For the month of August there were special exhibitions at Trevelyan House.
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Speaking Volumes collage books by Derek Finch |
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Finding Dora handmade books & installation by Diana Wayne |
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The Penguin Collector a display by Kelvin Hearn & Melissa Hardie |
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The Dwellings Bookcase by Melissa Hardie with Roy Callow Exhitited at Newlyn Art Gallery 23 July – 2 October |
On Sunday 29th November we held an AUSTERITY PIE PARTY !
at Trevelyan House
.......that is cherry pie, apple pie, punkin’ pie, pecan pie all baked by Donna Anton & Melissa Hardie
tea -- coffee -- hot spiced cider -- cranberry juice
The event was a sell-out with over 50 people attending.
There was -
Melissa writes:
The house was full to overflowing with the jolly crowd that 'pulled a book' in the book-bobbing, and fed on scrumptious pies (15 pies consumed of 5 varieties - those on the invite + chocolate cream pie for 'dessert' and spiced cider.
Alethea Wigzell and Marion Whybrow each became the proud new owner of a copy of the Newlyn Art Dictionary & Sourcebook.
Peter Waverly's timely exhibition of the 48 businesses closing down in the past year in Penzance, made sobering but very interested viewing.
All of this plus the delightful bluegrass music of Mrs Kirk & Co throughout the afternoon. It really was a huge success and much fun had by all!
£120 was raised and given to Save the Children’s Ethiopia Food Crisis Emergency Appeal
The Hypatia Trust's 12th Thanksgiving Dinner took place at Trevelyan House on Thursday 27th November.
As usual, it was very well subscribed. So many people wanted to attend that a few late applicants had to be disappointed.
The event was linked to the Launch of the book A Passion for Nature - 19th Century Naturalism in the Circle of Charles Alexander Johns.
The book was written by Deirdre Dare and Melissa Hardie and is published by Patten Press & Jamieson Library.
The evening began with bubbly and canapés at The Old Custom House, which is directly opposite Trevelyan House, and is another of Penzance's historic buildings.
We were there at the invitation of Barnes Thomas Fine Arts, and the authors signed copies of their book for the guests.
After the reception the guests crossed the street to Trevelyan House for the Thanksgiving dinner presented by Justin Ashton and staff of The Lime Tree Restaurant.
There were so many guests that the buffet meal was consumed in all the available rooms in both the restaurant and the Hypatia Trust offices.
It is with sorrow that we record the death, on Thursday 21st February 2008, of our Hypatia Trusted Friend, Libby Bryan.
Libby was a notable paediatrician whose specialty was multiple births. She was also an engaging character who was a delight to know.
We would like to send our condolences to her husband, Ronald Higgins, and the family.
You can read her obituary inThe Times by clicking here and in The Daily Telegraph by clicking here
The Jamieson Library, an important part of the Hypatia Trust activity base, was named, in 1986, in honour of ‘Jamie’ (pronounced Jimmy). Lucy Norna Jamieson was Melissa’s senior nurse tutor at St Thomas’ Hospital (1967-71) where she was in charge of the experimental Graduate Set, devised by the General Nursing Council, to draw university-qualified women into nursing.
She was herself a graduate of Edinburgh University before training as a nurse under the legendary Dame Alicia Lloyd Still (selected by Florence Nightingale to head up the nation’s first nursing school) at St Thomas’ Hospital, London, and the Rotunda Hospital (Midwifery), Dublin.
At the outbreak of WWII she volunteered as a nurse and worked widely throughout the Middle East, Far East and Northern Africa before returning to teach nursing for the rest of her career. Retiring from Tommys in the late 1970s, she determined to live out her years working in her ancestral islands, the Shetlands. And what an adventure that was – as she was eagerly taken on as a relief nurse on the off-islands! Melissa has collected her letters, photographs, etc. and visited her there a number of times, for festive times like Up-Helly-A, and in 2000 for her 90th birthday.
