individuals. A revival started in
652-640: A gaol and to host judicial assizes . The castle was captured by the rebels during the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1549, and was garrisoned by the Royalists during the English Civil War in the 17th century. Towards the end of the civil war it was stripped for its building materials and rendered largely uninhabitable. A small gaol was erected in the centre of the bailey, which was also used for executions. The castle eventually became
815-454: A Cornish scribe. No single phonological feature distinguishes Cornish from both Welsh and Breton until the beginning of the assibilation of dental stops in Cornish, which is not found before the second half of the eleventh century, and it is not always possible to distinguish Old Cornish, Old Breton, and Old Welsh orthographically. The Cornish language continued to flourish well through
978-555: A basis, and Nicholas Williams published a revised version of Unified; however neither of these systems gained the popularity of Unified or Kemmyn. The revival entered a period of factionalism and public disputes, with each orthography attempting to push the others aside. By the time that Cornish was recognised by the UK government under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in 2002, it had become recognised that
1141-403: A centre for Cornish wrestling for centuries. Places where tournaments were held include: Castle Green, St Stephens , Chapman's Well and Bowling green at Werrington Park. Five schools are in the town: A former student of Launceston College was actor Sir Roger Moore . In 1962, Horwell Grammar School for Girls, Dunheved Road, was merged with the school, and in 1965 the former Pennygillam School
1304-536: A civic body: A keep or castle Gold. Launceston is twinned with Plestin-les-Grèves in Brittany, France. The town council is based in Launceston Guildhall and Town Hall . The outskirts of Launceston host some large retail businesses with convenience, niche and fine weather tourist-catering commerce in the town centre. The three main industrial estates are Pennygillam, Scarne and Newport. Launceston
1467-435: A combined website. The Grade I listed church of St Mary Magdalene was built in 1511–1524 by Sir Henry Trecarrel of Trecarrel near the town as a memorial to his infant son who died whilst being bathed. The ornate carvings in granite originally carved for the mansion he began to build at Trecarrel, Lezant have withstood the test of time. The tower dates from the 14th century, an earlier church and graveyard having occupied
1630-455: A complete version of a traditional folk tale, John of Chyanhor , a short story about a man from St Levan who goes far to the east seeking work, eventually returning home after three years to find that his wife has borne him a child during his absence. In 1776, William Bodinar, who describes himself as having learned Cornish from old fishermen when he was a boy, wrote a letter to Daines Barrington in Cornish, with an English translation, which
1793-436: A gateway, protected by a portcullis , and would have had three floors, linked to a wall walk around the castle. It would originally have been faced with dressed stonework, which has since been removed. The north gatehouse on the opposite site of the bailey originally led into the town of Launceston. The first floor of the building was probably first used as the porter's room, then by the castle's constable, and finally later as
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#17327718497081956-400: A high tower to increase the height of the keep, probably to allow guests to enjoy the view of his deer park. The bailey was cleared of its older buildings and a new great hall was constructed in the south-west corner. The castle's inhabitants ate well, enjoying a wide range of food including prime cuts of venison brought into the castle, probably mostly from the larger deer parks belonging to
2119-547: A hospital for United States Army personnel. In 1945, the site was leased by the Air Ministry for use as offices. The Ministry of Works took over the guardianship of the castle in 1951. The ministry put pressure on the Air Ministry to leave the site, which occurred in 1956; the bailey was then grassed over again. Archaeological excavations were carried out in the bailey between 1961 and 1982, uncovering many of
2282-551: A lampoon of either of the Tudor kings Henry VII or Henry VIII . Others are the Charter Fragment , the earliest known continuous text in the Cornish language, apparently part of a play about a medieval marriage, and Pascon agan Arluth ( The Passion of Our Lord ), a poem probably intended for personal worship, were written during this period, probably in the second half of the 14th century. Another important text,
2445-868: A less substantial body of literature than the Middle Cornish period, but the sources are more varied in nature, including songs, poems about fishing and curing pilchards , and various translations of verses from the Bible, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer and the Creed. Edward Lhuyd's Archaeologia Britannica , which was mainly recorded in the field from native speakers in the early 1700s, and his unpublished field notebook are seen as important sources of Cornish vocabulary, some of which are not found in any other source. Archaeologia Britannica also features
2608-516: A lesser extent French entered the Cornish language throughout its history. Whereas only 5% of the vocabulary of the Old Cornish Vocabularium Cornicum is thought to be borrowed from English, and only 10% of the lexicon of the early modern Cornish writer William Rowe, around 42% of the vocabulary of the whole Cornish corpus is estimated to be English loan words, without taking frequency into account. (However, when frequency
2771-450: A main room with three separate cages running along one side; one of these cages was reserved for female prisoners. The upper room was used as a chapel, and food for the inmates was lowered through a hole by the prison gaoler. In 1779, after complaints were made by about the conditions, £500 was granted by Parliament and the gaol was enlarged to comprise a day room and a total of seven cells for male and female prisoners, with accommodation for
2934-503: A manifesto demanding a return to the old religious services and included an article that concluded, "and so we the Cornyshe men (whereof certen of us understande no Englysh) utterly refuse thys newe Englysh." In response to their articles, the government spokesman (either Philip Nichols or Nicholas Udall ) wondered why they did not just ask the king for a version of the liturgy in their own language. Archbishop Thomas Cranmer asked why
3097-767: A marriage ceremony from being conducted in Cornish as the Marriage Act 1949 only allowed for marriage ceremonies in English or Welsh. In 2014, the Cornish people were recognised by the UK Government as a national minority under the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities . The FCNM provides certain rights and protections to a national minority with regard to their minority language. In 2016, British government funding for
3260-540: A mixture of English and Brittonic influences, and, like other Cornish literature, may have been written at Glasney College near Penryn . From this period also are the hagiographical dramas Beunans Meriasek ( The Life of Meriasek ) and Bewnans Ke ( The Life of Ke ), both of which feature as an antagonist the villainous and tyrannical King Tewdar (or Teudar), a historical medieval king in Armorica and Cornwall, who, in these plays, has been interpreted as
3423-648: A number of orthographic, and phonological, distinctions not found in Unified Cornish. Kernewek Kemmyn is characterised by the use of universal ⟨k⟩ for /k/ (instead of ⟨c⟩ before back vowels as in Unified); ⟨hw⟩ for /hw/, instead of ⟨wh⟩ as in Unified; and ⟨y⟩, ⟨oe⟩, and ⟨eu⟩ to represent the phonemes /ɪ/, /o/, and /œ/ respectively, which are not found in Unified Cornish. Criticism of all of these systems, especially Kernewek Kemmyn, by Nicolas Williams, resulted in
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#17327718497083586-567: A number of pubs. There are fewer pubs than in the Victorian era, a national trend with the larger ones tending to survive which specialise in their food, others of which provide live music events on a weekly basis. A tucking mill was established in the 15th century by the Flemings in the north of the town (Newport), water-powered, continuing in use for corn until 1968. A manuscript left by Richard Robbins (died 1910) records eight tanneries in
3749-678: A number of toponyms, for example bre 'hill', din 'fort', and bro 'land', and a variety of animal names such as logoden 'mouse', mols ' wether ', mogh 'pigs', and tarow 'bull'. During the Roman occupation of Britain a large number (around 800) of Latin loan words entered the vocabulary of Common Brittonic, which subsequently developed in a similar way to the inherited lexicon. These include brech 'arm' (from British Latin bracc(h)ium ), ruid 'net' (from retia ), and cos 'cheese' (from caseus ). A substantial number of loan words from English and to
