Rescorla Centre

The home of Cornish culture in mid Cornwall.

Find us in the centre of the hamlet of Rescorla, near St Austell.
Please have a look at our events page to find out all that's happening at Rescorla.

  •  03/04/2024 01:30 PM

This month the book club will be discussing 'Far From The Madding Crowd' by Thomas Hardy. There will be refreshments.

  •  20/04/2024 10:30 AM

The Cornish Study Group will be looking at Architects and Iconic Cornish Buildings. There will be refreshments. All welcome.

  •  20/04/2024 02:30 PM

Food in Cornish History By studying the relationship between food and cultural identity we can obtain greater insight into local and national histories. Garry Tregidga looks at the cultural associations of everyday products like the pasty and saffron cake to explore both wider themes in Cornish history and the different ways of studying the past. Garry Tregidga was awarded a PhD in the 1990s on the subject of regional political history. He subsequently became Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies and founder of Cornish Story. His research interests include oral history, music and the Celtic Revival in Cornwall in the nineteenth century.

  •  20/04/2024 07:30 PM

Come along to the Celtic Music Session at Rescorla. There will be music and song from the Rescorla musicians but bring your own instrument to join in as well. All welcome.

  •  21/04/2024 06:00 PM

Celtic Service by David Michael. Followed by tea, coffee and refreshments. All welcome.

  •  27/04/2024 10:30 AM

Come along to the Saturday Kitchen for tea, coffee, cake and chat. There will also be music and song. All welcome.

  •  02/05/2024 01:30 PM

Come along to Rescorla to meet Liz Hurley who writes under the name of Anna Penrose. Liz will be telling us about her inspiration for her novels and the process of writing them. A cream tea will also be provided! This event is free but any donations are gratefully received as all money raised goes into the running of the centre.

  •  24/02/2024 10:30 AM

This month there will be a French theme to the global kitchen. There will be croissants and French accordion music. All welcome.

  •  18/02/2024 06:00 PM

Celtic Service led by David Michael. All welcome.

  •  17/02/2024 02:00 PM

The first session with Tracy Pithie will look at literature with a focus on how Du Maurier creates a sense of place in three of her novels: Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel and Frenchman’s Creek. In all three cases the landscape and coast of Cornwall play important roles – often reflecting and enhancing the moods of the characters. By exploring this aspect of her writing, we will hopefully develop an even greater understanding and love of her novels. All welcome. You don't have to be familiar with any of the above 3 books in order to join in - or just listen - to this talk.

  •  17/02/2024 10:30 AM

This month we will be looking at Communities and Settlements. There will be refreshments. All welcome.

  •  16/02/2024 07:00 PM

Come along to Rescorla to see another film set in Cornwall. This month we are showing 'Saving Grace' certificate 15. Set in Port Issac. Brenda Blethyn as Grace Trevethyn, a newly widowed middle-aged woman who is faced with the prospect of financial ruin and turns to growing a cash crop that will solve all her problems! All welcome.

  •  14/02/2024 01:30 PM

This month we are discussing 'Fingersmith' by Sarah Waters.

  •  27/01/2024 10:30 AM

This month our global kitchen theme takes us to Germany! Come along for German food. There will also be music. All welcome.

  •  21/01/2024 06:00 PM

Celtic service led by David Michael. All welcome.

  •  20/01/2024 10:30 AM

Come along to the Cornish Studies Group here at Rescorla where we will be looking at Cornish festivals. We will look at the Rescorla Festival and the snail creep with the opportunity to hear the music for the dance played on the accordion. Please bring along any photos, artefacts etc that you have relating to festivals. You will have the opportunity to share these and your memories. All welcome. There will be refreshments.

  •  19/01/2024 07:00 PM

Come along to Rescorla to see the unofficial premier of a film by Vicki Jenner. More details to come. All welcome.

  •  30/12/2023 10:30 AM

Come along to celebrate Hogmanay here at Rescorla. There will be food, music and song. All welcome.

  •  17/12/2023 06:00 PM
  •  16/12/2023 10:30 AM

As part of the Cornish Studies Group we will be looking at Winter Traditions. This will form part of our 'Nadelik Lowen' Christmas celebrations. Maryanne will be holding a workshop as part of that. There will be storytelling, including Picrous by Malcolm, and Christmas songs and food as well. All welcome.

  •  08/12/2023 07:00 PM

Rescorla's monthly Cornish Film Club returns on Friday 8th December at 7pm with 'Kayleigh's Story' . The film explores issues of identity in the Tamar Valley and was originally produced in 2007. There will also be a showing of the 1936 classic The saving of Bill Blewitt'. Come along for an evening of Cornish film.

  •  25/11/2023 10:30 AM

Our global theme continues and this month it's on an Irish Theme. There will be Irish food such as soda bread and Irish music. All welcome.

  •  19/11/2023 06:00 PM
  •  18/11/2023 10:30 AM

Helen Luther (Fowey Museum) will be talking about 'Trouble and Strife of a Miner's Wife' followed by a general discussion on 'Women in Cornish History'. All welcome.

  •  03/11/2023 07:00 PM

Come along to Rescorla for our film night when we will be showing 'My Cousin Rachel'. There will be delicious refreshements! All welcome. This event is free but any donations are gratefully received.

  •  28/10/2023 12:00 PM

Celebrate the Celtic Harvest at Rescorla. There will be a shared lunch followed by the Harvest Auction and Celtic music and storytelling. David Michael will be the auctioneer. We are looking forward to another lively and enjoyable harvest! All welcome.

  •  21/10/2023 02:00 PM

Come along to this corn dolly making workshop run by Hazel Mark. Instructions and materials provided. There will also be refreshments. All welcome. Donations gratefully received.

  •  21/10/2023 10:30 AM

Film and Cornwall with the emphasis on World War II with a presentation by Lucy Ann Harrow. All welcome.

  •  15/10/2023 06:00 PM
  •  30/09/2023 10:30 AM

Saturday Kitchen is on a global theme beginning with a Welsh Theme. There will be Welsh cakes, bara brith, music by Ryb An Mor. All welcome.

