|
James Polkinghorne
James Polkinghorne (1788 – 15 September 1851) was a champion Cornish wrestler of the 19th century. He was born in 1788 at St Keverne, Cornwall, United Kingdom but spent much of his life at St. Columb Major, where he ran a pub called the Red Lion. He had a number of famous contests against Devon fighters, including Flower, Jackman (1816) and Abraham Cann (1826). The Devonians, "kickers", fought in the Devon style, wearing boots with toes that had been soaked in bullock's blood and then baked as "hard as flint". Polkinghorne fought in the Cornish style and was a "hugger" who fought without footwear. He died at St Columb at the age of 73. Polkinghorne's match with Cann Polkinghorne's greatest match was on 23 October 1826 against Abraham Cann of Colebrooke who was the champion of Devon. The match took place at Devonport, and ten thousand people are said to have attended. The match was adjudged to be drawn. (The Devon style which was used allowed Cann to wear heavy boots s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornish Wrestling
Cornish wrestling ( kw, Omdowl Kernewek) is a form of wrestling that has been established in Cornwall for many centuries and possibly longer. It is similar to the Breton Gouren wrestling style. It is colloquially known as "wrasslin’"Phillipps, K C: ''Westcountry Words & Ways'', David & Charles (Publishers) Limited 1976, p99.''Cornish culture steps into the spotlight'', The Western Morning News, 14 August 2006. in the Cornish dialect of English; historically, this usage is attested by Chaucer, Chaucer, Geoffrey: '' The Canterbury Tales'', The Knightes Tale, The Reeves Tale, the Tale of Gamelyn, The Tale of Sir Thopas, etc, 1387-1400 Shakespeare Shakespeare, William: ''As you like it'', Act III, Scene II, 1599 and Drayton. Drayton, Michael: ''Poly-Olbion'', 1612, i, 244 The referee is known as a 'stickler',James, Nicholas:''Poems on several occasions, Wrestling'', Andrew Brice (Truro) 1742, p21-40. and it is claimed that the popular meaning of the word as a 'pedant' ori ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Keverne
St Keverne ( kw, Pluw Aghevran (parish), Lannaghevran (village)) is a civil parish and village on The Lizard in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. In addition to the parish, an electoral ward exists called ''St Keverne and Meneage''. This stretches to the western Lizard coast at Gunwalloe. The population of the ward at the 2011 election was 5,220. The Cornish rebellion of 1497 started in St Keverne. The leader of the rebellion Michael An Gof ("the smith" in Cornish) was a blacksmith from St Keverne and is commemorated by a statue in the village. Before his execution, An Gof said that he should have "a name perpetual and a fame permanent and immortal". In 1997 a 500th anniversary march, "Keskerdh Kernow 500", celebrating the rebellion, retraced the route of the original march from St Keverne, via Guildford to London. Geography The parish is a large one. It includes some 10 miles of coast from Nare Point at the mouth of the Helford River to Kennack Sands, and the Manacles of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, with the River Tamar forming the border between them. Cornwall forms the westernmost part of the South West Peninsula of the island of Great Britain. The southwesternmost point is Land's End and the southernmost Lizard Point. Cornwall has a population of and an area of . The county has been administered since 2009 by the unitary authority, Cornwall Council. The ceremonial county of Cornwall also includes the Isles of Scilly, which are administered separately. The administrative centre of Cornwall is Truro, its only city. Cornwall was formerly a Brythonic kingdom and subsequently a royal duchy. It is the cultural and ethnic origin of the Cornish diaspora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many List of islands of the United Kingdom, smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border, a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abraham Cann
Abraham Cann (1794''Miscellaneous'', Leighton Buzzard Observer and Linslade Gazette, 26 April 1864, p3. – 7 April 1864) was an England, English Amateur wrestling, wrestler of the 19th century. Life Cann was the son of Robert Cann, a farmer and a wrestler in Devonshire, and his wife, Mary. Young Abraham was baptised at Colebrooke, Devon, Colebrooke, near Crediton, on 2 December 1794. He was born at Eastcombe Head farm.''Wrestling Notes: Thomas Cooper'', Western Times, 3 February 1880, p7. Inheriting from his father a love of play, he defeated John Jordan (wrestler), John Jordan, Flower, Wreyford, Simon Webber, and the other good wrestlers in Devonshire, and carried off the prizes at all the places where he became a competitor. In these matches, he wrestled in the Devon wrestling, Devonshire fashion, namely, wearing shoes and endeavouring to disable his adversary by violently kicking him on the legs. ;Cann's match with Warren On 21 September 1826, at the Eagle Tavern in City Road ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colebrooke, Devon