3912-504: A number of verbs commonly found in other languages, including modals and psych-verbs; examples are 'have', 'like', 'hate', 'prefer', 'must/have to' and 'make/compel to'. These functions are instead fulfilled by periphrastic constructions involving a verb and various prepositional phrases. The grammar of Cornish shares with other Celtic languages a number of features which, while not unique, are unusual in an Indo-European context. The grammatical features most unfamiliar to English speakers of
4075-457: A prison, and in 1656 was used to hold various members of the Society of Friends , including George Fox , their founder, who described it as a "nasty stinking place". When Charles II was restored to the throne in 1660, Bennett was removed from his post as constable. He was initially replaced by Thomas Rosse and then, in 1661, by Philip Piper. A gaol was built in the centre of the bailey in
4238-547: A prison. The rectangular bailey forms a courtyard, the level part of which is called the Castle Green. When first built, the bailey was protected by earth ramparts, until a later stone curtain wall was built around it, protected by at least three mural towers, the foundations of some of which still survive. Much of the wall, including the south-eastern tower–called the Watch or Witch Tower–has been destroyed, although around
4401-490: A sharp incline. To the north, the ground drops away to the River Kensey . The castle comprises a curtain wall enclosing a bailey, with the remains of a north and south gatehouse. The inside of the bailey, 110 by 120 metres (360 by 390 ft) across, contains the foundations of various buildings, including the castle's great hall. In the north-east corner is a motte, topped by a keep and the high tower. The majority of
4564-405: A stretch 50 metres (160 ft) long survives on the south-west side. The foundations of various, mostly 13th-century buildings excavated during the 20th century can be seen within the bailey, including the great hall, 22 by 7 metres (72 by 23 ft) across; a long narrow hall, possibly used as a courtroom; and a large kitchen. A Victorian cottage is positioned by the south gatehouse, probably on
4727-614: A study by Kenneth MacKinnon in 2000. Jenefer Lowe of the Cornish Language Partnership said in an interview with the BBC in 2010 that there were around 300 fluent speakers. Bert Biscoe , a councillor and bard, in a statement to the Western Morning News in 2014 said there were "several hundred fluent speakers". Cornwall Council estimated in 2015 that there were 300–400 fluent speakers who used
4890-490: A tourist attraction during the summer months. It was restored for aesthetic and industrial heritage purposes and runs along a short rural route, it is popular with visitors but does not run for much of the year. Launceston Castle was built by Robert, Count of Mortain (half-brother of William the Conqueror), c. 1070 to control the surrounding area. Launceston was the caput of the feudal barony of Launceston and of
5053-525: A variety of reasons by Jon Mills and Nicholas Williams , including making phonological distinctions that they state were not made in the traditional language c. 1500 , failing to make distinctions that they believe were made in the traditional language at this time, and the use of an orthography that deviated too far from the traditional texts and Unified Cornish. Also during this period, Richard Gendall created his Modern Cornish system (also known as Revived Late Cornish), which used Late Cornish as
Launceston, Cornwall - Misplaced Pages Continue
5216-434: Is taken into account, this figure for the entire corpus drops to 8%.) The many English loanwords, some of which were sufficiently well assimilated to acquire native Cornish verbal or plural suffixes or be affected by the mutation system, include redya 'to read', onderstondya 'to understand', ford 'way', hos 'boot' and creft 'art'. Many Cornish words, such as mining and fishing terms, are specific to
5379-605: Is connected to the A30 trunk route, a dual carriageway bypass carrying its road traffic south of the town. The bypass crosses the River Tamar on the Dunheved Bridge built in 1975–1976 and substantially rebuilt 2006–2007. Through this the town is approximately 42 miles (68 km) west of Exeter , 27 miles (43 km) north-west of Plymouth and 21 miles (34 km) east of the smaller regional centre of Bodmin . It
5542-727: Is derived from the former monastery at St Stephen's a few miles north-west (the castle and town were originally named Dunheved) and the Common Brittonic placename element lan- . Dunheved was the Southwestern Brittonic name for the town in the West Saxon period. The earliest known Cornish mint was at Launceston, which operated on a minimal scale at the time of Æthelred the Unready before Cornwall received full diocesan jurisdiction in 994. Only one specimen
5705-441: Is descended from the Common Brittonic language spoken throughout much of Great Britain before the English language came to dominate. For centuries, until it was pushed westwards by English, it was the main language of Cornwall , maintaining close links with its sister language Breton, with which it was mutually intelligible , perhaps even as long as Cornish continued to be spoken as a vernacular. Cornish continued to function as
5868-499: Is in the town. Local-specific editions of the paper and other publications are produced. It was founded in 1856 and incorporates the Launceston Weekly News . The Cornish Guardian North Cornwall edition covers Launceston. Four FM radio stations can be received: BBC Radio Cornwall , Pirate FM , Heart West , and Radyo an Gernewegva (online or via large aerials). In December 2013 a periodic community audio magazine
6031-627: Is inherited direct from Proto-Celtic , either through the ancestral Proto-Indo-European language, or through vocabulary borrowed from unknown substrate language(s) at some point in the development of the Celtic proto-language from PIE. Examples of the PIE > PCelt. development are various terms related to kinship and people, including mam 'mother', modereb 'aunt, mother's sister', huir 'sister', mab 'son', gur 'man', den 'person, human', and tus 'people', and words for parts of
6194-553: Is known to exist. In the reign of William the Conqueror , the mint was moved to Dunheved and remained in existence until the reign of Henry II, 1160. During the reign of Henry III of England , another mint was established in Launceston. Launceston Castle , in good repair, is a Norman motte-and-bailey castle , and was built by Robert, Count of Mortain (half-brother of William the Conqueror) c. 1070 to dominate
6357-544: Is located on the A30 trunk road into Cornwall and has a number of transport based business mainly located in Pennygillam Industrial estate. A major local business is the DS Smith packaging products manufacturing plant. Launceston is located in predominately rural area and has a number of business dedicated to supporting the surrounding rural economy. The town has several restaurants, cafés, takeaways and
6520-412: Is mainly concerned with training children in acting and produces one high quality show each year under the direction of Oksana Wroath, an ex-professional Russian stage actress. Three Anglican churches are in the town which has a united benefice and ecclesiastical parish covering Tregadillett three miles (5 km) west, the same clergy alternating services to provide for a large attendance and operating
6683-521: Is now extinct. In the early 19th century, Launceston gave its name to the settlement, Launceston, Tasmania , which is now the second largest city in Tasmania. During World War Two, racial tensions in the ranks of American soldiers sparked a shootout in the town square. Fourteen African American soldiers of the 581st Ordnance Ammunition Company were charged with mutiny. Launceston is a market town, castle, recreational and heritage railway visitor town and
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6846-508: Is one of the most important towns in Daphne du Maurier's novel Jamaica Inn . Launceston annually hosted the "Castle Rock" music festival in July, which took place on the lower grounds of the castle which overlooks the town (within the outer walls). As well as a vibrant mix of local bands, the 2006 festival was headlined by Capdown which massively improved the event's profile. The first concert
7009-452: Is roughly midway between the north coast of Cornwall (at Bude ) and the south coast (at Saltash ). Launceston civil parish comprises the town whereas St Stephens by Launceston Rural civil parish covers all outskirts, save for those south of the town. These each convene to discuss events funding, recreational funding and general planning matters. Stourscombe SSSI, a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest , one mile (1.6 km) to