  •  17/09/2023 06:00 PM
  •  16/09/2023 07:30 PM

Party Time with music and chat. Ryb an Mor will be joining us. If you would like to perform or just listen you are very welcome.

  •  16/09/2023 10:30 AM

Last session we focused on the pasty but this session we will be looking at foods like saffron cake in the past and present. Come along to share some food and stories. All welcome.

  •  19/08/2023 10:30 AM

Today the group will be looking at Cornish Food and Culture. There will be refreshments. All welcome.

  •  29/07/2023 10:30 AM

All welcome at the Saturday Kitchen. There will be music, song and refreshments.

  •  08/07/2023 10:30 AM - 16/07/2023 06:00 PM

This year marks the 150th anniversary of our chapel building at Rescorla. As a result we will be having a series of events from 8th July until 16th July as part of the Rescorla Festival.. This will include what promises to be a lovely Cornish musical evening with Harry Glasson in association with David Oates and our friends from Proper Job. Starts at 6pm. Further details to follow. The Rescorla Festival takes place over the third weekend in July - however this year we are having a longer celebration to mark the 150th anniversary of chapel. There will be a flower festival, guided walk, demonstration of Cornish Wrestling, the Cornish Studies group, workshops, music by Fable, Ryb an Mor, Ilow Rescorla and Bagas Crowd. There will be others, to be confirmed nearer the time. There will be the traditional Tea Treat on the final sunday afternoon. All welcome. More details will be on the website and Facebook page nearer the time.

  •  08/07/2023 10:30 AM - 16/07/2023 06:00 PM

Rescorla Festival 2023 This year marks the 150th anniversary of the old chapel so we will be celebrating with a week of activities including a performance by Harry Glasson on 8th July

  •  24/06/2023 10:30 AM

Music, song, poetry, dialect readings, chat and good food at the Saturday Kitchen. All welcome.

  •  18/06/2023 06:00 PM

David Michael will lead the Celtic Service at Rescorla. All welcome.

  •  17/06/2023 10:30 AM

The Cornish family is the theme for discussion at the Cornish Studies Group and Luxulyan and District Old Cornwall Society meeting at Rescorla on Saturday 17 June at 1030am. It will be led by Dan Gordon who will look at the subject of coincidences in family history. Come along and join in the discussion.

  •  27/05/2023 10:30 AM

Music, song, poetry, dialect readings and delicious food all at the Saturday Kitchen. All welcome.

  •  21/05/2023 06:00 PM

Celtic Service led by David Michael. All welcome.

  •  20/05/2023 10:30 AM

This month the group will look at 'Nineteenth Century Cornwall' led by Garry Tregidga. there will be refreshments. All welcome.

  •  29/04/2023 10:30 AM

Music, song, poetry, dialect readings and delicious food at the Satuday Kitchen. All welcome.

  •  16/04/2023 06:00 PM

Celtic Service led by David Michael. All welcome.

  •  15/04/2023 10:30 AM

The Cornish Studies Group will look at 'Tin Streaming' led by Craig Truscott. There will be refreshments. All welcome.

  •  14/04/2023 07:00 PM

The Hurdy Gurdies are delighted to return to The Rescorla Centre to play a fundraiser for this amazing community project. Entry by donation. The Hurdy Gurdies play authentic music from the 60s.

  •  12/04/2023 01:30 AM

This month we will be discussing 'The Betrayal' by Helen Dunmore.

  •  11/04/2023 04:30 PM

A celebration to mark the 150th anniversary of Rescorla. Come along to an evening of entertainment with music from Ilow Rescorla and song by Kana Rescorla. All welcome.

  •  25/03/2023 02:00 PM

Accordion Fest at Rescorla on Saturday 25th March at 2.00pm. Different styles and instruments from the accordion family are welcome. All welcome. there will be refreshments.

  •  19/03/2023 06:00 PM

Celtic service with David Michael. All welcome.

  •  18/03/2023 07:30 PM

Come along to the Sawles Arms and join in with the music and song. All welcome.

  •  11/03/2023 02:30 AM

The Cornish Studies Group meeting at the Rescorla Centre this coming Saturday will focus on the subject of Cornish byways. What is their story? What can they tell us about the economic landscape of the past? A good example is the route in the photo which was part of the pre-1830s road from St Austell to Bodmin before a new route through modern Bugle led to new housing development close to the expanding clay industry. This particular session will start at 230 instead of the normal time of 1030am

  •  25/02/2023 10:30 AM

Come along for music, song, poetry, dialect readings. Refreshemnts provided. All welcome.

  •  19/02/2023 06:00 PM

Celtic Service with David Michael. All welcome.

  •  18/02/2023 07:30 PM

Music session with Kana Rescorla and Ilow Rescorla at the Sawles Arms. All welcome.

  •  18/02/2023 10:30 AM

In association with Luxulyan Old Cornwall Society. Trever Smitheram will talk about Rick Rescorla and this will be followed by a general discussion on the Cornish diaspora. Refreshments will be provided. All welcome.

  •  15/02/2023 01:30 PM

This month we are discussing 'Frenchman's Creek' by Daphne Du Maurier. Refreshments provided.

  •  28/01/2023 02:30 PM

If you can speak some Cornish join us at this free event on Saturday 28th January 2.30-4.30 Rescorla Centre, a great opportunity to practise your conversation and have some fun. Book your tickets now through Eventbrite. Please see our Facebook page for details.

  •  28/01/2023 10:30 AM

Come along to the Saturday Kitchen to enjoy good company, food ,traditional Cornish music and song and dialect readings. All welcome.

  •  21/01/2023 07:30 PM

Come along to the Sawles Arms to hear Kana Rescorla sing traditional Cornish songs, feel free to join in. We will aslo be suported by Ryb an Mor. It promises to be a lively and enjoyable evening! All welcome.

  •  21/01/2023 10:30 AM

The topic for discussion this month is transport. Please bring along your memories and any artefacts that you have eg. photos. Refreshments will be provided. All welcome.

  •  15/01/2023 06:00 PM
  •  31/12/2022 10:30 AM

Come along to Rescorla for Hogmanay! There'll be music, singing, readings and food. All welcome.

