'Themepark' Tintagel - the protest against English Heritage grows!

News From Kernow Matters To Us 

With English Heritage (EH) facing a barrage of widespread condemnation in the face of their silliness at Tintagel Castle, the highly regarded Cornwall Association of Local Historians (CALH) has prepared a statement signed by over 200 members condemning EH.Several Cornwall Councillors have now condemned EH as well as members of the Cornish Political Party 'Mebyon Kernow'.Members of 'Kernow Matters To Us' including two archaeologists, Craig Weatherhill and Matt Blewett, are due to meet regional Directors from EH at the castle at 2pm Tuesday 22nd March, 2016.

CALH's statement follows:

CORNWALL ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL HISTORIANS

20 March 2016

We are appalled at what English Heritage is doing to Tintagel, one of Cornwall’s most historic sites.

As an organization of over 200 local Cornish historians, we view with alarm the plans to turn Tintagel into a fairy-tale theme park.

The very concept of introducing “more whimsical and creative storytelling,” to build on mythical fantasies is a guarantee of eclipsing the real history. While it may be true that “the King Arthur legend is …central to many visitors’ interest in the site,” it should not be a function of English Heritage to further that fantasy. In fact, it should be the function of EH to help visitors learn the true history of this Cornish place, to begin to better understand what has gone on before and to preserve that heritage.

The idea of carving even a small face of a mythical druid into one of the stones of Stonehenge or adding an 8 foot statue of a legend to the scene would be beyond any historian’s imagination.

Adding “whimsical and creative storytelling” might make Stonehenge more “fun”, but then there would be no sense in keeping “Heritage” in the title. To combine a bit of history and a bit of fantasy to make it more entertaining, we should turn it over to Disney.

We urge English Heritage to immediately remove the 19 of 28 proposals made in the original application found not acceptable by the Cornish Archaeological Unit. This is a historical site for Cornwall and we urge EH to look elsewhere to hype the box office to increase revenues. Don’t tamper with Cornish history.

Robert Lyle
for CALH
Editor, CALH Newsletter & Website
info@calh.co.uk