On Sunday 25th November 2007 about 60 friends of Hypatia gathered at Newmill to celebrate Jamie’s life.
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'Jamie' was for many years the Senior Tutor at the Nightingale School of Nursing, St. Thomas' Hospital, London, where generations of student nurses made her acquaintance, claimed her interest, sometimes suffered her dry wit and criticism, and graduated to senior posts in nursing throughout Britain - all the better for having known her!
The Jamieson Library at Newmill is named in her honour, and this photograph was taken on 11th October 1986 when she officially opened the Library. Melissa and Phil have visited Shetland and stayed in Jamie's croft near Reawick a number of times. Melissa was with her there in 2000 to celebrate her 90th.
She died on 18th October 2007, and was treated to a wonderful wake, hosted by family (nephews and cousins), for numerous friends at Bixter Village Hall, after her burial at St Mary's Chapel, Sand, where only the chancel arch stands of this pre-Reformation chapel.
Melissa is indebted to Bess Jamieson, Elisabeth Nicolson, Barbara Mortimer, and Margaret Macauley for being in close touch, and welcomes other Nightingales to send their memories for inclusion in a Celebratory Book about Jamie.
The picture on the right shows Jamie on 22nd November 1991 when she was presented with the British Empire Medal from Magnus Sheater, the Lord Lieutenant of Shetland.
A Penzance organisation has donated 600 books on Cornish literature and feminist theory to boost teaching and research for students in Cornwall. The Hypatia Trust has given the collection of books to the University of Exeter's English department in Cornwall for the library on the Tremough campus.
Among the significant items are a substantial range of books on feminist theory between 1960 and 2000, and the complete works of Oscar Wilde and Maria Edgeworth.
Doreen Pinfold, head of library and information services in Cornwall, said "Melissa Hardie (founder of the trust) has been collecting books by and about women for over 25 years and this donation provides a record and celebration of women's history. "These books will also complement the larger Hypatia collection of books, documents and artefacts held at the University of Exeter, and around Cornwall and America that concern women's role in history and contemporary life."
Dr Hardie recently visited Tremough at the invitation of the Department of English to give a talk entitled, 'Cornwall in her words: Diaries and Documents of some Literary Women Travellers'.
There is a close connection between the organisations. The Trust is named after Hypatia, a Greek woman scholar, interested in science and ethics, who was born in Alexandria in 355AD and assassinated in 415AD. The Hypatia Trust has been created to collect, and make available, published and personal documentation about the achievements of women in every aspect of their lives, with a particular emphasis on Cornwall.
The tenth annual dinner was the best attended yet. Justin and Miki Ashton catered for well over 50 people in The Lime Tree, producing a delicious turkey dinner. The big news was that John Garrihy had completed the Penzance People's Mural, which was up in its full glory for the occasion.
There were exhibitions in every room, mostly related to the People of Penzance.
Also on display were copies of the books which have been written by friends of Hypatia and published during 2006.
The proceeds of the raffle, which amounted to £144, were donated to ACE.
The Hypatia Trust partnered The National Trust in presenting an exhibition and trail at Lanhydrock House, near Bodmin, during the opening season, 18th March - 31st October 2006.
The exhibition featured the women who have lived in the house since 1642.
Less than three months after the successful launch of her historical biography Letters to Lydia: 'beloved Persis' ,author, Barbara Eaton, was contacted by a Breage resident who knew where Lydia Grenfell's grave lay in the graveyard of St. Breaca's, the parish church at Breage where she spent her last days.
Rather than being near to the east end of the church as previous research had indicated, her gravestone stands in the easternmost corner of the old graveyard, between the stones commemorating her sister Mary Willyams and Mary's baby grandson, Frederick Rogers.
The unembellished stone bears a lichen clad oval cartouche with a simple inscription:
LYDIA GRENFELL 1829
Letters to Lydia: 'beloved Persis' is available from the Hypatia Trust at £12.50. For ordering details click here.