  •  18/12/2022 06:00 PM
  •  17/12/2022 10:30 AM

Come along to the Winter Festival here at Rescorla. In the morning we will be finding out about Cornish Christmas traditions. Then the festival will continue in the afternooon witha Christmas party with music, song and seasonal refreshments. All welcome.

  •  14/12/2022 01:30 PM

This month we will be discussing 'Frenchman's Creek' by Daphne Du Maurier.

  •  26/11/2022 10:30 PM

Come along to the Saturday Kitchen where there will be music and song. Opportunities for people to contribute music, song and story as well. All welcome.

  •  20/11/2022 06:00 PM
  •  19/11/2022 07:30 PM

Kana Rescorla will be singing at the Sawles Arms. All welcome to come along to listen or join in.

  •  19/11/2022 10:30 AM

The topic for discussion this month is female Cornish writers. All welcome.

  •  12/11/2022 10:30 AM

Ever thought about learning Cornish or just want to find out more about it? Then come along to this taster session run by Kim Hopewell, our Cornish Language Officer. There will be refreshments. All welcome.

  •  31/10/2022 01:30 PM
  •  22/10/2022 12:00 PM

Come along to the Celtic Harvest here at Rescorla. It will start with a harvest lunch, (price £7:50 and let Enid Rose or Garry know if you would like lunch) At 2pm the traditional harvest auction will be presented by David Michael. There will be music by Fable and Ilow Rescorla. There will be Welsh song from Maryanne Thomas and the Lord's Prayer in Irish by Griffith Collins. It's always an enjoyable occassion! Donations for the harvest auction are gratefully received.

  •  19/10/2022 01:30 PM

We will be discussing 'The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' by Mark Haddon.

  •  17/10/2022 01:30 PM

An upbeat music seesion. All welcome. £1:50 charge. Refreshments provided.

  •  16/10/2022 06:00 PM
  •  15/10/2022 08:00 PM
  •   Sawles Arms at Carthew.

Music session led by Ilow Rescorla but all welcome to participate. Contact Garry if you would like to be involved. See the details on our Facebook page.

  •  15/10/2022 10:30 AM

We will be looking again at Cornish personalities. There will also be refreshments. All welcome.

  •  26/09/2022 07:00 PM

Kana Rescorla meets every Monday at Rescorla at 7pm. Please come along if you would like to join in. No auditions. Refreshments provided.

  •  24/09/2022 10:30 AM

At the Saturday Kitchen we welcome members of the Bodmin Youth Band. Thanks to Alice Margetts for arranging this. There will also be the usual opportunities for people to contribute music, song and story. All welcome.

  •  19/09/2022 01:30 PM
  •  18/09/2022 06:00 PM
  •  17/09/2022 10:30 AM

The topic for discussion is Personalities in Cornwall's Past. All welcome.

  •  31/08/2022 01:30 PM

This month we will be discussing 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry' by Rachel Joyce. All welcome. Refreshments provided.

  •  26/08/2022 10:30 AM
  •  21/08/2022 06:00 PM
  •  20/08/2022 10:30 AM

Cornish Studies Group will be looking at personalities of Cornish history. Refreshments provided. All welcome.

  •  18/08/2022 06:00 PM

Thursday 18 August: Roche, Coldvreath, Trezaise and Roche Rock. Meet outside St Gomonda’s Church (SW 98806 59793) at 6pm.

  •  30/07/2022 10:30 AM
  •  18/07/2022 01:30 PM

Come and join in with the Roots Music group wher 'upbeat' music is played. All welcome. £1:50 per session.

  •  16/07/2022 10:00 AM

We are looking forward to the Rescorla Festival which will take place over the weekend of the 16th and 17th July. On Saturday 16th there will be a guided walk in the morning with Malcolm Gould. Meet at 10am at Drinnick Yard in Nanpean for a 'clay country walk'. The walk will finish back at Drinnick Yard at approx 12:30 where you can have a pasty for lunch in the cafe. From 2pm there will be an exhibition based on the series of walks: 'Walking The Higher Quarter'. The Cornish Studies group will also be meeting - all welcome to come along. There will also be a demonstration and talk on Cornish wrestling with Simon Margetts. Refreshments will be available during the afternoon. On Sunday 17th from 2pm there will be music by Ryb an Mor, Bagas Crowd, Maryanne Thomas and Frank Bigham and the Rescorla Band. The famous Snail Creep dance and processsion will take place. There will be a BBQ during the afternoon. It's going to be a great weekend! All welcome. There is no charge but donations are gratefully received.

  •  11/07/2022 01:00 PM - 11/07/2022 07:00 PM

On Monday 11th July between 1 and 7pm as part of Rescorla's 'Walking the Higher Quarter' project there will be an opportunity to portray through weaving your impression of the nature, colours and memories of the area. Nicola Builder from Wayward Weaves will be bringing her looms and you can try your hand at Saori weaving, a freehand style that is easy to learn and do. The results will be exhibited at the Rescorla Festival on July 16 & 17th.

  •  07/07/2022 06:00 PM

A series of evening walks exploring Clay Country Walking the Higher Quarter For further details, please see either the Luxulyan and District Old Cornwall Society or the Rescorla Centre face book page or visit website https://rescorlacentre.site123.me/, You can also contact the secretary on 07929 747397 Thursday 7 July: Carloggas Downs, formerly Singlerose. Meet at the car park at the foot of the access road off the A391 (SX 01410 56528) at 6 pm. Thursday 21 July: Treskilling, Resugga and Lantern. Meet at the Rescorla Centre (SX 02726 57502) at 6 pm. Thursday 18 August: Roche, Coldvreath, Trezaise and Roche Rock. Meet outside St Gomonda’s Church (SW 98806 59793) at 6pm. All are welcome to join these walks, there is no charge.

  •  19/06/2022 06:00 PM

Celtic Service at 6pm. Refreshments afterwards. All welcome.

  •  18/06/2022 10:30 AM
  •  15/06/2022 01:30 PM

We will be discussing 'We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves' by Karen Joy Fowler. There will be refreshments.

