A History Lesson

Yesterday we got a lesson in local(ish) history at

Pendarvis

First...a couple of snacks to keep the restless natives happy & content (rice krispie treats made with homemade marshmallows, apple & Babybel cheese):On our hour-long tour we learned about the Cornish people that mined for lead and zinc at...get this...Merry Christmas Mine.

They built beautiful stone cottages. They were a short in stature and they were very poor. We also learned that the miners were happy if they could provide their families with a house with TWO rooms! Makes my house feel like a vast mansion! Oh...and there were outhouses....plus chamber pots that the kids got to empty out in the morning. I bet my Girlies are thankful they don't have to do that!Much of the tour was about the two gentlemen who restored a few of the cottages. Actually, I'm not sure you could call it restored or remodeled...as our tour guide pointed out that the original cottages would have had dirt floors and not the stone or wood floors that are present in them today.

The photo of the set-up dining area is in the cottage that the two gentlemen lived in (so not as the miners would have lived). I love those dishes! Apparently Pendarvis once boasted one of the nation's best restaurants (I think the tour guide said it was according to the Saturday Evening Post...or something like that?). The restaurant could only seat up to 20 people while the cooking was done in a different cottage. Here are some menus. Apparently- you got whatever they were serving that day.... (it operated between 1940-1971)Here's a funny tidbit I wouldn't have guessed. The Cornish people liked to use saffron in their cooking and baking (saffron cake)...but they were very poor....so how did they get it? By SMUGGLING!

We also learned about pasties...which is a handheld meat & potato pie. We ate lunch at the Red Rooster Cafe and guess what we had? A pasty of course!
I can't wait to go back and do the walking tour of the Merry Christmas Mine Hill...