helman tor: a cultural landscape
TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape
Katie TaylorSponsored by CAVA
![Page 2: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
What is Helman Tor and where is it?
• Helman Tor is a tor (large freestanding rock formation)
• The formation on the tor is entirely natural
• The rocks there are granite• It is situated near three parishes:
Lanlivery, Luxulyan and Lanivet• These parishes are in mid-
Cornwall, near Bodmin
![Page 3: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
CAVA and Cornish Story• Sponsored by Cornish Story/ CAVA• CAVA was created by the Institute of Cornish Studies • Cornish story was also set up by the Institute of Cornish Studies• ‘Tallys an Tir’ project led by Sarah Chapman
• Organisation websites:• http://www.cava-studies.org/• http://www.cornishstory.com/• http://cornishstories.com/
![Page 4: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Sponsor outcomes
• Ultimately, this research will become a travelling exhibition• It will show at Penzance, Truro and
Bodmin along with Will and Abi’s project in May• The exhibition will include an Oral
History conversation played on a laptop• The research will also become an
article for the Cornish Story magazine
![Page 5: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
Cultural Landscape
• Denis Byrne argues that: “cultural landscapes are created through time by a form of cultural sedimentation in which past human actions leave traces – the traces, for instance, of houses, campsites, shrines, battles, fences and pathways – that accumulate” (2008)• Landscapes, certainly cultural ones like the area around Helman Tor
are socially constructed by the community and their interaction with that place• Landscapes are also a direct link to the past• They generate a sense of belonging and identity
![Page 6: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Initial Research stages
• Met with Garry and the sponsors: Jay Pengelly and Anna Tonkin from CAVA in week 3• Discussed the project and the outcomes• Given some initial guidance on types of sources• Limited research on the Tor available online• Archive trip with the University was very useful• Felt disadvantaged for not knowing Cornwallvery well
![Page 7: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Research problems
• Helman Tor has a real local history• Cornwall Records Office only had 2 documents specifically mentioned
Helman• The Cornish Studies Library also not good with specific information• Meant branching out into parish history and heading down the wrong
path• Realisation that I would need to engage with the community• But how?
![Page 8: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
‘Crowdsourcing’• Social media really useful for public
history projects like this• “People learn in public and through peer
knowledge and research sharing” Paul Martin (2013)• Participatory culture of public history
![Page 9: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Working with the community
• Key figure to this project: Pete Keen• Grew up on a farm near the Tor• Real source of knowledge• Local farmer Ivan also a prominent figure in the community• Sharon MacDonald argues that local people telling their history, and
going beyond ‘the storybooks’ is particularly important• If you are doing local history, you need to make sure the community
is having their voice heard
![Page 10: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
History of Helman Tor
• Helman Tor has a really interesting Neolithic past• Bronze Age hut found close by• Medieval farming system• Supposed links to the Druids and Paganism• Tin streaming• Nature reserves• Place for ritual• Place for socialising
![Page 11: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Past and current communities in the area
• Evidence of some form of Neolithic shelters• Primarily farming communities• Many families have been around for generations• Myth surround Kitty Warne and Jinny Gerry• Eric Higgs key in unlocking some of the
archaeological past of Helman and its surrounding area• Link with Methodism – Bible Christian Movement
![Page 12: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Importance of Oral Histories and community engagement• Without engaging with the community
my research would never have progressed as much as it did• ‘Community’ as a term• Great sense of a local identity• Oral histories provided such an insight to
the community spirit• “Oral history is a history built around
people” Paul Thompson (2006)• Important to record communities to
preserve their history and their knowledge
![Page 13: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
Pete Keen and autobiography• “One place where I could impress any visitor was the summit of
nearby Helman Tor. This was a paradise for any child. A game of ‘Hide and Seek’ or simple Tag was a thrill whilst a game of Cowboys and Indians never ceased to thrill, particulary when armed with a simple Capgun of the time, loaded with a roll of caps costing 1p ( one old penny) a roll. Our childhood cries and muted ‘crack’ of our guns were to be heard as we valiantly defended our particular group of rocks. The number of places on the Tor where one could hide were numerous.”• Autobiography not previously thought to be a stable source• BUT we need to value them as rich sources for understanding
personal histories
![Page 14: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
Conclusion
• The research process has been challenging but also a lot of fun• It is clear that in the cases of Pete and Ivan that the landscape has
shaped their identities• The public history field opens history up to a wider audience and
involving communities• Exeter historian Richard Overy thinks that popular or public history is
disengaged from the world• Projects like this prove him wrong
![Page 15: Helman Tor: A Cultural Landscape](https://reader033.vdocuments.mx/reader033/viewer/2022052600/557bf63fd8b42ab9388b46b8/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
Bibliography• Byrne, D., ‘Heritage as social action’, in eds. Graham Fairclough, Rodney Harrison, John H. Jameson Jnr. And John Schofield, The heritage reader,
(2008), pp149-173• Carlsen, D., ‘Autobiography’, in eds. Miriam Dobson and Benjamin Ziemann, Reading primary sources: The interpretation of texts from 19th and
20th century history, (2009), pp175-191• Cohen, D., ‘The future of preserving the past’, in eds. Hilda Kean and Paul Martin, The public history reader, (2013), pp214-223• Davison, G., ‘Heritage: From patrimony to pastiche’, in eds. Graham Fairclough, Rodney Harrison, John H. Jameson Jnr. And John Schofield, The
heritage reader, (2008), pp31-41• Finnegan, R., ‘Family, myths, memories and interviewing’, in eds. Robert Perks and Alistair Thomson, The oral history reader, (2006), pp177-183• Jameson, J. H. Jnr., ‘Presenting archaeology to the public, then and now’, in eds. Graham Fairclough, Rodney Harrison, John H. Jameson Jnr. And
John Schofield, The heritage reader, (2008), pp427-456• Kalela, J., ‘Making history: The historian and uses of the past’, in eds. Hilda Kean and Paul Martin, The public history reader, (2013), pp104-128• Kean H., ‘Materials and approaches to making history’, in eds. Hilda Kean and Paul Martin, The public history reader, (2013), pp147-156• Martin, P., ‘Tangible and tangible presentations of the past’, in eds. Hilda Kean and Paul Martin, The public history reader, (2013), pp243-253• Martin, P., ‘The past in the present: Who is making history?’, in eds. Hilda Kean and Paul Martin, The public history reader, (2013), pp1-10• McDonald, S., ‘A people’s history: Heritage, identity and authenticity’, in ed. Gerard Corsane, Heritage, museums and galleries, (2005), pp272-
291• Portelli, A., ‘What makes oral history different’, in eds. Robert Perks and Alistair Thomson, The oral history reader, (2006), pp32-42• Robertson, I. J. M., ‘Heritage from below: Class, social protest and resistance’, in eds. Hilda Kean and Paul Martin, The public history reader,
(2009), pp56-67• Scott, A., ‘Assessing public perceptions of landscape: The LANDMAP experience’, in eds. Graham Fairclough, Rodney Harrison, John H. Jameson
Jnr. And John Schofield, The heritage reader, (2008), pp346-362• Shope, L., ‘Oral history and the study of communities’, in eds. Robert Perks and Alistair Thomson, The oral history reader, (2006), pp261-270• Stone, P., ‘Presenting the past’, in ed. Gerard Corsane, Heritage, museums and galleries, (2005), pp215-227• Thompson, P., ‘The voice of the past’, in eds. Robert Perks and Alistair Thomson, The oral history reader, (2006), pp25-31