“St Just is one of the jewels of Cornwall,” said the Grand Bard of Cornwall, Elizabeth Carne, Melennek, “and we are so happy to be gathering in such an important and historic town for next year’s Esedhvos Festival.”
Grand Bard Elizabeth Carne, Melennek
The Grand Bard’s words were spoken as a joint declaration with town mayor Cllr Brian Clemens that St Just in Penwith, in the far west of Cornwall, would host the 2019 Gorsedh Kernow Esedhvos Festival of Cornish Culture and bardic ceremony.
“We are delighted that the bards of the Cornish Gorsedd have accepted our invitation to hold their celebrations here next year,” said Cllr Clemens.
“We are immensely proud of our town’s history as a very important mining area and also home to Britain’s oldest working theatre, so familiar to the many bards who have studied its history and taken part in performances here over the years.”
Cllr Brian Clemens, Mayor of St Just in Penwith
Accepting the invitation on behalf of fellow bards, Mrs Carne expressed a wish for friendship and inclusiveness among Cornish people as they celebrate their distinct cultural identity.
“St Just is rightly proud of its place in the hearts of Cornish people,” said the Grand Bard, “and we look forward to working with local people to make next year’s Esedhvos Festival of Cornish Culture is one of the best ever.”
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Gorsedh Kernow exists to maintain the national Celtic Spirit of Cornwall and to give expression to such spirit, and to encourage the study of Cornish history and literature, the Cornish language, to foster Cornish art, music, dance and sport and to link with other Celtic countries.
Gorsedh Kernow’s Esedhvos Festival of Cornish Culture, which includes the bardic ceremony where new bards are initiated, will be held in and around St Just in Penwith from Wednesday 4th to Sunday 8th September 2019.
St Just, or Lannust in Cornish, is Britain’s most westerly town and former centre of mining in West Penwith, now recognised as a Cornish Mining World Heritage Site. It lies within the parish of St Just-in-Penwith which also includes Pendeen and the surrounding villages and hamlets of Boscaswell, Botallack & Truthwall; Bojewyan, Carnyorth, Tregeseal & Nancherrow, and Trewellard.
St Just is also home to what is believed to be the country’s oldest working theatre, the Plen-an-Gwari or ‘place of the play’. A Scheduled Ancient Monument, the history of the origins of the ‘plen’ dates back over 600 years to the early 1400’s when medieval miracle plays were performed with the intention of bringing salvation to the common man.
An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and adjacent to one of only two natural capes in the country, St Just-in-Penwith was once a centre of Cornish mining and the local landscape is dominated by historic relics of this bygone era, many of which are easily visible as you drive or walk through the countryside.
The unique heath and moorland also provides a natural habitat for a variety of plants and wildlife, including the iconic Cornish chough which only recently returned to the Cornish cliffs.
For further information about St Just please visit the Town Council website http://www.stjust.org/
For further information about Gorsedh Kernow please contact Delia Brotherton, Myrghwyn Melynor, Honorary Secretary,
email hon.secretary@gorsedhkernow.org.uk
or visit the website www.gorsedhkernow.org.uk
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