John Harris Society

THE

Newsletter

JHS

No 66 Summer 2019

2020 FESTIVAL

JHS SUMMER WALKA guided stroll around Beacon on a summer’s eveningPage 6

A CORNISH ARTISTJohn Tremberth writes about his father Reginald TremberthPages 4 & 5

The Penventon Park Hotel, in Redruth, which will be the base for the John Harris Bi-Centenary Festival in Octo-ber 2020. See details on page 3.

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rdFollowing the formal business meet-

ing in February, it was a joy to listen to Mrs Juliet Johns speak about two Cornish poets, D M Thomas and John Harris. I am delighted to report that a few weeks later, Juliet agreed to join the committee and will attend her first meeting in July. I am sure that her input will be of great benefit to our meetings

(‘Songs from the Earth’ which con-tained the poetry of John Harris and which was edited by D M Thomas was partly instrumental in inspiring David Everett to test local interest and form The John Harris Society.)

Annual meeting and a new committee member

Five members of the Society were warmly received by Perranzabuloe OCS in February.

A similar welcome awaited two of us at Allet Methodist Church Guild where, on both occasions, those at-tending were keenly interested in the scan of Harris’ life which we delivered.

While providing evening activities for guests at Treloyhan Manor Hotel, St Ives, three of us made a presentation which was gratefully received.

At the AGM, I referred to our visit to Morrab Library, Penzance – an event organised by student, Kerri Bridgeman. One of her peer group commented afterwards: “I’ve read a lot of Harris’ poetry but knew nothing about the man until today. Knowing about him has brought life to his poetry.”

Comments like this are a great en-couragement in all we seek to do!

Presentations

A number of the Festival Committee have toured the planned route for the Saturday of the festival, in an effort to establish times for both the journey and for specific visits.

We are hoping shortly to finalise the budget and go all out in fund raising to ensure a super time is enjoyed by all. Some American relatives of the poet have expressed their intention to be present!

If you have you any ideas for fund raising, please contact me or Tony as

Bi-centenary festival, October 16-18, 2020

sponsorship in the usual form is not beneficial for some because the Society is not a charity.

In recent months, a number of re-minders have been sent individually by email and with the Newsletter regard-ing outstanding subscriptions.

We are most grateful to the few who have responded and I would plead with you to see your subscription as vital in the overall picture.

We’ve just paid £134 as our annual insurance premium, so subscriptions are most necessary for this and other expenses.

PLEASE RESPOND IF YOUR SUBS ARE STILL DUE.

Subscriptions

The annual summer walk, led as usual by local historian David Thomas, takes place in Beacon on Friday, June 28, starting at Beacon Square at 6.30pm. I look forward to seeing a number of our members and guests for what should be a very pleasant evening’s stroll.

Summer walk

I wish you all a good summer, wheth-er you enjoy your local environment or spread your wings further afield. Please keep on promoting John Harris!

And finally...

A quote from John Clare (1793-1864), the celebrated poet of the Eng-lish countryside: ‘I found the po-ems in the field and only wrote them down.’

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Copy deadline for the Autumn newsletter is September 9

Please respond as soon as pos-sible if you are interested in coming to this event. The festival committee needs this informa-tion to be able to determine the charges for the weekend. See right for Festival organiser Tony Jasper’s contact details.

FESTIVAL IN 2020Time to think about booking for Bi-Centenary event

The 200th anniversary of the birth of John Harris, one of Cornwall’s fore-most literary figures, is to be celebrated in a weekend-long festival in October 2020.

This celebration of the 19th century poet, miner and preacher will be based at Penventon Park Hotel in Redruth, a town which, once the urban centre of the Cornish mining industry, is now at the heart of a World Heritage Site.

Among the many events there will be trips arranged to visit ‘John Harris country’, including a chance to see his

grave at Treslothan Churchyard, near Camborne, and Falmouth, the town where he spent his latter years.

Organised by the John Harris Society, the festival will be based at Penventon Park Hotel. Originally a Georgian mansion built in the early 19th century, it is one of the finest destination hotels in Cornwall, where you can stay in 4 star luxury.

• To register your interest, receive up-dates and for general enquiries regard-ing the festival, please contact festival organiser Tony Jasper - tony.jasper@btinternet.com or Milsrof, Eglos Road, Ludgvan Churchtown, Penzance Cornwall, TR20 8GH.

Homes and gardens event to help raise funds for Bi-Centenary FestivalA homes and gardens event, part of

a summer series in the Falmouth and Gwennap Methodist Circuit, will help to raise funds for the John Harris Bi-Centenary Festival in 2020.

