![]() The Tamar is a formidable barrier, but history on either side of the river isn't as black and white as the Cornish flag. Leaving Launceston, I crossed back east into Devon before heading south. Prince Charles, the current Duke of Cornwall, was invested with the title in 1973 at Launceston Castle, and Tremain explained that the peculiar feudal dues he was presented with during the ceremony included: "A grey riding coat, an ashwood bow, a big bundle of firewood and a pint of cumin." To this day, the Duchy and the vast Cornish estates and revenues that go with it are automatically conferred upon the eldest son of the reigning monarch. Historically, the Duke of Cornwall collected tithes and royalties from Cornish subjects at Polson Bridge, a tradition dating back to 1337 when the Duchy of Cornwall was first established. We're Cornish."ĭuchies were semi-independent medieval fiefdoms ruled over by dukes and duchesses rather than directly subject to the laws and taxes of English kings and queens. "We're proud to be British, but we're not English. "This isn't England, you see," Tremain said dramatically as we walked under a medieval stone archway into the courtyard of Launceston's castle. Wearing a Cornish tartan face mask and carrying a tote bag emblazoned with Cornwall's flag, he explained how centuries of failed rebellions and bloody excursions over the Tamar ultimately suppressed the Cornish language and culture – until the recent Celtic revivalist movement looking to stake Kernow's claim as the UK's forgotten fifth nation – but the border has always been a constant fixture. ![]() Tremain has been Launceston's town crier for 43 years. The tiny 'country' between England and Scotland.Crossing the river at Polson Bridge – the historical gateway into Cornwall – the green, black and white flag of Devon changed to the black and white of Cornwall as a road sign welcomed me, in both English and Cornish, to Kernow. Located near the Devon border, the Cornish town of Launceston sits in the midst of this once-bloody borderland and is the first Cornish town that travellers reach when driving along the A30 from Devon. Bounded on all other sides by ocean, I could see how Cornwall's island-like geography has shaped the peninsula's history as I plotted my journey into this Celtic borderland to research the often-overlooked story of Cornish culture, history and identity. Starting as a seemingly insignificant trickle in a muddy field a few miles from the Bristol Channel, the river widens into a daunting natural barrier on its meandering journey 61 miles south to Plymouth Sound.
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