Feast Day in St Ives

Feast Day is not only a popular St Ives tradition, but a piece of the history of West Cornwall. The event is always held on the first Monday to fall after 3 February and celebrates the anniversary of the consecration of the parish church of St Eia in 1434.

Lelant Feast takes place on 2 February every year, and history saw St Ives join in Lelant through the old custom of the Hurling of the Silver Ball.

The Hurling of the Silver Ball still takes place annually, and attracts huge crowds to watch the historic tradition.

Pen Sans

The West Cornwall town we know as Penzance started life known as Pen Sans, from the old Cornish language. The original name translates to ‘Pen’ meaning a point of land or area of headland, and ‘Sans’, which translates to mean a sacred or holy location.

So in today’s English the name roughly means a holy headland. The name is probably connected to an ancient chapel that is believed to have stood on the site and was dedicated to St Anthony. The St Anthony Gardens now stand on the site of the former chapel and can be visited too.

Lizard Lighthouse

The Lizard Lighthouse is another beautiful and vital piece of West Cornwall history, and it’s guided mariners across the surrounding ocean since 1752.

The Lizard Lighthouse sits on West Cornwall’s most southerly point, and its Heritage Centre tells the fascinating tales of its keepers, their families and how it was built.

The attraction was awarded a Heritage Lottery Fund grant in 2009, and visitors even get the chance to sound the fog horn!

Minack Theatre

The Minack Theatre overlooks Porthcurno Bay and is one of the most unique chapters of recent West Cornwall history. The open air theatre is set high in the cliffs above the sea, and watching a live performance under the stars in this dramatic location is an experience in itself. The theatre was the vision of Rowena Cade, who planned, built and financed the whole theatre herself.

Upon discovering this piece of Minack headland, Rowena purchased it for £100 and built a home on it. But when Rowena later offered her harden up as a stage when friends became stuck for a theatre, her life was about to change.