Target reached!
The extra money will help us print more copies of the book, bring the story to life,...
Help us publish The Last Giants of Kernow
Helston, Cornwall, United Kingdom
Aim
Let's get The Last Giants illustrated & published to protect Cornish heritage for the future but also to share it widely - it's a great read
How The Last Giants of Kernow Grew
Help us publish and protect a very special NEW Cornish folktale!
Cover design by Amy Bee Webb
Written by Stephen Polglase, miner, farmer, musician and author. The book is a love story, about a passage of time that shaped a very special landscape in West Cornwall; how the last two giants of Kernow came together and how man and mining shaped this union.
Packed full of beautiful illustrations from local artist and giant maker Amy Webb. It's a story for all ages, whether your interest lies in myth and legend, the beautiful Cornish landscape, prehistoric community, or tin mining.
The book is being published by Godolphin Arts and Heritage, a part of Godolphin Cross Community Association.
Tregonning and Godolphin Hills, the homes of our two giants, from the sky
A Note from the Author
The reason this tale came about, was as a circumstance of the Covid lockdown that affected all of us in so many different ways. It was the end of the summer term and the pupils of Year Six at Godolphin Cross Primary School should have had their three-day camp to commemorate leaving Godolphin and moving on to senior school. However, Covid restrictions prevented the camp from taking place. To remedy this, as restrictions were being relaxed, the head of school governors offered a camp in her fields for one night. I was approached, being a fellow governor, to sing a couple of songs with my guitar around the campfire and tell a story, which I happily agreed to do. With about three weeks to go till the camp, I woke in the night and the threads of the story came together.
The story, of course, had to centre on the two local granite hills of Tregonning and Godolphin. I have lived in the shadow of the two hills all my life and my family have mined tin and copper under and around them for many generations. Mining ceased in this district over eighty years ago and the mining culture has died long since, so I decided to weave the myths of the giants into an informative story of early tinning and smelting, taking in features in the landscape relating to mining and myth and in the ancient land of Kernow.
Steve storytelling for the whole school in Godolphin Woods, 2023
The story went down well on the night around the campfire, so much so that I was asked to retell the tale at the primary school later that year. In the meantime, I had fleshed out the story in the written word. Interest continued to grow, with the male giant, Wotholga, being created in giant puppet form for the Godolphin Cross Community Association (GCCA) annual Christmas lantern walk from Godolphin Manor to Godolphin village. This was the idea of Rosie Allen, the Heritage Coordinator for the GCCA. The giant was created by Amy Webb of The Lost Giants, with hundreds from the local community creating their own tin lanterns and processing through fields and footpaths on a cold December night. Earlier this year, the story was taken further afield when nearby Leedstown School created the female giant, Tregona, once again with assistance from The Lost Giants and funding from ArtsLab.
It is with the encouragement of Rosie Allen and the GCCA chairman Richard McKie that this tale has now been put into book form. Others who deserve credit are my long-suffering wife, Jill, who endures my obsession with tin and local history, Emma Ivey, head of school governors who asked me to tell a story on that night around the fire, and the pupils of Godolphin primary school for their continued interest in the story and embracing its connection to local mining culture and folklore.
About the Book
We have asked, Rinsey based artist and giant enthusiast, Amy Webb to take on the gargantuan task of doing the illustrations for the book, and they are beginning to take shape. It's exciting to see the characters come to life on the page.
Amy hard at work
As a team, we live and work in the heart of the where the story is set, meeting on the side of Tregonning Hill, above Godolphin Cross to plot and plan. So, it seems fitting that the book will be printed by local printers, Headland in Penzance, Cornwall.
We urge you to get your copy of the book, it's a great way for all ages to, not only understand a piece of local folklore, but also gain an understanding of Cornwall's mining heritage - how tin was processed and its importance for ancient communities.
Funds we raise will go directly to covering the costs of making this book, from paying for illustrations to printing and distribution.
The Godolphin Lantern Parade
Our annual Christmas lantern festival uses magic to call the giants down from the hills and back to the village, and to have the people who come know the depths of the story is only going to make our celebration more special this winter.
So join us for this year's parade on 13th December from 5.30pm to experience the magic of the giants for yourself.
This project successfully funded on 18th November 2024