Cornwall, England Genealogy

Cornwall (Cornish: Kernow) is a county of England and is located at the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is also one of the Celtic nations.

The area was first inhabited by Neolithic and then Bronze Age peoples, and later, in the Iron Age, by Celtic peoples. Cornwall is a part of the Brythonic area of Britain and became detached from Wales after the Battle of Deorham, becoming a separate Celtic nation. It often came into conflict with the expanding Saxon kingdom of Wessex, to its east, before King Athelstan of Wessex (924-939) set the boundary between England and Cornwall at the River Tamar.

It is unclear when Cornwall was absorbed into England, although the Cornish language continued to be spoken until the 18th century.

Cornwall today has a population of 526,300, covering an area of 1,376 square miles (3,563 km²). The administrative centre is the city of Truro.

In the 2001 UK census, people were requested to give their ethnic grouping and were able to chose Cornish. However, the UK government has announced that this option will not be available in the 2011 census.

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Browse by Topic: All pages for Cornwall

For an 1870's gazetteer description of Cornwall, go online to Vision of Britain.

Research tools

 * Cornish genealogy database
 * Cornish Family History
 * Cornwall On-line Parish Clerks
 * Cornwall On-line Parish Clerks parish register database
 * The Cornwall Online Census Project
 * Cornwall GenWeb Surname Registry List of Surnames and location in Cornwall where found.
 * Kelly's 1873 Directory
 * Cornwall Family History Society
 * Burials in Cornwall
 * Cornish Genealogy Index with records
 * Cornwall Genealogy records
 * GenUKI Cornwall
 * Cornish Parish Map http://www.cornwalleng.com/parishmap3.gif

Jurisdictions
You can see a list of parishes in Cornwall by clicking here.

News and events

 * 4-6 Jun 2009: Royal Cornwall Show 2009 at Wadebridge

Did you know?

 * The legend of Tristan and Iseult is the tragic story of love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult.
 * Legend suggests that King Arthur of the Britons was killed in battle on the river Camblam in Cornwall.

Useful websites

 * Royal Cornwall Museum