Colebrooke is a village and parish in Devon, England about 8 km west of Crediton. The main point of interest is the church and the connection to Henry Kingsley's novel ''The Recollections of Geoffry Hamlyn''. Also Uncle Tom Cobley, of the folk song, signed his will at Pascoe House, but is buried 4 miles west at Spreyton. The champion Devon wrestler, Abraham Cann was born and buried here. He won the all-comers wrestling crown in London. Colebrooke gave its name to Colebrook, Connecticut, United States. Roman road The remains of the agger can be seen in a field some 300m South of Rag Lane and just to the East of Five Acre Copse. This is also clearly visible from aerial views accessible online. The road follows the same line all the way from North Tawton to this point where the route becomes less obvious. A rather straight lane along the ridge of hills to the East of the railway line is suggestive of its line. Other History Colebrooke is also the supposed site of a Roma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is a coastal county with cliffs and sandy beaches. Home to the largest open space in southern England, Dartmoor (), the county is predominately rural and has a relatively low population density for an English county. The county is bordered by Somerset to the north east, Dorset to the east, and Cornwall to the west. The county is split into the non-metropolitan districts of East Devon, Mid Devon, North Devon, South Hams, Teignbridge, Torridge, West Devon, Exeter, and the unitary authority areas of Plymouth, and Torbay. Combined as a ceremonial county, Devon's area is and its population is about 1.2 million. Devon derives its name from Dumnonia (the shift from ''m'' to ''v'' is a typical Celtic consonant shift) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devonport, Devon
Devonport ( ), formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889. Devonport was originally one of the " Three Towns" (along with Plymouth and East Stonehouse); these merged in 1914 to form what would become in 1928 the City of Plymouth. It is represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Plymouth Sutton and Devonport constituency. Its elected Member of Parliament (MP) is Luke Pollard, who is a member of the Labour Party. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 14,788. History Plymouth Dock In 1690 the Admiralty gave a contract to Robert Waters from Portsmouth to build a stone dock at Point Froward on the east bank of the Hamoaze at the mouth of the River Tamar. Plymouth Dock, as Devonport was originally called, began around 1700 as a small settlement to house workers employed on the new naval base ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dictionary Of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September 2004 in 60 volumes and online, with 50,113 biographical articles covering 54,922 lives. First series Hoping to emulate national biographical collections published elsewhere in Europe, such as the ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (1875), in 1882 the publisher George Smith (1824–1901), of Smith, Elder & Co., planned a universal dictionary that would include biographical entries on individuals from world history. He approached Leslie Stephen, then editor of the '' Cornhill Magazine'', owned by Smith, to become the editor. Stephen persuaded Smith that the work should focus only on subjects from the United Kingdom and its present and former colonies. An early working title was the ''Biographia Britannica'', the name of an earlier eigh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Parkyn
Richard Parkyn ( c. 1772 - May 28, 1855) was a champion Cornish wrestler. He was born at Parkyn's Shop which lies at three parish boundaries, St Columb Major, St Columb Minor and St Mawgan. There was a saying at the time that Parkyn was ''"So great that all three parishes claimed him"''. He was also known as ''The Great Parkyn''. Little is recorded about his life other than newspaper reports of his fights. "Parkyn, a friend of the Cornish hero James Polkinghorne died at Parkyn Shop where he and his ancestors resided during 170 years on 28 May 1855, aged 81 years." Physique According to the Sporting Magazine...'' "His head, a little bald on the crown, but otherwise well covered with fine bushy black hair, curling a little on his broad brawny shoulders, and his erect honest bold front and firm step, were worth travelling a hundred miles to behold. He stands six feet high, and weighs two hundred and thirty-two pounds, although as lean as a post-horse." '' Thomas King Chambers wro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1788 Births
Events January–March * January 1 – The first edition of ''The Times'', previously ''The Daily Universal Register'', is published in London. * January 2 – Georgia ratifies the United States Constitution, and becomes the fourth U.S. state under the new government. * January 9 – Connecticut ratifies the United States Constitution, and becomes the fifth U.S. state. * January 18 – The leading ship (armed tender HMS ''Supply'') in Captain Arthur Phillip's First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay, to colonise Australia. * January 22 – the Congress of the Confederation, effectively a caretaker government until the United States Constitution can be ratified by at least nine of the 13 states, elects Cyrus Griffin as its last president.''Harper's Encyclopaedia of United States History from 458 A. D. to 1909'', ed. by Benson John Lossing and, Woodrow Wilson (Harper & Brothers, 1910) p167 * January 24 – The La Perouse expedition in the '' Astrolabe'' and '' Bous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1854 Deaths
Events January–March * January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''. * January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born. * January 9 – The Teutonia Männerchor in Pittsburgh, U.S.A. is founded to promote German culture. * January 20 – The North Carolina General Assembly in the United States charters the Atlantic and North Carolina Railroad, to run from Goldsboro through New Bern, to the newly created seaport of Morehead City, near Beaufort. * January 21 – The iron clipper runs aground off the east coast of Ireland, on her maiden voyage out of Liverpool, bound for Australia, with the loss of at least 300 out of 650 on board. * February 11 – Major streets are lit by coal gas for the first time by the San Francisco Gas Company; 86 such lamps are turned on this evening in San Francisco, California. * February 13 – Mexican troops force William W ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.svg "Click for more on -> United Kingdom")