  •  05/06/2022 03:30 PM

Come along to Rescorla to enjoy a High Tea and listen to music to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee. All welcome.

  •  28/05/2022 10:30 AM

Come and enjoy delicious food, chat and music at the Saturday Kitchen. Listen to music by our special guests this month - 'Ryb An Mor' and 'Fable'. All welcome.

  •  21/05/2022 10:30 AM

The Cornish Studies Group will be looking at 'Roman Cornwall' with Tash Fulbrook. There will be refreshments. All welcome.

  •  15/05/2022 06:00 PM

Celtic Service at Rescorla. Followed by tea and refreshments. All welcome.

  •  15/05/2022 02:30 PM

Meet at the Rescorla Centre at 2:30pm for a guided walk of the local area. Garry will be leading the walk. Remember to bring a bottle of water with you.

  •  06/05/2022 07:30 PM

Come along to Rescorla for an entertaining, musical evening with the Hurdy Gurdies! Refreshments will be provided. Entry by donation.

  •  30/04/2022 10:30 AM

Come along to the Saturday Kitchen where you can enjoy a chat, delicious food and music. Our guest for this month is Mo Keast who will be singing and using dialect for story telling! All welcome.

  •  27/04/2022 01:30 PM

We will be discussing 'Black Rabbit Hall' by Eve Chase. There will be refreshemnts.

  •  23/04/2022 10:30 AM

The group will be discussing Cornish entertainment from Plen an Gwari to magic lanterns. All welcome. Refreshemnts provided.

  •  17/04/2022 06:30 PM

The Celtic Service for Easter with David Michael will take place at Rescorla. However please note that building work to the interior walls will have started. There will be scaffolding in the building, however it will be placed to one side so that the service can take place.

  •  20/03/2022 06:30 PM
  •  19/03/2022 10:30 AM

This session will be on Methodist Heritage - buildings, customs etc. There will be refreshemnts. All welcome.

  •  16/03/2022 04:00 PM

This month we are discussing 'The Trouble With Goats and Sheep' by Joanna Cannon. There will be refreshments.

  •  11/03/2022 07:00 PM

Come along to the Film Night where films about Cornwall are presented by Malcolm Gould. There will be refreshments. All welcome.

  •  05/03/2022 11:30 AM

Celebrate St Piran's Day! Come to St Austell Church in the centre of St Austell where a programme of talks and demonstrations will be taking place throughout the day starting at 11:30 am and continuing until 3:00pm.

  •  26/02/2022 10:30 AM

A warm welcome awaits you at the Saturday Kitchen. Special guest his month is Luna the Harp. Come along to hear music, song and dialect readings.

  •  20/02/2022 06:00 PM

Come along to the Celtic Service by David Michael. Refreshments provided afterwards.

  •  19/02/2022 10:30 AM

Come along to Rescorla to discuss an area of interest in Cornish history and culture. Refreshments will be provided.

  •  16/02/2022 01:30 PM

Meet at Rescorla to discuss this month's book "Zennor in Darkness" by Helen Dunmore. There will be refreshments.

  •  11/02/2022 07:00 PM

Film night presented by Malcolm Gould. Refreshments will be provided.

  •  29/01/2022 10:30 AM
  •  16/01/2022 06:00 PM

Celtic Service held by David Michael. Refreshments afterwards. All welcome.

  •  15/01/2022 10:30 AM

We will be looking at Cornish family names. Refreshemtns will be provided. All welcome.

  •  14/01/2022 07:00 PM
  •  19/12/2021 11:00 AM

Yule Celtic Service followed by lunch. There is no charge for lunch but please book in. Please book your lunch and advise of any dietary requirements. Contact: 07886734492

  •  18/12/2021 04:00 PM

Meet at Rescorla at 4pm to go Carol singing around the village! There will be mulled wine and mince pies afterwards!

  •  18/12/2021 02:00 PM

At this session we will be looking at Cornish place names. There will be refreshments. All welcome.

  •  18/12/2021 10:30 AM

We will be loking at Cornish family names. Refreshments will be provided. All welcome.

  •  10/12/2021 07:00 PM

Cornish Carol Service on 10th December at 7pm. Come along to a Cornish Carol Service, arranged by David Michael, supported by the Red River Singers from Redruth. There will be many old Cornish Carols including those by Merritt, Broad and Nicholas.

  •  04/12/2021 12:30 PM

Come and enjoy a Christmas meal (with vegetarian option) on Saturday 4th December. At 2pm the Washaway Choir will be singing traditional Cornish Christmas Carols. A wonderful festive occassion! The Christmas meal, with tea and coffee and mice pies is £8:00. Places are limited to 30 this year so please reserve your place before the end of November.

  •  27/11/2021 10:30 AM

Richard Trethewey will be our guest performer for the November Saturday Kitchen session. There will also be readings, performances, singing and the Rescorla Band. Delicious breakfast baps by Enid. All welcome.

  •  21/11/2021 06:00 PM
  •  20/11/2021 10:30 AM

Come and join us at the Cornish Studies Group when today we will be looking at and discussing paintings, pictures and photos of Cornwall. Come along and discuss your favourite picture of Cornwall and what it means to you. There will be refreshments too!

  •  17/11/2021 01:30 PM

It's our first anniversary! We will be discussing "Into Danger" by Kate Adie. We will also discuss which one of the books that we have read over the year has made a lasting impression. There will be refreshments and cake! All welcome.

  •  12/11/2021 07:00 PM
  •  30/10/2021 10:30 AM

Join us from 10:30am to celebrate the Celtic Harvest. Our special guest today is Kathy Wallis who will be story telling and singing. There will be an open session for people to play music either individually or together and there will be music from the Rescorla Band. There will be music from The Isle of Man and Scotland, Gaelic singing and singing in Breton. We will have readings and poetry as well. We will have a pasty lunch (there will be a vegetarian option) and homemade cakes. All donations of cakes gratefully received! We are looking forward to a wonderful Celtic celebration. All welcome.

  •  20/10/2021 01:30 PM

This month we will be discussing 'Heat and Dust' by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala.

