Talskiddy

Talskiddy is a small village about two miles north of St Columb Major in Cornwall, England, UK. The meaning of the name is supposed to be "brow of the hill of shadows".From "Tal" the Cornish for "brow" and "skeuse" the Cornish word for "shady" or "shadows". Close by are the farming settlements of Rosedinnick, Pennatillie and Pencrennis.

Artifacts found in the area include flints and stone tools that suggest that it has been a settlement for over 4000 years. It was one of 17 ancient manors (antiqua maneria) belonging to the Earl of Cornwall. The manorial custom of "free bench" was practised here. It was once a centre for the woolcombing industry. Many of the older houses in the village are built of Cob.

It is one of only a few villages in Cornwall that has a village green. Talskiddy is probably one of the smallest villages in Cornwall, the only facilities being one Red telephone box and a Victorian postbox. There was once a 'Kiddlywink' or beer shop in the village.

Daniel Defoe wrote a book about a man from Talskiddy called "Dickory Cronke The Dumb Philosopher" or "Great Britain's Wonder."(1719) It is not clear whether Cronke was a fictional character or the work of Defoe's imagination. [ [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2051/2051-h/2051-h.htm#startoftext "Dickory Cronke" by Daniel Defoe, text on Project Gutenberg]

A true life character who lived at Talskiddy was George Hawke. He spent his early life working as a wool stapler for the Allanson family. He was a very determined man indeed. He was born in St Eval Parish on 2 October 1802 at his father's farm near Bedruthan. Following losses in the economic recession which George decided to emigrate to Australia. His words were recorded in a letter at age 70 years to a nephew back in Cornwall. The letter was later reproduced in full in Yvonne McBurney's book, "The Road to Byng". [ [http://members.ozemail.com.au/~jlsymo/byngone.htm Cornish Association of New South Wales] ]

Talskiddy is well known in Cornwall for its 'Harbour'. The joke is that the harbour is little more than a duck pond and is over four miles from the coast. Another Cornish 'in-joke' is that Talskiddy once had a treacle mine.

References

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