A MAN who shines a light on Liskeard, its people and their stories will be made a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedh. Brian Oldham has been President of Liskeard Old Cornwall Society for the past seven years, has volunteered at the town’s Museum for eight, and is an area rep for the Cornwall Archaeological Society. His guided walks are well subscribed and enjoyed: Brian brings buildings to life with true and entertaining tales of their inhabitants and an extensive knowledge of the surrounding history.
His book ‘A Peek into Liskeard’s Past’ has sold more than 600 copies, raising £2800 for the Liskeard and District Museum. The sequel ‘More Peeks’ has just won an Holyer an Gof award, and by the sounds of it, Brian could have enough material for a third book. He’s getting ready for three events during Liskeard’s Heritage Unlocked week, one of which is a talk on the pioneering individuals who left South East Cornwall for a new life in South Africa, Australia, Canada or the USA.
Brian’s excitement about following the trail to discover the lives of real people from the past is infectious.
“Some of the stories are really incredible. One chap, William Davey, grew up in the tiny hamlet of Common Moor, and ended up being the mayor of the place he went to - they also named a town in South Africa after him.”
John Grigg, meanwhile, was celebrated for his work in New Zealand.
“He took this piece of marshland on the Canterbury Plains and drained it, and it became a model of farming for the world,” Brian enthuses.
“Another Liskeard man, Charles Deecker, was the son of a printer in Fore Street. He was in South Africa at the end of the 19th Century, and established the first English newspaper, the Transvaal Argus.”
Stopping before he reveals too much more of his talk, Brian says that he’s researched about 20 people. They were part of a mass exodus from Cornwall with the decline in mining here.
Next month, Brian will also run an exhibition about the start of the railway in Liskeard, and lead a guided walk over Bodmin Moor.
He was made an Honoured Burgess of Liskeard in 2022, but says that that award and becoming a bard are more about the town than him. When he steps out in the blue robes next month, he wants a little cheer to go up for Liskeard.
“I'm extremely proud to receive what has to be regarded as the greatest honour available to a lover of Cornwall. The ultimate aim of my research, talks and walks in Liskeard is to bring its centuries of rich heritage to the attention of the wider public.”