7172-503: Is to support the language, in line with the European Charter. A motion was passed in November 2009 in which the council promoted the inclusion of Cornish, as appropriate and where possible, in council publications and on signs. This plan has drawn some criticism. In October 2015, The council announced that staff would be encouraged to use "basic words and phrases" in Cornish when dealing with the public. In 2021 Cornwall Council prohibited
7335-647: The Tregear Homilies , was realized to be Cornish in 1949, having previously been incorrectly classified as Welsh. It is the longest text in the traditional Cornish language, consisting of around 30,000 words of continuous prose. This text is a late 16th century translation of twelve of Bishop Bonner 's thirteen homilies by a certain John Tregear, tentatively identified as a vicar of St Allen from Crowan , and has an additional catena, Sacrament an Alter, added later by his fellow priest, Thomas Stephyn. In
7498-532: The Cranken Rhyme , a corrupted version of a verse or song published in the late 19th century by John Hobson Matthews , recorded orally by John Davey (or Davy) of Boswednack , of uncertain date but probably originally composed during the last years of the traditional language. Davey had traditional knowledge of at least some Cornish. John Kelynack (1796–1885), a fisherman of Newlyn, was sought by philologists for old Cornish words and technical phrases in
7661-406: The Air Ministry for offices. The ministry left the castle in 1956 and the site was reopened to visitors. In the 21st century, Launceston is owned by the duchy of Cornwall and operated by English Heritage as a tourist attraction. Much of the castle defences remain, including the motte, keep and high tower which overlook the castle's former deer park to the south. The gatehouses and some of
7824-592: The Bodmin manumissions , which is a list of manumittors and slaves, the latter with mostly Cornish names, and, more substantially, a Latin-Cornish glossary (the Vocabularium Cornicum or Cottonian Vocabulary), a Cornish translation of Ælfric of Eynsham 's Latin-Old English Glossary, which is thematically arranged into several groups, such as the Genesis creation narrative , anatomy, church hierarchy,
7987-529: The Earldom of Cornwall until replaced by Lostwithiel in the 13th century. Launceston was later the county town of Cornwall until 1835 when Bodmin replaced it. Two civil parishes serve the town and its outskirts, of which the central more built-up administrative unit housed 8,952 residents at the 2011 census. Three electoral wards include reference to the town, their total population, from 2011 census data, being 11,837 and two ecclesiastical parishes serve
8150-584: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages , and the language is often described as an important part of Cornish identity, culture and heritage. Since the revival of the language, some Cornish textbooks and works of literature have been published, and an increasing number of people are studying the language. Recent developments include Cornish music , independent films , and children's books. A small number of people in Cornwall have been brought up to be bilingual native speakers, and
8313-510: The curtain wall have survived, and archaeologists have uncovered the foundations of various buildings in the bailey, including the great hall. Launceston Castle was built after the Norman conquest of England , probably following the capture of Exeter in 1068. It was built at a strategic location, then called Dunheved, controlling the area between Bodmin Moor and Dartmoor , and the access over
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#17327718497088476-514: The "gateway to Cornwall", due to having the A30 , one of the two dual carriageways into the county, pass directly next to the town. The other dual carriageway and alternative main point of entry is the A38 at Saltash over the Tamar Bridge and was completed in 1962. There are smaller points of entry to Cornwall on minor roads. Launceston Steam Railway narrow-gauge heritage railway runs as
8639-492: The 'glotticide' of the Cornish language was mainly a result of the Cornish gentry adopting English to dissociate themselves from the reputation for disloyalty and rebellion associated with the Cornish language since the 1497 uprising. By the middle of the 17th century, the language had retreated to Penwith and Kerrier , and transmission of the language to new generations had almost entirely ceased. In his Survey of Cornwall , published in 1602, Richard Carew writes: [M]ost of
8802-578: The 13th century. The natural advantages of the Launceston district had been recognised by the Anglo-Saxon monks of St Stephen and by the Norman lord of Cornwall in the reign of King William I. At this point in the course of the River Tamar it is joined by four tributaries within a short distance and its floodplain is relatively large, while further south the Tamar valley is narrow and meandering. Launceston
8965-549: The 1549 edition of the English Book of Common Prayer as the sole legal form of worship in England, including Cornwall, people in many areas of Cornwall did not speak or understand English. The passing of this Act was one of the causes of the Prayer Book Rebellion (which may also have been influenced by government repression after the failed Cornish rebellion of 1497 ), with "the commoners of Devonshyre and Cornwall" producing
9128-497: The 16th century, resulting in the nasals /nn/ and /mm/ being realised as [ᵈn] and [ᵇm] respectively in stressed syllables, and giving Late Cornish forms such as pedn 'head' (Welsh pen ) and kabm 'crooked' (Welsh cam ). As a revitalised language , the phonology of contemporary spoken Cornish is based on a number of sources, including various reconstructions of the sound system of middle and early modern Cornish based on an analysis of internal evidence such as
9291-448: The 1970s. Criticism of Nance's system, particularly the relationship of spelling to sounds and the phonological basis of Unified Cornish, resulted in rival orthographies appearing by the early 1980s, including Gendal's Modern Cornish , based on Late Cornish native writers and Lhuyd, and Ken George's Kernewek Kemmyn , a mainly morphophonemic orthography based on George's reconstruction of Middle Cornish c. 1500 , which features
9454-496: The 1980s, Ken George published a new system, Kernewek Kemmyn ('Common Cornish'), based on a reconstruction of the phonological system of Middle Cornish, but with an approximately morphophonemic orthography . It was subsequently adopted by the Cornish Language Board and was the written form used by a reported 54.5% of all Cornish language users according to a survey in 2008, but was heavily criticised for
9617-507: The 19th century. It is difficult to state with certainty when Cornish ceased to be spoken, due to the fact that its last speakers were of relatively low social class and that the definition of what constitutes "a living language" is not clear cut. Peter Pool argues that by 1800 nobody was using Cornish as a daily language and no evidence exists of anyone capable of conversing in the language at that date. However, passive speakers , semi-speakers and rememberers , who retain some competence in
9780-452: The 20th century, including the growth in number of speakers. In 2002, Cornish was recognized by the UK government under Part II of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . UNESCO 's Atlas of World Languages classifies Cornish as "critically endangered". UNESCO has said that a previous classification of 'extinct' "does not reflect the current situation for Cornish" and is "no longer accurate". Cornwall Council 's policy
9943-591: The Book of Fees. In the Domesday Book (1086) it is recorded that Launceston was held by the Count of Mortain, and that he had his castle there. There was land for 10 ploughs, 1 villein and 13 smallholders with 4 ploughs, 2 mills which paid 40 shillings (£2 sterling) and 40 acres of pasture. The value of the manor was only £4 though it had formerly been worth £20. The Roman Catholic saint and martyr Cuthbert Mayne
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#173277184970810106-512: The Cornish Language . The publication of this book is often considered to be the point at which the revival movement started. Jenner wrote about the Cornish language in 1905, "one may fairly say that most of what there was of it has been preserved, and that it has been continuously preserved, for there has never been a time when there were not some Cornishmen who knew some Cornish." The revival focused on reconstructing and standardising