Taking place at the home of Paul and Gill Langford, Durlston, Pennance

Lane, Lanner, TR16 5TL, on Saturday, July 13, from 2.30pm to 4.30pm, the event will include a craft/hobby display, teas, coffees and snacks. Dogs are welcome.

Transport is available by contacting Paul and Gill on 01209 213146 or

pandglangford@gmail.com .Directions: Turn into Pennance Lane

by the Bakery, and it is the last bunga-low on the left before a left turn into Penmayne Parc.

A share of the proceeds will go to-wards the bi-centenary festival.

Penventon Park Hotel in Redruth.

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My father, Reginald Tremberth, was born in 1904 in the Chinese province of Yunnan, where his parents, the Revd William and Emily Tremberth, served as Bible Christian missionaries. After returning to England in 1906 my grandfather worked as a Methodist minister in various home circuits. From 1917 to 1922 he was based in Helston and Porthleven.

At the Helston County School, Regi-nald showed good all-round academic ability. In addition, he gained the Royal Drawing Society’s certificates in all divisions from 2 to 6. He went on to study at Bristol University where he was awarded the degree of Bsc in 1925 and obtained Honours in Geology the following year.

In 1927 he obtained a diploma in edu-cation at Bristol University and took up an appointment at Bilston Central School in the West Midlands, where he was in charge of geography , but also taught a variety of other subjects. In 1932 he married my mother, who came from St Erth, and became a regular visitor to Cornwall. During his Bilston years he was closely associated with Bilston School of Art.

In 1942 Reginald left Bilston and moved to Cornwall. After a tempo-rary appointment at Redruth County School, where he taught science and mathematics, he returned to the Midlands in 1944 to take charge of Art and Woodwork at Lichfield Grammar School. He taught both subjects until 1952, when he suffered a serious illness

Reginald Tremberth:Focus on a Cornish artist

and, from 1953 until his death in 1964, just woodwork.

Reginald’s surviving artworks com-prise approximately 50 items, of which about a quarter have identified Cornish subjects. In 1937 he exhibited his cop-per-plate etching of the «Old Harbour, Newlyn» at the Newlyn Art Gallery, which has entitled him to an entry in the Index of Cornish Artists. A print of this etching is held by Wolverhamp-ton Arts and Museum Service (on-line catalogue ref. W583). Similarly, a print of his companion etching of «Cot-tages, Newlyn», leading down to the

old harbour, is now held by the Penlee House Gallery in Penzance (ref. PEZ PH 2016.45). These cottages form the backdrop for a painting by the Cornish artist, Stanhope Forbes (1857-1947), entitled «Gala Day at Newlyn, 1907». Unfortunately the first house is no longer standing and has been replaced by a parking area.

We have two other etchings with Cornish subjects, namely farm build-ings in Zennor and St Cleer Holy Well, the water from which was reputed to cure madness! There is a family con-nection with St Cleer as my grand-

BY JOHN TREMBERTH

Stage scenery for ‘The Pirates of Penzance’.

‘His surviving artworks comprise around 50 items, of which about a quarter have iden-

tified Cornish subjects.

St Cleer Well.

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father lived in the nearby hamlet of Darite. At the age of 14, following in his father’s footsteps, he was working in the tin and copper mines of Bodmin Moor as an ore dresser.

During his Redruth assignment Reginald lived in Barncoose Terrace situated not far from Carn Brea - John Harris country.

From this period we have a pencil drawing of St Euny Parish Church, which lies directly below the monu-ment and is set in beautiful surround-ings. It is known as the «Mining Church» because of all the services held there to commemorate mining disasters. We also have a pencil draw-ing of a Cornish mining landscape.

Other artworks featuring Cornish subjects include :

• A pencil drawing of St Michael’s Mount

• Miniature drawings in coloured inks of St Michael’s Mount and Gunwalloe Church and Cove

• A pencil sketch of Porthleven har-bour during a regatta

• Two pen and ink drawings of farm buildings (Trelissick, Hayle and a sec-ond Zennor study)

• A water-colour of a Cornish church

tower (unidentified)From his Lichfield years we mainly

have examples of his linocut work with local subjects. However, we do have one item with a Cornish connection. Every year his school put on a produc-tion of a Gilbert and Sullivan opera and we have photographs of the stage

scenery he designed for three of these productions, including «The Pirates of Penzance». For this opera I discovered that he was inspired by the rugged coast of the Lizard peninsula and, in particular, by Kynance Cove, which so enraptured John Harris during his excursion to this enchanting spot.

Above: Water colour, A Cornish Church Tower. Below: Gunwalloe Church and Cove.

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A note from the treasurerWe are grateful to all the members

who support the John Harris Society so well. However, quite a number of you have still not paid your subscriptions for this year which were due on January 1st.