  •  17/10/2021 06:00 PM

Celtic service of healing and celebration will be hosted by David Michael. There will be refreshments afterwards. All welcome.

  •  16/10/2021 10:30 AM

We will be discussing film in Cornwall. All welcome.

  •  08/10/2021 07:00 PM
  •  25/09/2021 10:30 AM

Come along and enjoy breakfast baps by Enid, enjoy music and poetry. Our guests today are Alison and Merv Davey.

  •  18/09/2021 10:30 AM

Today we will be looking at the landscape of the Clay Country. What does the Clay Country mean to you?

  •  15/09/2021 01:30 PM

We will be discussing 'Friendly Fire' by Patrick Gale.

  •  28/08/2021 10:30 PM

Saturday Kitchen returns! Come along to chat, listen to music, poetry, dialect readings. There will be an invited guest to share their music with us. There's no charge for this, but donations are gratefully received.

  •  18/08/2021 01:30 PM

The Book Group will meet to discuss 'All The Light We cannot See' by Anthony Doerr.

  •  14/08/2021 10:30 AM

The next meeting of the Cornish Studies Group will look at myths and legends and the landscape of the local area. Please come along with a myth or legend to share with the group.

  •  24/07/2021 10:30 AM

Rescorla Festival Saturday 24th/Sunday 25th July 2021 The annual Snail Creep Festival returns with a weekend programme of music, words, dance and heritage. It will be opened by Liz Carne, Grand Bard of Gorsedh Kernow, on Saturday 24th at 1030am and will be followed that day with music from: Bagas Crowd Lamorna Spry and John Carter Kiera Smitheram Rescorla Band and others Snail Creep will be performed during the day and all are welcome. Food and refreshments will be available but any contributions to the tea treat table will be welcome. On Sunday 25th July at 1030am Doug Carpenter, Larry Mclaughlin, Audrey Caust and other friends will continue the entertainment in true Rescorla style. Malcolm Gould will then lead us on a heritage walk in the Carclaze area at 230pm. All welcome: contact us for further details. No charge but donations welcome Further details from: Rescorla Festival Office, 10 Hallaze Road, Penwithick, St Austell, Kernow PL26 8UT. Tel: 07714210966. See our Facebook site (Rescorla Centre) or check out our website for news of the festival and our other activities - www.rescorlacentre.site123.me/

  •  21/07/2021 01:00 PM

At the next meeting of the Book Group we will discuss 'The Go Between' by LP Hartley. Refreshments will be provided and the next book will be available, with thanks to St Austell Library. If you would like to come along please get in touch with Tracy on 07761443733.

  •  14/03/2020 10:30 AM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK
  •  25/02/2020 06:00 PM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

Celtic Service to celebrate Lent at the Rescorla Centre. This will be followed by pancakes. All welcome.

  •  14/02/2020 07:00 PM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

Film night at Rescorla. Starts at 7pm. Tonight's film is 'Stocker's Copper' - a film about the 1913 strike at a Cornish clay pit and the tensions that arise when Welsh police are sent in to keep order. Light refreshments provided. Film Night is free however all donations made are gratefully received and go towards the funding of events at Rescorla.

  •  02/02/2020 06:00 PM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

Celtic Service for Candlemass. This will be followed by tea. Enjoy a time of Celtic worship and some food and fellowship afterwards. All Welcome.

  •  25/01/2020 10:30 AM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

Come along for the Saturday Kitchen. Good food, join in with some Cornish songs, music provided by Kana Rescorla, listen to dialect readings, meet friends. There's no charge for any of the events at Rescorla however all donations are gratefully received. All the money goes towards funding the events at Rescorla.

  •  10/01/2020 07:00 PM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

Come along to Rescorla for the film night with old films on the theme of Coastal Cornwall by Bob Keys and Malcolm Gould. Light refreshments provided. There's no charge for any of the events at Rescorla, however all donations are gratefully received. All money donated goes towards the funding of the events.

  •  28/12/2019 10:30 AM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

Come along to Rescorla for a Cornish Hogmanay! There will be hog's pudding, haggis and a vegetarian option. Music and song provided by Kana Rescorla. All events at Rescorla are free however donations are gratefully received. All the money goes towards funding the events.

  •  12/12/2019 08:00 PM
  •   Luxulyan, Bodmin, UK

Picrous Celebration at the Kings Arms, Bridges from 8 pm

  •  07/12/2019 12:30 PM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

Enjoy a traditional Christmas lunch at Rescorla. This is very popular so please ensure to book - final date to book is Saturday 30th November. Contact us via the email on the contact page.

  •  30/11/2019 10:30 AM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

Enjoy delicious food - please bring something to share if you can, it will be greatly appreciated, listen to music by Kana Rescorla, hear dialect readings and join in with singing traditional Cornish songs.

  •  24/11/2019 06:00 PM
  •   Gunwen Methodist Chapel

Come along to a service held in the Cornish Language. The service will be followed by a traditional Cornish tea.

  •  21/11/2019 07:00 PM
  •   Luxulyan, Bodmin, UK

Luxulyan and District Old Cornwall Society Talk by Roger Smith “Protecting Luxulyan’s Heritage”, Luxulyan Memorial Institute, 7 pm

  •  08/11/2019 07:00 PM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

Film Night - an opportunity to see a selection of short films about the history and culture of mid Cornwall. The film that we will be showing is by Johnny Frenchman filmed in Mevagissey in the 1940s. It's a lovely film that looks at fishing and the relations with the Breton fishermen. Light refreshments are provided and a warm welcome awaits. The Rescorla Centre is a charity. There is no charge to any of the events but donations are gratefully received. All money raised goes towards the charity and funding future events.

  •  27/10/2019 02:30 PM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

Come along to Rescorla for a traditional Celtic Harvest. There will be music by Kana Rescorla, delicious food - please bring along something to share if you can - a harvest auction and 'Crying the Neck'. This is a Cornish tradition to give thanks for the harvest and to look forward to next year's harvest. The Celtic Harvest at Rescorla is a wonderful celebration! We look forward to seeing you!