10269-829: The Cornish language ceased, and responsibility transferred to Cornwall Council. Until around the middle of the 11th century, Old Cornish scribes used a traditional spelling system shared with Old Breton and Old Welsh, based on the pronunciation of British Latin . By the time of the Vocabularium Cornicum , usually dated to around 1100, Old English spelling conventions, such as the use of thorn (Þ, þ) and eth (Ð, ð) for dental fricatives , and wynn (Ƿ, ƿ) for /w/, had come into use, allowing documents written at this time to be distinguished from Old Welsh, which rarely uses these characters, and Old Breton, which does not use them at all. Old Cornish features include using initial ⟨ch⟩, ⟨c⟩, or ⟨k⟩ for /k/, and, in internal and final position, ⟨p⟩, ⟨t⟩, ⟨c⟩, ⟨b⟩, ⟨d⟩, and ⟨g⟩ are generally used for
10432-469: The Cornish language comes from this period: a 9th-century gloss in a Latin manuscript of De Consolatione Philosophiae by Boethius , which used the words ud rocashaas . The phrase may mean "it [the mind] hated the gloomy places", or alternatively, as Andrew Breeze suggests, "she hated the land". Other sources from this period include the Saints' List , a list of almost fifty Cornish saints,
10595-438: The Cornish orthography within them. Around 1700, Edward Lhuyd visited Cornwall, introducing his own partly phonetic orthography that he used in his Archaeologia Britannica , which was adopted by some local writers, leading to the use of some Lhuydian features such as the use of circumflexes to denote long vowels, ⟨k⟩ before front vowels, word-final ⟨i⟩, and the use of ⟨dh⟩ to represent the voiced dental fricative /ð/. After
10758-513: The Cornishmen should be offended by holding the service in English, when they had before held it in Latin , which even fewer of them could understand. Anthony Fletcher points out that this rebellion was primarily motivated by religious and economic, rather than linguistic, concerns. The rebellion prompted a heavy-handed response from the government, and 5,500 people died during the fighting and
10921-560: The Middle Cornish ( Kernewek Kres ) period (1200–1600), reaching a peak of about 39,000 speakers in the 13th century, after which the number started to decline. This period provided the bulk of traditional Cornish literature , and was used to reconstruct the language during its revival. Most important is the Ordinalia , a cycle of three mystery plays, Origo Mundi , Passio Christi and Resurrexio Domini . Together these provide about 8,734 lines of text. The three plays exhibit
11084-515: The Polson ford into Cornwall . It was probably constructed by Robert , the Count of Mortain , who was granted the earldom of Cornwall by William the Conqueror . The early castle had earth and timber ramparts surrounding a bailey , with a defensive motte in its north-east corner. The bailey was designed around a grid-plan, aligned along its north-south axis, and had a substantial timber hall in
11247-537: The River Tamar: it is of granite. Two old bridges cross the River Kensey: one mediaeval and one built in 1580. The Baptist chapel is late 18th century and a number of Georgian houses may also be seen. Three nonconformist churches/chapels served the 19th-century town: Wesleyan Methodist, Bible Christian, and Calvinist. North Cornwall and West Devon's Elim Pentecostal Church is in the town. Lawrence House ,
11410-468: The area, although this is actually located to the south, in the deer park. Visitors would have been funnelled around the edge of the park and by the town wall towards the south gate of the castle, a route dominated by the views of the keep and tower. The addition of the high tower had made the castle visible to anyone entering from Devon, framing it strikingly against the hills. The keep, park and town walls probably symbolised Richard's authority as earl, and
11573-428: The authorities came to associate it with sedition and "backwardness". This proved to be one of the reasons why the Book of Common Prayer was never translated into Cornish (unlike Welsh ), as proposals to do so were suppressed in the rebellion's aftermath. The failure to translate the Book of Common Prayer into Cornish led to the language's rapid decline during the 16th and 17th centuries. Peter Berresford Ellis cites
11736-503: The bakery in Launceston was sold at a loss, contributing to the Duchy Originals company making a loss for 2009 – 10. The Natural Fibre Company (TNFC) is a British wool mill based in Launceston and is the only small-scale full range textile mill in the UK. The main focus of the business is to add value to naturally coloured raw fleece which is bought from farmers, smallholders and rare sheep breeders. The poet Charles Causley
11899-414: The base of the keep. The upper chamber of the high tower was fitted with a large window and a fireplace, overlooking the deer park, and archaeologist Oliver Creighton suggests the tower was intended to be used a "private grandstand", with the parapet below being used for other forms of "lordly display" over the local community. The tower now leans slightly. The keep appears to lie on the highest ground in
12062-409: The basis of revived Cornish ( Kernewek Dasserghys ) for most of the 20th century. During the 1970s, criticism of Nance's system, including the inconsistent orthography and unpredictable correspondence between spelling and pronunciation, as well as on other grounds such as the archaic basis of Unified and a lack of emphasis on the spoken language, resulted in the creation of several rival systems. In
12225-483: The beginning of the Celtic Revival in the late 19th century, provided the groundwork for a Cornish language revival movement. Notwithstanding the uncertainty over who was the last speaker of Cornish, researchers have posited the following numbers for the prevalence of the language between 1050 and 1800. In 1904, the Celtic language scholar and Cornish cultural activist Henry Jenner published A Handbook of
12388-518: The biggest", he had ever seen, but the only buildings he noted were the chapel and the great hall, which was then being used for assize and court sessions. Launceston Castle played a role in Cornish politics during the middle of the 16th century. In 1548, Sir William Body, a royal commissioner sent by Edward VI to destroy the Catholic shrines at Helston , was killed by two local Cornish men. In retaliation, 28 local men were arrested and executed at
12551-617: The body, including lof 'hand' and dans 'tooth'. Inherited adjectives with an Indo-European etymology include newyth 'new', ledan 'broad, wide', rud 'red', hen 'old', iouenc 'young', and byw 'alive, living'. Several Celtic or Brittonic words cannot be reconstructed to Proto-Indo-European, and are suggested to have been borrowed from unknown substrate language(s) at an early stage, such as Proto-Celtic or Proto-Brittonic. Proposed examples in Cornish include coruf 'beer' and broch 'badger'. Other words in Cornish inherited direct from Proto-Celtic include
12714-558: The castle passed to Walter de Bottreaux. In 1337, Edward III 's son, Edward the Black Prince , was made the first Duke of Cornwall and acquired Launceston Castle. A survey reported a range of problems with the poorly-maintained fortification, noting that the walls–which were supposed to have been repaired by the knights of the castle-guard–were "ruinous", and that various buildings inside the bailey, including two prison buildings, were "decayed" and in need of new roofs. By this time
12877-409: The castle's constable, who used the materials to help built a new mansion alongside the castle, called Eagle House . Parts of the north-west curtain wall were destroyed in the process of his landscaping work. When the artist William Gilpin visited in 1775, he praised the picturesque condition of the ruins. The prisoner reformer John Howard reported in 1777 that the gaol was very small, forming
13040-479: The castle. Anger grew, and in 1549 a wider uprising called the Prayer Book Rebellion took place. It was headed by Sir Humphrey Arundell , who marched up through the county and took Launceston Castle that summer, probably without a struggle. The castle was then used to imprison the royalist leader, Sir Richard Grenville , who died during his detention there. John Russell , the Earl of Bedford , subsequently defeated
13203-523: The colloquial pseudonym Windmill Primary School , being situated adjacent to the site of the town's former windmill for grinding grain in Coronation Park. Cornish language Cornish ( Standard Written Form : Kernewek or Kernowek , pronounced [kəɾˈnuːək] ) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family . Along with Welsh and Breton , Cornish
13366-516: The command of Major General James Chudleigh advanced in an attempt to capture Launceston from the Royalists. The Royalist commander, Ralph Hopton, 1st Baron Hopton , stationed his forces on the summit of Beacon Hill, a steep hill which overlooks the town. The Parliamentarians captured the foot of the hill, but were unable to dislodge the Royalist forces from the top. Hopton led a counterattack down