On Saturday 26th November 2005 we continued our series of annual November 'Thanksgiving' dinners - this year we had a Greek theme. After all, Hypatia was a Greek scholar although she lived in Egypt.
We were fortunate to have our member, Donna Anton, to make several Greek specialities.
We added £5 to the price of each ticket and donated it to ACE - our local charity working to improve education in Uganda. We also held a raffle with the proceeds going to ACE. In all ACE will receive just over £200.
You can learn more about ACE by clicking here.
Wednesday 22nd June 2005
Unwelcome Publicity: The Persecution of "Dangerous Women" in 17th-century Old and New England
Were the Salem Witch trials an American anomaly?
With the rebirth of transatlantic studies in America, scholars of so-called Early American literature have begun to call attention to the continuities and discontinuities involving the leap across the proverbial pond.
This talk offers not an explanation for the trials, but an exploration of possible precursors to this event, such as the lives and trials of Anne Askew and Anne Hutchinson.
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Wednesday 6th July 2005
Weapons of Mass Production: The Impact of Old World Texts and Narratives on New World Settlers
What makes a text 'American'?
While location may be the obvious answer in the contemporary world, the origins of the form have been hotly contested amongst British and American scholars of the eighteenth century.
Recently, it has been argued that the sentimental female protagonist of the Early 'English' novel was a contribution of the 'American' captivity narrative.
This talk seeks to question the notion of origins altogether.
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Wednesday 20th July 2005
Equality Control: The Contribution of English Women to the American Women's Movement in the 18th and 19th Centuries
Has the liberation of women been steadily progressing throughout history?
The purpose of this final talk is twofold: it first seeks to demonstrate that history in terms of women's rights has not been necessarily and continually progressive.
Second, it seeks to bring together the histories of women's liberation in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century as they influenced one another.
Greek goddesses lived life to the full: Aphrodite, goddess of love, born from the sea; martial Athene, born from her father's head; Artemis, free to run and hunt where other women dare not go. The women of Greek drama take control: Clytemnestra wreaks terrible revenge on Agamemnon when he returns from war with the Trojans with a female slave; Lysistrata leads a sex strike in protest at war.
Everywhere the public places of ancient Athens were decorated with magnificent images of women. Drinking cups and water vessels regaled the user with the female form. But, did these images in text and object reflect the true position of women in 5th century Athens?
This event took place on Tuesday 6th May, 2003.
On Thursday 27th March Ronald Gaskell discussed the American poet, Sylvia Plath.
Her works as represented in the Hypatia Poetry Collection were also shown.
On Thursday 20th March Dr. Ronald Gaskell introduced the fascinating world of one of New England's finest poets to a packed house, providing us with perspectives on chosen poems.
Poems and notes were provided to participants and contributions to the subject actively sought. Hypatia Library books on Emily Dickinson were also on view.
Two evenings of celebration, and three days of activities, marked the official opening of Trevelyan House as the Trust's new headquarters.
Thursday 28th November 2002 was the quieter of the two evening parties, and was attended by members and guests.
They were able to tour the house and inspect the facilities, and enjoy a glass of wine.
The new electronic piano was demonstrated by Malcolm Sutton and Julia MacLean. The instrument was purchased following our recent Vivace appeal.
Malcolm is currently cataloguing a large collection of sheet music which has been donated to the Trust.
Town Crier, Phil 'Piglet' Rowley, was in attendance, and is seen here enjoying himself with Hypatia trustee, Anne Sutton, and Jacqueline McEwan.
The morning of Friday 29th November saw the Inaugural Lecture.
The London scholar and critic, Eva Tucker, gave a lecture entitled 'The Enchanted Guest of Spring and Summer' - a reassessment of the life and work of Dorothy Richardson.