  •  26/10/2019 10:30 AM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

Come along to Rescorla for a Harvest Celebration as part of the Saturday Kitchen. Delicious food will be provided by Enid - please bring something to share if you can, it would be greatly appreciated. Make corn dollies with Jo Tagney. Listen to the wonderful singing of Kescana and music provided by Kana Rescorla. Also if you have any donations for the Harvest auction, which will take place on Sunday 27th October, please bring them along with you. A wonderful morning awaits!

  •  17/10/2019 07:00 PM
  •   Luxulyan, Bodmin, UK

Luxulyan and District Old Cornwall Society Talk by Hazel Harradence “The Home Front in the Great War”, Luxulyan Memorial Institute, 7 pm

  •  28/09/2019 10:30 AM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

Enjoy delicious food, listen to music by Kana Rescorla, hear dialect readings and chat with friends.

  •  19/09/2019 07:00 PM
  •   Gunwen Chapel, Gunwen.

Crying the Neck, a Cornish tradition to celebrate harvest, followed by a Harvest supper at Gunwen Chapel.

  •  07/09/2019 10:30 AM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

Come along to Rescorla for a one-off workshop about working with clay. Zenna Tagney is leading the workshop, in association with the White Gold Festival. Light refreshments form the Cornish kitchen will be provided by Enid. There is no charge for this workshop, but donations would be gratefully received.

  •  31/08/2019 10:30 AM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

Enjoy great food, listen to music by Kana Rescorla, hear dialect readings and chat with friends.

  •  18/08/2019 02:00 PM
  •   Innis Downs SX 02959 62861

Guided Walk to Castilly Henge.

  •  03/08/2019 01:00 PM
  •   Rescorla, Saint Austell, UK

This is a free community lunch. Booking essential. Please contact David Michael.



Saturday Kitchen - Kegin dy'Sadorn.
Come along to Rescorla on the last Saturday of every month from 10:30am to 12:30pm for the Saturday Kitchen.
Enjoy delicious food, please bring something to share if you can - it would be greatly appreciated, however please label incase of allergies, chat with friends, hear dialect stories and readings, listen to music by Kana Rescorla and join in with the singing. We will also have a special guest each month.
There's no charge for any of the events at Rescorla, however donations are greatly appreciated. All money goes towards funding  the events and maintaining the building.
Saturday Kitchen - Kegin dy'Sadorn. imageSaturday Kitchen - Kegin dy'Sadorn. image
Cornish Studies Group image

The Cornish Studies group meets at Rescorla. The aim is to record people's personal histories of Cornwall and to move on to looking at cultural and historical aspects of Cornwall.
We meet on the 3rd Saturday of the month at 10:30am. Refreshments will be provided. All welcome.
At our first meeting we began by looking at personal objects that tell a story. The stories were recorded and will be broadcast in a podcast at a later date.

If you feel this is something you'd like to be involved in, please get in touch either via the email on the website or via the facebook page. 
Interested in exploring the culture and history of Cornwall? Then come along to the Rescorla Centre in 2024, which will be launching a new education programme of study workshops in association with the University of Exeter’s Institute of Cornish Studies and the Federation of Old Cornwall Societies. Subjects covered include the Cornish language, folklore, history, literature and music with individual sessions providing a useful insight that can lead to further study opportunities in the future. The workshop sessions will be led by experienced teachers and course participants will receive a certificate from the Institute of Cornish Studies. Participants would also be welcome to attend the research and music sessions held at Rescorla in the morning and evening respectively on the third Saturday of each month to make it a stimulating day in the study and celebration of Cornish culture.

17 February 2024
Daphne Du Maurier and a Sense of Place
The first session with Tracy Pithie will look at literature with a focus on how Du Maurier creates a sense of place in three of her novels: Rebecca, My Cousin Rachel and Frenchman’s Creek. In all three cases the landscape and coast of Cornwall play important roles – often reflecting and enhancing the moods of the characters. By exploring this aspect of her writing, we will hopefully develop an even greater understanding and love of her novels.
Tracy Pithie was a full-time teacher in primary schools for 25 years and became familiar with mid-Cornwall after living in the area for 5 years. Her long-term love of Fowey led to a greater appreciation of the novels of Daphne Du Maurier. She set up the book club at the Rescorla Centre where we have read a few Du Maurier novels.
16 March 2024
Knitting the Gansey 
Emily Cunningham will talk about the history of knitting in Cornwall. This will include the practical everyday side of knitting (e.g. types of garments made, how they are constructed). The latter half of the session will teach some basic stitches and invite attendees to produce a small square of knitting that can be used collaboratively to produce a Rescorla heritage blanket.
Emily Cunningham is a MPhil/PhD student at the University of Exeter’s Institute of Cornish Studies with a BA in History and English. She is currently researching Everyday Cornish relationships to the landscape in the 19th century. Emily’s workshop will draw on her personal passion for historical homemaking and textiles.
20 April 2024 
Food in Cornish History 
By studying the relationship between food and cultural identity we can obtain greater insight into local and national histories. Garry Tregidga looks at the cultural associations of everyday products like the pasty and saffron cake to explore both wider themes in Cornish history and the different ways of studying the past.  
Garry Tregidga was awarded a PhD in the 1990s on the subject of regional political history. He subsequently became Director of the Institute of Cornish Studies and founder of Cornish Story. His research interests include oral history, music and the Celtic Revival in Cornwall in the nineteenth century.
 