13529-523: The condition of the site to Queen Victoria , which resulted in Hugh Percy , the 3rd Duke of Northumberland and the castle's constable, landscaping the area to create a public park between 1840 and 1842 at a cost of £3,000. The south gatehouse was repaired, and the remains of the north gatehouse turned into stables. Hugh sold off his local interests in 1864 and the Northumberlands' control of
13692-461: The constable of the castle was living in the north gatehouse. Repairs to Launceston were undertaken in the 1340s and Edward held a council meeting at the castle in 1353, which was increasingly being used mainly for the holding of judicial assizes and as a gaol . In the 15th century, the castle's bailey was subdivided by a long wall, and the high tower on top of the keep was turned into an additional prison building. Launceston played little part in
13855-585: The county gaol for Cornwall, but was heavily criticised for its poor facilities and treatment of inmates, earning it the nickname Castle Terrible . By 1842, the remaining prisoners had been moved to Bodmin Gaol and the site was closed, the castle being landscaped to form a park by the Duke of Northumberland . During the Second World War , the site was used to host United States Army soldiers and, later, by
14018-470: The county government and the assizes were moved to Bodmin, which was more centrally located in Cornwall, resulting in the closure of the castle's gaol and its final demolition in 1842. By now the castle was in disrepair, and the bailey and the earthworks were covered with a combination of pigsties , cabbage gardens and a skittle alley used by a local pub. Local tradition states that the visiting Queen of Portugal , Maria II of Portugal , complained about
14181-557: The creation of Unified Cornish Revised, a modified version of Nance's orthography, featuring: an additional phoneme not distinguished by Nance, "ö in German schön ", represented in the UCR orthography by ⟨ue⟩; replacement of ⟨y⟩ with ⟨e⟩ in many words; internal ⟨h⟩ rather than ⟨gh⟩; and use of final ⟨b⟩, ⟨g⟩, and ⟨dh⟩ in stressed monosyllables. A Standard Written Form , intended as a compromise orthography for official and educational purposes,
14344-560: The culture of Cornwall. Examples include atal 'mine waste' and beetia 'to mend fishing nets'. Foogan and hogan are different types of pastries. Troyl is a 'traditional Cornish dance get-together' and Furry is a specific kind of ceremonial dance that takes place in Cornwall. Certain Cornish words may have several translation equivalents in English, so for instance lyver may be translated into English as either 'book' or 'volume' and dorn can mean either 'hand' or 'fist'. As in other Celtic languages, Cornish lacks
14507-527: The defeat of the Britons at the Battle of Deorham in about 577. The western dialects eventually evolved into modern Welsh and the now extinct Cumbric , while Southwestern Brittonic developed into Cornish and Breton, the latter as a result of emigration to parts of the continent, known as Brittany over the following centuries. The area controlled by the southwestern Britons was progressively reduced by
14670-419: The demolition of part of the castle wall and the fortified bridge, and the weakening of the foundations caused the subsequent collapse of the south-eastern tower later that year. The town of Launceston declined in importance in the 19th century and from 1823 onwards the county gaol, which had a reputation for filthy and unhealthy conditions, began to be run down in favour of the facility at Bodmin Gaol . In 1838
14833-504: The dental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/, a usage which is unique to Middle Cornish and is never found in Middle English. Middle Cornish scribes tend to use ⟨c⟩ for /k/ before back vowels, and ⟨k⟩ for /k/ before front vowels, though this is not always true, and this rule is less consistent in certain texts. Middle Cornish scribes almost universally use ⟨wh⟩ to represent /ʍ/ (or /hw/), as in Middle English. Middle Cornish, especially towards
14996-532: The dynastic Wars of the Roses that broke out after 1455; the castle was given to the Yorkist favourite Halnatheus Malyverer in 1484, but Henry VII 's victory the following year saw him replaced by Sir Richard Edgcumbe . After Edgcumbes death in 1489 his son Piers Edgecumbe took over as constable for life. When the antiquarian John Leland visited in 1539, he noted that the castle was "the strongest, though not
15159-431: The earldom across the region. A town borough was formally created in 1201, and by the 1220s there was a settlement established outside the castle gates; some of those residents who had been moved out of the bailey may have resettled there. Richard built a stone wall around the new town, linking it to the castle defences, intending it both as a defensive measure and to impress visitors. Richard's son Edmund inherited
15322-510: The earldom in 1272 and moved the administrative hub of the earldom to Lostwithiel , closer to the tin mining industries. Launceston Castle remained significant as a site of local government, but it soon fell into neglect. When Edmund died in 1300, he left no heirs and the property reverted to the Crown. Edward II gave the earldom, including Launceston Castle, to his royal favourite Piers de Gaveston but, following Gaveston's execution in 1312,
15485-400: The early 20th century, and in 2010 UNESCO reclassified the language as critically endangered , stating that its former classification of the language as extinct was no longer accurate. The language has a growing number of second-language speakers, and a very small number of families now raise children to speak revived Cornish as a first language . Cornish is currently recognised under
15648-722: The east of Launceston, is designated ″... for the best inland exposure of the Upper Devonian in South West England and the type locality of the Stourscombe Beds (Upper Famennian ).″ Part of the town wall is still in existence including the South Gate of two arches. The White Hart Hotel incorporates a Norman doorway possibly removed from the Friary at St Thomas'. New Bridge (early 16th century) crosses
15811-431: The end of this period, tends to use orthographic ⟨g⟩ and ⟨b⟩ in word-final position in stressed monosyllables, and ⟨k⟩ and ⟨p⟩ in word-final position in unstressed final syllables, to represent the reflexes of late Brittonic /ɡ/ and /b/, respectively. Written sources from this period are often spelled following English spelling conventions since many of the writers of the time had not been exposed to Middle Cornish texts or
15974-418: The entire border between Cornwall and Devon . The landscape of the town is generally steep particularly at a sharp south-western knoll topped by Launceston Castle . These gradients fall down to the River Kensey and smaller tributaries. The town centre itself is bypassed and is no longer physically a main thoroughfare. The A388 still runs through the town close to the centre. The town remains figuratively
16137-436: The evidence of this rhyme, of what there was to lose by neglecting John Davey." The search for the last speaker is hampered by a lack of transcriptions or audio recordings, so that it is impossible to tell from this distance whether the language these people were reported to be speaking was Cornish, or English with a heavy Cornish substratum , nor what their level of fluency was. Nevertheless, this academic interest, along with
16300-475: The existence of multiple orthographies was unsustainable with regards to using the language in education and public life, as none had achieved a wide consensus. A process of unification was set about which resulted in the creation of the public-body Cornish Language Partnership in 2005 and agreement on a Standard Written Form in 2008. In 2010 a new milestone was reached when UNESCO altered its classification of Cornish, stating that its previous label of "extinct"
16463-605: The expansion of Wessex over the next few centuries. During the Old Cornish ( Kernewek Koth ) period (800–1200), the Cornish-speaking area was largely coterminous with modern-day Cornwall , after the Saxons had taken over Devon in their south-westward advance, which probably was facilitated by a second migration wave to Brittany that resulted in the partial depopulation of Devon. The earliest written record of
16626-404: The facility. The bailey was also used for carrying out executions. The Pyper family's control of the constableship concluded in 1754, and George II then appointed a sequence of constables who became responsible for running the castle and county gaol on behalf of the duchy of Cornwall. In 1764, the north gatehouse was partially demolished by Coryndon Carpenter, a former mayor of Launceston and
16789-460: The family, names for various kinds of artisans and their tools, flora, fauna, and household items. The manuscript was widely thought to be in Old Welsh until the 18th century when it was identified as Cornish by Edward Lhuyd . Some Brittonic glosses in the 9th-century colloquy De raris fabulis were once identified as Old Cornish, but they are more likely Old Welsh, possibly influenced by