Following a light lunch the afternoon was given over to poetry. Entitled 'The Well-spring of Poetry', it consisted of a medley of talks and poems, presented by Jacqueline Pritchard, Martha Street Pinnons, Jo Pacsoo, Ann Alexander, and Angela Stoner.
In the evening we held our Civic Reception, and entertained the Mayor of Penzance and members of the Town Council, together with members of Penwith District Council and Penzance Chamber of Commerce, and the deputy Mayor of Hayle.
Master of ceremonies was again Piglet, the Town Crier, and he kept order as best he could.
Guests and visitors were welcomed by the Trust's chairman, Heather Rowe.
The Mayor of Penzance, Cllr. Ruth Simpson, said how impressed the Town Council is with the sympathetic restoration of Trevelyan House, to become, once more, one of Penzance's most beautiful buildings.
She also enthused about the activities of the organisations using the facilities.
Professor Charles Thomas, the Cornish archaeologist and writer spoke about the history of the name Trevelyan, and our Member of Parliament, Andrew George, said how much he is enjoying using the premises already for his 'surgeries' for constituents.
There was also an impromptu speech from our builder, Frank Lynch. (Sadly Frank died in the autumn of 2003)
During the evening we were entertained by 'polite jazz' from The John Cox Quartet.
A presentation was made to Hedi Saunders, our hardworking voluntary administrator, and she was thanked for all the effort she has put into the project.
She is seen here, on the left, receiving a bouquet of flowers from trustee, Anne Sutton, and a round of applause from everyone.
On Saturday, 30th November, we were open all day for visitors and friends.
We held a book sale with some local book dealers attending, as well as raising money by selling some of our duplicates.
Book launches were held by Andrew George, Catherine Wallace, Ann Alexander, Alexandra Pratt, Mary Casling, and Jim Hosking.
On the afternoon of Sunday, 1st December, there was a film presentation and discussion, entitled 'Speaking for themselves: 7 women and their experiences with cancer'.
The visiting presenter was Gesine Meerwein from Freiburg, Germany, Women's Archive.
We are grateful to the ETS electrical store in Penzance for the loan of a video projector for this event.
'Taking Space' is a group of women artists based in St Ives, and the Hypatia Trust was pleased to welcome them to the Meeting Place in Chapel Street. Mary Fletcher, the founder of Taking Space says, "The group was started to provide an opportunity for women artists to exhibit their work as a collective, and to encourage women to further their work in a supportive way."
It is a very democratic group with no selection committee, a system which gives the artists room to develop and progress. Belonging to the group helps to restore confidence to women who may have had to put aside their art for reasons of family or work commitments.
Jacky Pritchard of the Trust says, "I am happy to assist with the group's exhibition as it is a group which shares Hypatia's commitment to women's creativity and the ongoing development of art and education throughout life." Apart from encouraging mature artists, the group offers young women artists the opportunity to work and exhibit alongside experienced artists. Consequently, the group's works show great diversity of style and media resulting in varied and exciting exhibitions.
Although they are used to exhibiting as a group, their works are all highly individual and marked by a distinct difference of view.
Artists taking part were: Christine Allen, Helen Atkins, Greta Brett, Jane Beecroft, Mary Fletcher, Ann Stevens.
The Hypatia Trust presented a special screening of this highly successful film, and also arranged personal appearances by its star, Julia Watson, and director, John Clive. It was shown at the Acorn Theatre, Penzance, on International Women's Day, and was attended by a large and enthusiastic audience.
The film is based on the story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860 - 1935), the American humanist, feminist and novelist.
The evening started with a wine & cheese reception in the downstairs bar, and the film was then shown in the theatre, after Julia and John had been introduced to the audience by Alice Kavounas.
After the film there was a question and answer session with Julia and John.
Email: hello@hypatia-trust.org.uk | Address: The Hypatia Trust, Lower Ground Floor, The Regent, 54 Chapel Street, Penzance, Cornwall TR18 4AE
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