The committee works hard on your behalf and the officers do not claim any expenses, but we rely on your membership fees to finance the work

of promoting the works of John Harris.

The annual fees remain at £6 per person, so if you have not already done so, I’d be grateful if you could send your cheque payable to “The John Har-ris Society” to me, or arrange to pay by PayPal; the addresses for both are on the back of this newsletter.

Should you prefer to pay by standing

order, just ring me on 01209 713863 for the account details.

We are fundraising for the Bi-centen-nial Festival in October 2020, so any extra you might like to add to your subscription would go to the Festival a/c.

With our grateful thanks for your continued support.

Christine Cowls

SUMMER WALK Friday, 28th June, 2019

Walking around the Beacon area

of Camborne with David Thomas

Meet at Beacon Square at 6.30pm.

A donation of £2 would be appreciated to defray expenses.

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7 ON SALE: John Harris-related books & DVDs

Published in 2002, this book by Arthur Langford, a great nephew of the poet, catalogues the lives of John Harris’ forbears from 1743 and his siblings.PRICE: £4.99

The Extinguished Candle Re-Litis a large selection of poetry and prose by John Harris (1820-1884), published in 2009 by The John Harris Society. PRICE: £5.99

Available at John Harris Society events and various exhibitions

JHS committee member Caroline Palmer’s latest book, published by Pen and Ink, covers topics from farming to family life, from mining to Methodism and much else. PRICE: £9.99

This DVD, the creation of Caroline

Palmer, was filmed locally and takes in various as-

pects of the poet’s life. The film won Best Documentary

at Buxton Film Festival in

2011 and was shown at the

Cornwall Film Festival in the

same year.PRICE: £5

Created in 2004 by Caroline Palmer & Pol Hodge, this DVD was filmed by Leo Phillips, of Cornwall Me-dia Resource, on Carn Brea and at Cornish Engines in Pool.Copper and Tin, adapted from a Harrris poem by Sue Farmer, was sung by Kontekh Karrek Commu-nity Choir.PRICE: £5

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THE JOHN HARRIS SOCIETYThis newsletter is published three times per year, by the John Harris Society, free to members.All articles for inclusion to: Press and publicity officer Stephen Crossman8 Rose-an-GrouseCanonstown, Hayle TR27 6JN.Phone: 01736 753912Email: stephenc123@icloud.com

CONTACTS

NEWS

LETT

ER

Subscription fee - £6 per year (and other cheques) to:Hon treasurerChristine Cowls‘Trematon’20 Westborne RoadCamborne, TR14 7JD Phone:01209 713863Or by:PayPal to:pandglangford@gmail.comSU

BSCR

IPTIO

NSON

LINE

WEBSITEwww.johnharrissociety.org.uk

FACEBOOKwww.facebook.com/johnharrissociety

Grateful thanks go to all those who have contributed news articles in the past and more articles from you, our readers, will be most welcome for possible inclusion in future editions - anything connected with Cornwall, John Harris, poetry, including other poets and Cornish life.OF

FICER

S President: Peter Bickford-Smith

Chairman: Paul Langford01209 213146pandglangford@gmail.com

Secretary: Tony Langford01209 215918tony46langford@gmail.com

John Harris 1820 -1884John Harris was born in 1820 at

Six Chimneys on Bolenowe Carn, near Camborne, the eldest of 11 children.

Largely self-educated - he started school when he was six or seven years old, before finishing at the age of nine - John had an insatiable appetite for reading from his early years.

On his ninth birthday he started work, briefly as a ploughboy, then for a tin-streamer, or - tinner oper-ating in Forest Moor.

When he was 13, John went to work underground at Dolcoath. He was to ply this arduous occupa-tion for 24 years, seeing the famous mine pass from copper to tin.

Poetry, or verse-making as he called it, had been part of John’s life since his first attempts at rhyme at school when he was just eight years old.

Whatever he was doing, verses were forming in his mind and he scribbled these down whenever and wherever and on whatever he could. He used the clean side of cast off labelled tea wrappers,

and when no paper was available, would scratch his poems on slate, using a sharp pointed nail.

In his mining days his miner’s ‘hard’ hat was sometimes used for this purpose. When no ink was available, he used blackberry juice.

He fitted his writing into a busy life that, apart from his work and his family responsibilitiies, includ-ed being a Methodist lay preacher and a Sunday School teacher.

John Harris left Dolcoath in 1857 to take up an appointment as a Scripture Reader at Falmouth, a post which he threw himself into with enthusiasm.

He continued writing poetry, and began writing peace tracts and became a Quaker.

John Harris died in 1884 and lies buried in Treslothan Churchyard.

BY TONY LANGFORD About the poet