16952-460: The former single parish, with three churches and a large swathe of land to the north and west part of the area. Launceston's motto "Royale et Loyale" (English translation: Royal and Loyal) is a reference to its adherence to the Cavalier cause during the English Civil War of the mid-17th century. The Cornish name of "Launceston", Lannstevan , means the "church enclosure of St Stephen" and
17115-481: The fortifications are built from shale stone, with the detailing carried out in granite and Polyphant stone . The castle is now entered through the 13th-century southern gatehouse, which faces towards the former deer park. This entrance was once protected by a 14th-century fortified bridge, also called a barbican , but only one set of stone arches remain, showing two surviving arrow slits in arched recesses. The south gatehouse has two drum towers on either side of
17278-478: The hall was very spacious, the chapel was in a state of some decay. In 1637, Launceston Castle was used to imprison the Puritan writer John Bastwick ; contemporary accounts noted that the decaying castle was "so ruinous that every small blast of wind threatened to shatter it down upon his head". Shortly afterwards, the English Civil War broke out between the followers of Charles I and Parliament . The castle
17441-536: The hill and, despite fierce fighting and the arrival of Parliamentary reinforcements, forced Chudleigh's troops to retreat. Sir Richard Grenville, 1st Baronet was committed by Prince Charles to Launceston Prison for refusing to obey Lord Hopton; Grenville had already quarrelled with General George Goring, Lord Goring . Launceston has the only document in the UK signed by Mary II of England and her husband, William III of England . The very poor means of transport within Cornwall, which did not begin to be improved until
17604-400: The individualised nature of language take-up. Nevertheless, there is recognition that the number of Cornish speakers is growing. From before the 1980s to the end of the 20th century there was a sixfold increase in the number of speakers to around 300. One figure for the number of people who know a few basic words, such as knowing that "Kernow" means "Cornwall", was 300,000; the same survey gave
17767-402: The inhabitants can speak no word of Cornish, but very few are ignorant of the English; and yet some so affect their own, as to a stranger they will not speak it; for if meeting them by chance, you inquire the way, or any such matter, your answer shall be, " Meea navidna caw zasawzneck ," "I [will] speak no Saxonage." The Late Cornish ( Kernewek Diwedhes ) period from 1600 to about 1800 has
17930-957: The language are the initial consonant mutations , the verb–subject–object word order, inflected prepositions , fronting of emphasised syntactic elements and the use of two different forms for 'to be'. Cornish has initial consonant mutation : The first sound of a Cornish word may change according to grammatical context. As in Breton, there are four types of mutation in Cornish (compared with three in Welsh , two in Irish and Manx and one in Scottish Gaelic ). These changes apply to only certain letters (sounds) in particular grammatical contexts, some of which are given below: Cornish has no indefinite article . Porth can either mean 'harbour' or 'a harbour'. In certain contexts, unn can be used, with
18093-407: The language despite not being fluent nor using the language in daily life, generally survive even longer. The traditional view that Dolly Pentreath (1692–1777) was the last native speaker of Cornish has been challenged, and in the 18th and 19th centuries there was academic interest in the language and in attempting to find the last speaker of Cornish. It has been suggested that, whereas Pentreath
18256-602: The language is taught in schools and appears on street nameplates. The first Cornish-language day care opened in 2010. Cornish is a Southwestern Brittonic language, a branch of the Insular Celtic section of the Celtic language family , which is a sub-family of the Indo-European language family. Brittonic also includes Welsh , Breton , Cumbric and possibly Pictish , the last two of which are extinct . Scottish Gaelic , Irish and Manx are part of
18419-580: The language regularly, with 5,000 people having a basic conversational ability in the language. A report on the 2011 Census published in 2013 by the Office for National Statistics placed the number of speakers at somewhere between 325 and 625. In 2017 the ONS released data based on the 2011 Census that placed the number of speakers at 557 people in England and Wales who declared Cornish to be their main language, 464 of whom lived in Cornwall. The 2021 census listed
18582-438: The language, including coining new words for modern concepts, and creating educational material in order to teach Cornish to others. In 1929 Robert Morton Nance published his Unified Cornish ( Kernewek Unys ) system, based on the Middle Cornish literature while extending the attested vocabulary with neologisms and forms based on Celtic roots also found in Breton and Welsh, publishing a dictionary in 1938. Nance's work became
18745-510: The late 18th century, meant that assizes were held in Launceston. When the situation had been improved Bodmin became the county town where the assizes were held (at the Shire Hall there in 1838). Launceston's role as the de facto county town of Cornwall became established in the 13th century but it was never officially designated as the county town. Viscount Launceston was a title of nobility created in 1726 (as Viscount of Launceston) but
18908-510: The late-17th century; it was bought by the constable and was adopted as the county gaol. In 1690, the county complained to the King that the constable, Sir Hugh Pyper, had allowed it to fall into disrepair and that the male and female prisoners were sleeping together in the same quarters. Two years later, the Crown granted the post of constable in perpetuity to Hugh and for two generations after him; in exchange, Hugh agreed to invest £120 in repairing
19071-399: The main shopping centre for the adjoining rural areas of west Devon and east Cornwall. The town is mainly built on the south side of a large hill almost immune to flooding , unlike its northern neighbourhood, Newport in part on a slightly wider plain at the bottom of the hill, which is susceptible to flooding by the River Kensey . The suburb of Newport is recorded for the first time during
19234-426: The market to outside his new castle, intending to profit from the trade. A watermill was built to the south-west of the castle. The first documentary record of the castle dates from 1086 and further evidence is limited until the 13th century. Robert's son, William , rebelled against Henry I of England in 1106, who confiscated the castle. Reginald de Dunstanville held it between 1141 and 1175, and it passed to
19397-436: The meaning 'a certain, a particular', e.g. unn porth 'a certain harbour'. There is, however, a definite article an 'the', which is used for all nouns regardless of their gender or number, e.g. an porth 'the harbour'. Cornish nouns belong to one of two grammatical genders , masculine and feminine, but are not inflected for case . Nouns may be singular or plural. Plurals can be formed in various ways, depending on
19560-403: The medieval buildings. In the 21st century, Launceston Castle is owned by the duchy of Cornwall and operated by English Heritage ; as of 2013, annual visitor numbers averaged between 23,000 and 25,000. The remains are protected under UK law as scheduled monuments and a grade I listed building . Launceston Castle is built on a ridge that slopes from the east down to its west, where it meets
19723-458: The mid-19th century. The motte is separated from the bailey by a ditch, now crossed by a modern bridge. In the 13th century this point was protected by a D-shaped tower, which still survives, located to one side of the gateway. The causeway steps up to the top of the mound were originally a roofed, stone corridor. There are the foundations of the castle well on the west side of the causeway. A circular shell keep , 26 metres (85 ft) across,
19886-404: The noun: Launceston Castle Launceston Castle is located in the town of Launceston , Cornwall , England . It was probably built by Robert the Count of Mortain after 1068, and initially comprised an earthwork and timber castle with a large motte in one corner. Launceston Castle formed the administrative centre of the new earldom of Cornwall , with a large community packed within
20049-565: The number of Cornish speakers at 563. A study that appeared in 2018 established the number of people in Cornwall with at least minimal skills in Cornish, such as the use of some words and phrases, to be more than 3,000, including around 500 estimated to be fluent. The Institute of Cornish Studies at the University of Exeter is working with the Cornish Language Partnership to study the Cornish language revival of
