Museum offers glimpse into origins of centuries-old watercourses
The Museum of Cornish Life has announced an upcoming virtual exhibition exploring the origins of the centuries-old watercourses in and around Helston.
The Wendron Leats and Helston Kennels exhibition will feature a variety of videos and images, as well as personal memories and reflections contributed by members of the community. It will be free to access via the museum’s website.
The Grade II listed kennels are channels of water, about a foot wide, which run along the edges of the main streets of Helston. The water is carried into the town from the River Cober through man-made leats beginning in Wendron, three miles away.
Wendron’s leats trace back to the 15th century and are believed to have been used for examining tin, whilst Helston’s 19th century kennels likely had industrial use in the town, as well as providing water for animals and street washing.
Councillor Mike Thomas, who is working on the exhibition with council projects officer, Martin Searle, said: “Obviously when it’s raining, we can see a lot of water around, but when it’s a nice, sunny day, and there’s not a cloud in the sky, yet the kennels are full of water, I think for children it can be quite magical.
“For residents who have lived here all their lives, it’s an anchor to their past, and it gives them a real joy of that memory.”
Whilst they are not unique to the town, Councillor Thomas said the Helston’s steep hills make its kennels distinct as a significant amount of water flows through them at a fast pace.
With enough interest, the exhibition’s organisers hope to form a “friends” group to keep the long-standing water system physically and financially supported.
