THIS OBJECT IS PART OF THE PROJECT 'A HISTORY OF CORNWALL IN 100 OBJECTS'.
ROYAL CORNWALL MUSEUM. This beautiful necklace was made from Cornish gold in 1802. Perhaps inspired by the then fashionable laurel wreaths, it was made from gold found in tin stream works in the valley below Ladock church. The necklace was presented to Sir Christopher Hawkins of Trewithen, the landowner who was a bachelor and this may be why the necklace looks unworn. Hawkins owned a continuous tract of land from Newquay to St Mawes, and claimed that he could cross Cornwall without stepping off his own land.
Gold has been found in other parts of the county; the largest nugget was found in Carnon Valley Tin Stream Works in 1808. This can also been seen at the Royal Cornwall Museum.
Photo: 1906.7 (necklace) Copyright Royal Institution of Cornwall
Share this link: