Philip Ward: “Cornwall – Past and Present. An illustrated lecture”

Einladung zu einem Vortrag in englischer Sprache

The lecture will look at the history of Cornwall, from the period of its earliest settlers to the present day, including the influence of the Celts, the Romans, the Anglo Saxons, the Normans and the English. It will outline Cornwall’s geography, geology and climate, and also examine its economy, from its mining past to its present dependence on tourism and the service sector. Like many relatively isolated and picturesque regions, it remains structurally weak in economic terms and suffers from high unemployment.
Cornwall has a rich cultural heritage and has attracted many artists and writers. They too have played their part in putting Cornwall on the map. Rosamunde Pilcher is, by the way, just one of many! Indeed, Cornwall is a county that attracts many people on account of its natural beauty, including recently retired people, who move there from other parts of the UK. This can bring benefits, but also problems, and these too will be examined.


Philip Ward was born in Cornwall. He was educated at Truro School and studied German Language and Literature, with French, at the University of Manchester. While the was at Manchester, he was given the opportunity to spend a term at the Karl Marx University in Leipzig, along with other students from the Universities of Manchester and Leeds. It was there that he met his future wife, a student at the Karl Marx University. He subsequently spent his year abroad working for the state translation agency, Intertext. After graduating, he returned to the GDR and to his old job, remaining there for almost two years until he received permission from the GDR authorities to marry one of its citizens.
After returning to the UK with his wife, he embarked on a teaching course at the University of Exeter. He subsequently taught German and French at Falmouth School, where the was initially in charge of German and later became Head of Modern Languages.
After retiring, he moved to Schwerin, although he returns to Cornwall regularly, where his mother and one of his daughters live. He enjoys painting and playing the guitar.