20212-410: The number of people able to have simple conversations as 3,000. The Cornish Language Strategy project commissioned research to provide quantitative and qualitative evidence for the number of Cornish speakers: due to the success of the revival project it was estimated that 2,000 people were fluent (surveyed in spring 2008), an increase from the estimated 300 people who spoke Cornish fluently suggested in
20375-415: The orthography and rhyme used in the historical texts, comparison with the other Brittonic languages Breton and Welsh, and the work of the linguist Edward Lhuyd , who visited Cornwall in 1700 and recorded the language in a partly phonetic orthography. Cornish is a Celtic language, and the majority of its vocabulary, when usage frequency is taken into account, at every documented stage of its history
20538-835: The other Brittonic languages. The first sound change to distinguish Cornish from both Breton and Welsh, the assibilation of the dental stops /t/ and /d/ in medial and final position, had begun by the time of the Vocabularium Cornicum , c. 1100 or earlier. This change, and the subsequent, or perhaps dialectical, palatalization (or occasional rhotacization in a few words) of these sounds, results in orthographic forms such as Middle Cornish tas 'father', Late Cornish tâz (Welsh tad ), Middle Cornish cresy 'believe', Late Cornish cregy (Welsh credu ), and Middle Cornish gasa 'leave', Late Cornish gara (Welsh gadael ). A further characteristic sound change, pre-occlusion , occurred during
20701-413: The phonemes /b/, /d/, /ɡ/, /β/, /ð/, and /ɣ/ respectively, meaning that the results of Brittonic lenition are not usually apparent from the orthography at this time. Middle Cornish orthography has a significant level of variation, and shows influence from Middle English spelling practices. Yogh (Ȝ ȝ) is used in certain Middle Cornish texts, where it is used to represent a variety of sounds, including
20864-488: The post of constable lapsed with the death of his brother Algernon Percy , the 4th duke, the following year. The post lay vacant until in 1883 the local Member of Parliament, Hardinge Giffard , was appointed as the constable by the then Prince Edward in his capacity as the Duke of Cornwall. During the later stages of the Second World War , the bailey was levelled and used to hold a set of temporary Nissen huts that formed
21027-417: The prison governor on the first floor. In exchange, the county agreed to take over the maintenance of the gaol. By 1795, Hugh Percy , the 2nd Duke of Northumberland , had become an important local landowner in the region and acquired the rights to the post of constable from the Duke of Cornwall, the then Prince George . In 1834, Western Road was built along the southern edge of the castle. This required
21190-447: The publication of Jenner's Handbook of the Cornish Language , the earliest revivalists used Jenner's orthography, which was influenced by Lhuyd's system. This system was abandoned following the development by Nance of a "unified spelling", later known as Unified Cornish , a system based on a standardization of the orthography of the early Middle Cornish texts. Nance's system was used by almost all Revived Cornish speakers and writers until
21353-473: The rebellion's aftermath. Government officials then directed troops under the command of Sir Anthony Kingston to carry out pacification operations throughout the West Country. Kingston subsequently ordered the executions of numerous individuals suspected of involvement with the rebellion as part of the post-rebellion reprisals. The rebellion eventually proved a turning-point for the Cornish language, as
21516-408: The rebels and retook Launceston, capturing Arundel who was seized in the street fighting. During the 16th century, the castle began to be used as a rubbish tip by the adjacent town, and under Henry VIII the deer park, which was no longer needed to generate venison for the duchy, fell into disuse. By 1584, the antiquarian John Norden described the castle as "now abandoned", observing that although
21679-508: The reign of Henry VIII, an account was given by Andrew Boorde in his 1542 Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge . He states, " In Cornwall is two speches, the one is naughty Englysshe, and the other is Cornysshe speche. And there be many men and women the which cannot speake one worde of Englysshe, but all Cornyshe. " When Parliament passed the Act of Uniformity 1549 , which established
21842-402: The revenues from the lucrative Cornish tin mining industry , he reconstructed the defences at the castle. Richard only visited Cornwall occasionally during his life, probably using Berkhampsted and Wallingford castles as his primary residences in England, and the work may have been designed to impress the Cornish nobility, with whom Richard had a difficult relationship. A small deer park
22005-474: The right to vote was not held by all the residents but only by the freemen of the borough, and by 1832 there were fewer than 50 and it had come to be regarded as a rotten borough , one of many in Cornwall. Neighbouring Newport was also a borough with two MPs of its own. Launceston lost one of its two MPs and Newport both by the Great Reform Act of 1832; the area included in the borough of Launceston
22168-465: The separate Goidelic branch of Insular Celtic. Joseph Loth viewed Cornish and Breton as being two dialects of the same language, claiming that "Middle Cornish is without doubt closer to Breton as a whole than the modern Breton dialect of Quiberon [ Kiberen ] is to that of Saint-Pol-de-Léon [ Kastell-Paol ]." Also, Kenneth Jackson argued that it is almost certain that Cornish and Breton would have been mutually intelligible as long as Cornish
22331-405: The site of the earl's hall and chamber. The castle motte was built up in several stages, originally being lower in height than today, before being built up during the medieval period and scarped by cutting away at the surrounding stone. It was then reinforced in 1700 with the addition of clay, before having large quantities of earth dumped on it in the late 18th century, and then being terraced in
22494-463: The site. Its grand organ was presented by a member of the Morice family of Werrington Park . The donor was either Sir William Morice (1707–1750) or his successor, Humphry Morice MP (1723–1785). The casework is elaborate and has been described as "a superb example of 18th century woodwork; the 18th century pipework is also of very high quality". On St Stephen's Hill the main road through the north of
22657-439: The south-west corner. A large number of people lived and worked in wooden buildings that probably filled the site; the historian Oliver Creighton suggests that it would have resembled a "town within a town". The castle became the administrative centre for the earldom and was used by Robert's court. There was already an existing market held at nearby St Stephen's church by the local canons , but Robert appropriated it and moved
22820-528: The surrounding area. Launceston was the caput of the feudal barony of Launceston and of the Earldom of Cornwall until replaced by Lostwithiel in the 13th century. Launceston was later the county town of Cornwall until 1835 when Bodmin replaced it. The lands of Robert, Count of Mortain, became the core holdings of the feudal barony of Launceston, and the Fleming family continued to hold most of their manors from that barony, as can be seen from entries in
22983-417: The then Prince John when he acquired the title of the Count of Mortain in 1189, and then passed back into the hands of the Crown after John's rebellion against his brother, Richard I , in 1191. King John gave the castle to Hubert de Burgh , sheriff of Cornwall. A circular keep was constructed, probably in the late-12th century, on the castle's motte, along with two stone gatehouses and towers along
23146-475: The town houses and their gardens had encroached on the external defences and that the only inhabitable part of the castle was the north gatehouse; the assizes were moved to a new hall built within the town itself. In the same year, Parliament sold off the properties of the duchy of Cornwall, and Colonel Robert Bennett, a Baptist teacher and supporter of Oliver Cromwell, purchased the castle, its deer park and its gaol. The north gatehouse began to be partially used as
23309-495: The town in the 19th century. A mechanics' institute was founded in 1847 at the Central Subscription Room. The gasworks was established as early as 1834 by Waygood & Porter of Beaminster . The Duchy Originals company first manufactured its products in 2006 by opening a factory in Launceston making sweet and savoury pastry products but made a loss of £447,158 in the financial year 2006/07. During 2009
