On a stormy Christmas Eve in 1912 a young couple were married at St Mary’s Chapel in Truro, Cornwall. They were John Benjamin Fern, a Mining Surveyor and Engineer, and Lottie Parnell, the daughter of a St Agnes coastguard. That Christmas, perhaps while setting up her new home, Lottie wrote out a notebook full of family recipes. Over one hundred years later, that notebook has come to me.
Hearthside Stories is a blog exploring food and family history. I’m Katie, a Heritage Officer from Cornwall, and I was inspired to start the project by the discovery of my great-great-grandmother Lottie’s handwritten recipe book from 1912. I write about my experiments with Lottie’s traditional recipes, my research into her life in early 20th century Cornwall, and my adventures around local heritage sites.
You can read more about the blog in my Welcome post.
Thank you for visiting Hearthside Stories, I hope you enjoy your time on the site!
I would love to hear from you, so please feel free to comment or to catch up with me on social media.
Katie
Hearthside Stories 