Our Cornwall - Alverton KS1 History Quiz

Which of these statements is TRUE about the Stone Age in Cornwall?

• Tools were made from stone, bones, wood and antlers.

• Flint was a very important type of stone.

• Most people were nomadic hunter-gathers.

• Hill forts were built for protection from enemies.

Answer explanation

Hillforts were built in the Iron Age.

Tick ALL the statements that are TRUE about the Bronze Age in Cornwall.

• Tools and weapons are made of bronze.

• Tools and weapons are made from iron.

• People live in small villages of round houses.

• People begin to make textiles and trade overseas.

Answer explanation

The Bronze Age lasted from about 3000BC to 800BC.

When did Christianity first arrive to Cornwall?

• With the Vikings about 800 AD.

• With St Piran about 450 AD.

• With the Normans in 1066 AD

• With the Romans in 43 AD.

What is the Domesday Book of 1086?

• A book about England and Wales ordered by William the Conqueror.

• A Roman book all about Britain.

• A Viking book about England.

• An Anglo-Saxon guide to England and Wales.

Answer explanation

Did you know the Domesday Book mentions Alverton ('Alwarton') but not Penzance?

Penzance (Pensans) first appears in written records in 1284 but

what does the name 'Pensans' mean?

• Nice Beach

• Good Fishing

• Holy Headland

• Land of Tin

Answer explanation

'Pens' = Headland

'Sans' = Holy

Tick ALL the statements that are TRUE about fishing in Newlyn.

• Newlyn was a good place to land fish.

• Pilchards were an important export.

• Both men and women worked in the fishing trade.

• Today Newlyn is still an important fishing port.

Answer explanation

Newlyn sells more than £30 million of fish a year!

Tick all the statements that are TRUE about mining in and around Penzance.

• There was a mine at Wherrytown in Penzance.

• Most mining happened on the 'tin coast' between St Just and Pendeen.

• Men, women and children all worked in mining.

Why did Cornish miners emigrate overseas from the 1860s?

Tick TWO reasons.

• They wanted to live somewhere sunny.

• Cornish mines began closing down.

• They didn't like pasties.

• Cornish miners had skills that were in demand around the world.

Answer explanation

More than 250,000 people left Cornwall. Many went to Australia, South Africa, Mexico, Brazil and the USA.

Who was Sir Humphry Davy?

• An explorer who discovered America.

• A man who wrote a diary during the Great Fire of London.

• A scientist who invented the miners safety lamp.

• A palaeontologist from Lyme Regis.

Answer explanation

The 'Davy Lamp' helped save thousands of miners lives.

The train brought tourism to Penzance but what were seaside holidays like in the past? Tick all the statements that are TRUE.

• Ladies swam from wheeled 'bathing machines'.

• People liked to go on Jet Skis.

• People wore long swimming costumes.

• Walking on piers and promenades was popular.