23472-479: The town is the Roman Catholic church consecrated to Cuthbert Mayne (see #History ) designed by Arthur Langdon in a blend of Byzantine and Romanesque . It was built in 1911 by local mason F. H. Nicholls of Lewannick, with carpentry by J. H. Harry, the oak doors by a Mr Clifton of Ashwater, and the copper dome by T. Chapman (junior) of Launceston. The lady chapel was added in 1933. Launceston has been
23635-423: The walls of its bailey . It was rebuilt in stone in the 12th century and then substantially redeveloped by Richard of Cornwall after 1227, including a high tower to enable visitors to view his surrounding lands. When Richard's son, Edmund , inherited the castle, he moved the earldom's administration to Lostwithiel , triggering the castle's decline. By 1337, the castle was increasingly ruinous and used primarily as
23798-412: The walls. The wooden buildings in the bailey were rebuilt in stone and the construction work spread up onto the inside edges of the ramparts. Some of these houses may have belonged to the members of the castle-guard , feudal knights who were granted local estates in return for helping to defend the castle. Henry III 's younger brother, Richard of Cornwall , was granted the earldom in 1227. Backed by
23961-537: The years 1550–1650 as a century of immense damage for the language, and its decline can be traced to this period. In 1680 William Scawen wrote an essay describing 16 reasons for the decline of Cornish, among them the lack of a distinctive Cornish alphabet , the loss of contact between Cornwall and Brittany , the cessation of the miracle plays, loss of records in the Civil War, lack of a Cornish Bible and immigration to Cornwall. Mark Stoyle , however, has argued that
24124-564: Was a living language, and that Cornish and Breton are especially closely related to each other and less closely related to Welsh. Cornish evolved from the Common Brittonic spoken throughout Britain south of the Firth of Forth during the British Iron Age and Roman period . As a result of westward Anglo-Saxon expansion , the Britons of the southwest were separated from those in modern-day Wales and Cumbria , which Jackson links to
24287-578: Was a native and long-standing resident of the town where he was both born and died. He was at one time contender for Poet Laureate and died in 2003, aged 86. His grave is in the St Thomas Churchyard near the house he lived in, which carries a blue plaque. He contributed the account of Launceston to a feature in the Sunday Times magazine called "Village England". He describes it as belonging to England rather than to Cornwall " Launceston
24450-456: Was added to form the present-day comprehensive school, which is still known as Launceston College. Since the 19th century (exact date unknown) the college has been at the southern end of Dunheved Road, approximately one kilometre from the town centre. In 1966, H. Spencer Toy, its principal, published A History of Education at Launceston detailing the development of education in the town and surrounding area. Launceston Community Primary School has
24613-558: Was considerably extended to enable the franchise to be opened up. It finally lost its right to separate representation in 1885, and became part of a new county constituency of Cornwall named after the town. Since 1918 it has been part of the North Cornwall parliamentary constituency. The current MP, since 2015, is the Conservative Scott Mann . Launceston was once regarded as the capital of Cornwall (although it
24776-403: Was constructed on the motte in the 12th century, complete with a gateway; that was later replaced, and the current entrance dates from the 13th century. Rising up through the keep is the 13th-century high tower, 12 metres (39 ft) in diameter, constructed from dark shale. This replaced any internal rooms that the shell keep might have had, instead creating a small, cramped and unlit chamber at
24939-415: Was established to the south-west of the castle during this period, incorporating the castle mill within its boundaries, and it was occasionally supplied with deer from Kerrybullock , another park belonging to the earldom. A later survey showed the park being a league–3 miles (4.8 km)–in circumference, and able to hold up to 40 deer. Richard rebuilt the walls and the gatehouses at Launceston, building
25102-552: Was executed at Launceston in 1577; a legacy of memorials and a church exists. During the English Civil War Launceston was known to be Royale et Loyale to Charles I of England , hence its coat of arms . His son, who was later crowned Charles II of England , stayed in the town for a couple of days en route to the Cavalier army based further west. In 1643, the Parliamentarian forces under
25265-600: Was incepted The Launceston Podcast with catch-up services online. Local TV coverage is provided by BBC South West and ITV West Country . Television signals are received from the Caradon Hill TV transmitter. Sporting clubs include amateur football club Launceston F.C. who play at Pennygillam, rugby union side Launceston Rugby Club who play at Polson Bridge, Launceston Cricket Club, Launceston Golf Club and Dunheved Bowling Club. There are three community-based drama groups within Launceston itself. Oksigen Theatre
25428-708: Was introduced in 2008, although a number of previous orthographic systems remain in use and, in response to the publication of the SWF, another new orthography, Kernowek Standard , was created, mainly by Nicholas Williams and Michael Everson, which is proposed as an amended version of the Standard Written Form. The phonological system of Old Cornish, inherited from Proto-Southwestern Brittonic and originally differing little from Old Breton and Old Welsh, underwent various changes during its Middle and Late phases, eventually resulting in several characteristics not found in
25591-399: Was joined in 1828 by Charles Gurney who in 1833 became town clerk, an office he held until 1867. The next town clerk was John Lethbridge Cowlard who bought Madford from his uncle in 1841 (he was also borough treasurer for over 50 years). Launceston was a Parliamentary Borough from medieval times, with the right to return two members of parliament. However, before the 19th-century Reform Acts
25754-527: Was never officially the county town – see above), and in 1973 the Prince of Wales visited to receive his feudal dues from the Duchy of Cornwall . The arms of the town are Gu. a triple circular tower in a pyramidal form Or the first battlements mounted with cannon of the last, all within a bordure Az. charged with eight towers domed on the second. A badge was granted on 26 Mar 1906, being the first ever granted to
25917-471: Was no longer accurate. Speakers of Cornish reside primarily in Cornwall , which has a population of 563,600 (2017 estimate). There are also some speakers living outside Cornwall, particularly in the countries of the Cornish diaspora , as well as in other Celtic nations . Estimates of the number of Cornish speakers vary according to the definition of a speaker, and is difficult to determine accurately due to
26080-399: Was performed in 2000 and featured a young artist who was unknown at the time, Jamie Cullum . The festival was headlined on two occasions by local Rock band Syrup , who were signed to Great West Records, which was set up by Big Country bass player, Tony Butler , and his long-term friend, Luke Maguire. The Cornish & Devon Post is one of the newspapers for the district and its office
26243-516: Was predominantly held by the Royalists, until it was finally taken by the Parliamentarian general, Sir Thomas Fairfax , in February 1646. Before retreating from the town, the Royalist forces reportedly stripped the castle of the lead from its roofs and gave the timbers to the townsfolk to use as fuel. It was left in such a poor condition that Parliament did not bother to slight it, unlike many other captured castles. A survey in 1650 showed that
26406-567: Was probably the last monolingual speaker, the last native speaker may have been John Davey of Zennor, who died in 1891. However, although it is clear Davey possessed some traditional knowledge in addition to having read books on Cornish, accounts differ of his competence in the language. Some contemporaries stated he was able to converse on certain topics in Cornish whereas others affirmed they had never heard him claim to be able to do so. Robert Morton Nance , who reworked and translated Davey's Cranken Rhyme, remarked, "There can be no doubt, after
26569-403: Was probably the last prose written in the traditional language. In his letter, he describes the sociolinguistics of the Cornish language at the time, stating that there are no more than four or five old people in his village who can still speak Cornish, concluding with the remark that Cornish is no longer known by young people. However, the last recorded traditional Cornish literature may have been
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