18 May 2024
A Cornish Bestiary
From “Pen Glas”, the horse skull hobby horse of West Penwith and the dragons of Helston’s Hal An Tow to Padstow’s “Obby Oss” and the “Beast of Bodmin” Cornwall is rich in mystical beasts. Dr Merv Davey will show that these beasts are part of Cornish Guize Dance tradition and have been well documented since the 19th century but what are their origins, meanings, and significance?
Merv Davey completed a PhD with the Institute of Cornish Studies researching folk song dance and identity in Cornwall and has written a range of articles and books on Cornish folk tradition. He continues his research as an Associate of the Institute and a member of the Cornish National Music Archive team. 
15 June 2024
Cornish Identity – what it is and what it does
There is a lot of talk these days about ‘Cornish Identity’ but different people mean different things by the phrase. Richard Pearce’s session will look at how place identity operates in our minds and affects our behaviour, and sees several different ways in which we may claim Cornish identity.
Dr Richard Pearce comes from a historically Cornish family. He has worked in international schools and has done research and written on how children adjust their cultural identity on moving to a new country. This has useful applications in Cornwall, where people have migrated inward and outward over many years.
20 July 2024 
Cornwall and the British Documentary Film Movement
Film can be a useful way of studying both external and internal representations of Cornwall. Bob Keys will introduce us to the work of the Documentary Film Movement in relation to Cornwall during the middle decades of the twentieth century, Participants will be introduced to old film on media platforms and shown how to do their own commentaries.   
Bob Keys is an Associate of the Institute of Cornish Studies and Film & Folklore Director of Cornish Story. In recent decades he has been applying his earlier Russian research on those topics to the Cornish experience. He lives in his native South East Cornwall and was formerly Head of History at the University College of St Mark and St John in Plymouth. 
17 August 2024 
History of the Cornish Language 1600-2000 
In this session Kim Hopewell and Diana Trudgeon will be looking at the demise and the revival of the Cornish language starting in 1600 with William Scawen up to the present day.
Kim Hopewell and Diana Trudgeon have been studying the Cornish language since 2017 and having passed four examinations in the language were invited to become bards of Gorsedh Kernow in 2023. They put on events in various places around Cornwall to help promote the language.
21 September 2024 
Cornish Traditional Costume
Join Alison Davey as she takes us through the story of traditional costume in Cornwall and its depiction in a variety of visual settings including paintings, early photographs, and carvings.
Alison Davey developed an interest in traditional costume alongside her research into Cornish dance traditions. She was a founder member of the dance team Cam Kernewek, and one of the organisers of Lowender Peran. Alison regularly provides costume workshops for schools and collaborated with Cornwall Heritage Trust to provide an online costume educational resource.
 
 
 
 
For further details and to register for the course at Rescorla please email
G.H.Tregidga@exeter.ac.uk   
Cornish Study Days imageCornish Study Days image
Malcolm is running the Art and Sketch Group which meets every Tuesday afternoon from1pm to 3pm at Rescorla. If you'd like to join please get in touch via the Facebook page.
All welcome.
The group is an informal conversation group that meets on Mondays at Wheal Martyn at 10:30am, however some knowledge of the language would be useful in order to join in. The group is run by Kim Hopewell who is our Cornish Language Officer.

If you would like to join please get in touch with Tracy on 07761443733.

Click on the link below to hear the interview with Jack Murley from BBC Radio Cornwall. Jack visited on Tuesday 23rd November 2021 and interviewed Kim Hopewell, Di Pomroy and Di Trudgeon.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0b68vy3



Rescorla Book Club imageRescorla Book Club image
The Rescorla Book Club meets on a Wednesday afternoon about 4 times a year.
Our next meeting is on Wednesday 3rd April 2024 at 1:30pm at Rescorla when we'll be discussing 'Far From The Madding Crowd' by Thomas Hardy.

Rescorla Book Club Newsletter February 2024
Hi Everyone,
It was so good to see you at the book club; to those who couldn’t make it, hope to see you in April.
What a fantastic discussion we had! We all had lots to say about ‘Fingersmith’ by Sarah Waters. Some of us found it a bit hard going at the beginning, however we all eventually became hooked on the story and had to know what happened to Susan, Maud and the rest of them! We thought seedy, Victorian London was brilliantly described. We could picture the kitchen with Mrs Sucksby, Mr Ibbs, the brazier and the babies. It was the place where the plan was first revealed. Most of us were surprised by the turn of events and the reveal at the end. It was a great story and page-turner!
Here’s a review of ‘Fingersmith’:

Corsets and cliffhangers
 

Julie Myerson is hooked by Sarah Waters, a modern Wilkie Collins whose Fingersmith reveals a vital Victorian world of petty thieves, asylums and surprising passions
Julie Myerson
Sat 2 Feb 2002 10.22 GMT
Fingersmith

Sarah Waters


The worst job I ever had was in Debenhams hosiery department, Nottingham, 1977. The one thing that kept me going through that dark, soul-numbing winter was Wilkie Collins's The Woman in White. I gobbled it on the bus, under the counter and in too-hasty snatches in the fluorescent staff canteen. As Gothic intrigue, madness and terror loomed, Charnos and Elbeo receded. It saved me, as extraordinary books can and do.
Now Debenhams is a dim and dreary memory, but this past week Sarah Waters has thrilled me in identical ways to Collins with this, her third novel. Addicted to its atmosphere and hung up on its plot, I've gulped it exhaustedly until 3am, only to sleep and dream that I was still caught among its urgent, unnerving characters.
In the 1860s, the Borough - the shanty town at the wrong end of Southwark Bridge - is a place of petty thieves and criminals, of poverty, "mean little dodges" and scams. Waters's Victorian London is a city where thieves say "fxxk" and "cxxt", where babies are dosed with gin until they conk out, where "knifish" boys sit by the fire spitting out peanut shells. Most brutal, daring and refreshing of all, it's a place where pornography, emotional abuse and rape are the natural bedfellows of greed and lovelessness.
The people, too, come throbbing off the page - none of your watery heroines here. Sue, 17, knows only that her mother was hanged for murder. She's been brought up by Mrs Sucksby and Mr Ibbs - the latter fences stolen property and the former does much the same with unwanted babies. It's a rough, crooked yet comradely household, which is occasionally visited by one Richard Rivers, a debonair criminal, forger and seducer. And Gentleman - as he's known - has a plan.
An heiress, Maud Lilly, lives with her grim, scholarly uncle in a huge, dark mansion "out Maidenhead-way". Like that woman in white, Maud stands to inherit a fortune if and when she marries. Posing as a drawing master, Gentleman has already gained her trust and is confident that his attentions are welcomed. He now plans to lure her away from uncle, marry, "jiggle" and ruin her, before dumping her in an asylum and making her fortune his own. But in order to persuade this isolated young woman to "do a flit", he needs likeable, guileless Sue to become her lady's maid, so gaining her trust and helping her (and him). If they succeed, Sue will get a share of the fortune. Sue - good-hearted but crooked, with an eye on the main chance - doesn't think twice.
Arriving in the country at this sprawling Gothic mansion, she gets to know lonely Maud and, gradually, to like her; an uneasy development in the light of what must happen. But Gentleman arrives and continues his sly courtship, and all seems to be going to plan. Until something Sue discovers, something she could never have predicted, flips her world over and turns it upside down.
It was then that the book and I disappeared to a café for several hours while the world thought I was working - Debenhams all over again. It's also the point, only a third of the way through this dense 400-pager, after which I refuse to disclose another morsel of plot. Even by admitting my excitement, I feel I've already said too much.
It's a thriller, yes, but it's also a love story - a sexy, passionate and startling one. I hesitate to call it lesbian, because that seems to marginalise it far more than it deserves. Suffice to say, it is erotic and unnerving in all the right ways. And modern - though Waters makes full and sensuous use of gloves, stockings, rustling skirts and heaving breasts, her ear for the crunch of language, her knowingness and her unceasing impulse for physical honesty turn every potential cliché into something up-close and fresh.
I was occasionally aware of Waters's unstoppable appetite for detail, her determination to draw out every moment. Could it, should it, perhaps have been edited a little? But if the writer and critic in me asked these questions, the reader never did, not for a single moment. In fact, the last 50 pages are so sensationally tense that you read them naughtily, one eye on the sentence in hand, the other attempting vainly to cheat and flick ahead.
There are always novels that you envy people for not yet having read, for the pleasures they still have to come. Well, this is one. Long, dark, twisted and satisfying, it's a fabulous piece of writing, but Waters's most impressive achievement is that she also makes it feel less like reading, more like living: an unforgettable experience.
Books for Spring:
   
