Our History
Lowender has its roots in Lowender Peran, Cornwall’s Celtic Festival which ran for 45 successful years.
Whether it was by rebelling against one of the most powerful medieval Kings in Europe, by cradling the industrial revolution or by a unique interpretation of Wesley’s preaching, Cornwall and the Cornish have a long history of expressing a distinctive identity.
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Modern Cornwall
Modern Cornwall was born in the first millennium. Archaeology points towards a golden age of trade and communication in Cornwall not only between the Celtic communities of the Atlantic Arc but extending as far as the Eastern Mediterranean. This is the era that gave us our Celtic crosses, our saints, the circular “forts” on our hill tops and our holy wells, all of which continue to mark our landscape as distinctively Cornish. This is the era in which the Brythonic languages of Welsh, Cornish and Breton divided into separate entities but retained their family relationships.
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Western Britons
Towards the end of the first millennium, circa 930, the Wye was set as the border between England and the “Northern Britons” i.e. the Welsh and the Tamar as the border with the “Western Britons” i.e. the Cornish and Cornwall as we know it today was born. Cornwall’s position on the sea lanes ensured that communications and trade with the Celtic world were maintained into the modern period even if that meant dabbling in a spot of smuggling!
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Industrial Rise and fall
The identity of modern Cornwall is also defined by its role at the forefront of the industrial revolution and mining technology. As well as the ubiquitous engine houses, and a rather romantic image of mining and the culture that went with it, this has left Cornwall with a large and very Cornish global Diaspora. It is a matter of some irony that it was the collapse of the mining industry that triggered Cornwall’s reconnection with its Celtic roots. Cornish self-confidence and sense of identity suffered a blow at the loss of its industrial prowess. This was the point at which the Celtic revivalists campaigned to reassert a sense of Celtic identity in Cornwall.
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Rising Celtic Consciousness
The identity of modern Cornwall is also defined by its role at the forefront of the industrial revolution and mining technology. As well as the ubiquitous engine houses, and a rather romantic image of mining and the culture that went with it, this has left Cornwall with a large and very Cornish global Diaspora. It is a matter of some irony that it was the collapse of the mining industry that triggered Cornwall’s reconnection with its Celtic roots. Cornish self-confidence and sense of identity suffered a blow at the loss of its industrial prowess. This was the point at which the Celtic revivalists campaigned to reassert a sense of Celtic identity in Cornwall.
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Celtic Festivals
The banner of Celtic Cornwall was picked up by succeeding generations a there was an annual Celtic festival held in St Ives in the early fifties and by the seventies Cornish folk singer pioneer Brenda Wootton found herself acting as Cornwall’s ambassador in the growing number of Celtic festivals including the Festival Interceltique in Brittany and the Irish Pan Celtic Competitions.
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1978: Lowender Peran
Cornwall was invited to participate in these festivals from the outset and they were instrumental in continuing the momentum created by the earlier Celtic revivalists. Representatives from these festivals, Polig Montjerrat from Brittany and Con O’Connel from Ireland encouraged performers and Cornish activists generally create their own inter-Celtic festival and found an ardent enthusiast in Betty Pitman of Perranporth. Encouraged by the successful entry of Kemysk in the Celtic Singing competitions in 1978 Betty was determined that Cornwall should have its own Celtic festival and by October of that year, Lowender Peran was born.
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National recognition
The history of Cornwall over the past 40 years is mirrored in the history of Lowender Peran. Perhaps the most momentous change during that period was in 2003 when the Cornish Language was recognised by the Council of Europe and in 2014 the Cornish themselves were recognised as a national minority with their own distinctive culture alongside of the Welsh and the Scottish peoples.
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Lowender!
As we head towards the 10th anniversary of Cornwall’s National Minority Status in 2024, Lowender picks up the baton celebrating Cornish culture and Celtic connections.