      
A famous Spring poem:
I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud
BY WILLIAM WORDSWORTH
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced; but they
Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

Our next meeting is on Wednesday 3rd April at 1:30pm at Rescorla when we’ll be discussing ‘Far From The Maddening Crowd’ by Thomas Hardy.
Looking forward to seeing you then.
Happy reading,
Tracy.




We are already planning the 2024 Rescorla Festival which will take place over 19th to 21st July. We will have an author talk - some exciting news on that to follow! There will be a meeting of the Cornish Study Group, a guided walk, the traditional tea treat and the snail creep dance! Lots of music, readings and poetry.
Follow this page for updates nearer the time.
All welcome.
As you know there's no charge for any of the events, but donations are greatly appreciated.

There will be a Celtic service of healing and celebration on the 3rd Sunday of the month at 6pm here at Rescorla. The services are hosted by David Michael.
Refreshments will be provided afterwards. All welcome.
Celtic Services. image
The Kana Rescorla Singing Group meets every Monday at Rescorla at 7pm.
If you're interested in joining please come along. There are no auditions.
Refreshments provided.
Kana Rescorla imageKana Rescorla image

Higher Quarter is the old name for the northern part of the historic parish of St Austell. The aim of this innovative project supported by Arts Well in association with Cornwall Council is to develop a walking trail of heritage landmarks in this area of the Clay Country that will feature on digital platforms and on a website. Members of the public are invited to participate by a) walking the trail, b) exploring the history behind these sites and c) recording these landmarks through an artistic medium that appeals to you such as photography, drawings, paintings, poetry or music.
The use of mobile phones would be especially encouraged since we would provide ST20 Portable Selfie sticks that have 360 degree rotation and a tripod. Volunteers associated with ‘Walking the Higher Quarter’ can then make short videos that can be long the lines of the popular BBC series ???? Photographs, narratives and poems would also be collected in digital format and for a pamphlet. There would also be an exhibition of artistic work produced by members of the community at the Rescorla Centre.
The next walk is: Thursday 18 August: Roche, Coldvreath, Trezaise and Roche Rock.
Meet outside St Gomonda’s Church (SW 98806 59793) at 6pm.

Check out our website https://rescorlacentre.site123.me/, join our facebook group ‘Rescorla Centre’, email cornishstudies@exeter.ac.uk or telephone 07714210966.





How many can you get right?
Ivan's memories, part 2.
An Eos Hweg (Sweet Nightingale in Cornish) sung by Noor accompanied by her dad Howard Tresidder Tonkin
ntroducing... #WhealMartynCreate! We challenge you to re-create our historic photographs. We will post new images each Monday and share our favourites througho... See more
 Have a look at a Pathe Film from 1939 of St Enodoc on the coast. It was uncovered from sand by the 1860s.
Today's film is an excursion through Cornwall in 1916​​​
If you are looking for something to do on the cultural front  then read some of the articles on Cornish Story.​​​
Ivan has recorded some of his memories. We will be playing them in installments. You can listen to the first installment of Ivan's memories now.​​​
This week's Cornish language radio show - including a singing session like you would have at the Cornish language weekend. Agan towlen an seythen ma - hag ynni yma sesshyon kana kepar dell gevir dhe Bennseythen Gernewek.​​​
A selection of Cornish songs with the words to sing-along to and some readings. Something to help break the boredom of the staying at home. Feel free to share. A collection of Cornish Songs to sing a long to with some Cornish readings too. Songs including Camborne Hill, Lamorna, Proper Job, Little Eyes, Hail to the ...​​​
Cornish around the home.
More of Ivan's memories.​​​
Cornish dance.​​​
Cornish kilt in 1961.​​​
Cornish story.​​​
A week of 20 minute virtual talks.​​​
A song by Viv.​​​
More of Ivan's memories.​​​
A new series on Cornish Story exploring the work of artists in mid Cornwall​​​.
Another testimony film about the Gunwen area from the Institute's Tallys anTyr project by Sarah Trevillion​​​.
Another cultural series on Cornish Story. In this case the legends and drolls of Cornwall's Wivelshire by Robert Burroughs Robert Burroughs explores the legends and drolls of Wivelshire in the introduction to a new series. South East Cornwall is often referred to as ‘Cornwall’s Forgotten Corner’ in part due to its geog…​​​




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