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The following archives contain documents relating to Henry Jenner and the Cornish language.
Explore the collections at:
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Kresen Kernow

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Henry Jenner collection: Reference X1141
This collection contains autograph manuscripts and proofs of many of Henry Jenner’s publications including the seminal Handbook of the Cornish Language. It also contains sections of his unpublished memoirs along with papers of his father, Henry Lascelles Jenner. Research notes, publications and papers within the collection represent his diverse interests in addition to the Cornish language; including other Celtic languages and culture, Jacobites, Cornish drama and the liturgy of the Eastern Orthodox Church. Jenner’s wife Kitty, herself a noted author, is well represented in the collection, as is their daughter Ysolt (later Sister Mary Beatrix Jenner of the order of the Visitation). One of the highlights is the correspondence written both between the Jenner family members and to them from their wide range of friends and associates, which documents their life, work and interests in exhaustive detail.

Morrab Library

Image of the library room at Morrab Library in Penzance
Set in beautiful sub-tropical gardens in Penzance, the Morrab is one of the few remaining independent libraries in Britain.  Primarily a lending library, it also houses a wealth of specialist collections including an extensive Cornish and Celtic collection in the Jenner Room and a photographic archive of over 14,000 images.
 
The Morrab’s Henry Jenner archive was left to the Library by former secretary of the Cornish Gorsedh Peter Laws upon his death and includes substantial correspondence relating to the Gorsedh as well as many other important items.
 
For more information about this unique and beautiful library, visit their website at http://morrablibrary.org.uk

British Library

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​The Jenner Papers: Miscellaneous papers of Henry Jenner. ‎ ms88884/ms89289:
This collection was presented to the British Library (Jenner’s place of employment for most of his working life) by John L. Campbell on behalf of Lady Rawlings, widow of Katherine Jenner’s half-brother, in January 1975. Containing correspondence from the period 1873 to 1934, as well as a few newspaper articles and other printed documents, the collection contains 58 folders of items. Many of these are letters concerning Jenner’s time working at the Museum Library as well as a significant number of personal family letters including correspondence between Henry and Kitty prior to their marriage in 1877. The collection also contains correspondence on the Celtic languages, primarily Manx but also on Welsh, Breton and Cornish too.

Courtney Library

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​Part of the Royal Institution of Cornwall and housed in the Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro, the Courtney Library holds some of the most significant collections of Cornish manuscripts anywhere in the world. It also contains the largest collection of material relating to Henry Jenner and the Cornish Language Revival. The Jenner archive alone consists of 20 large boxes and is catalogued in hand written form.

If you wish to access this impressive archive, contact the Courtney Library at: [email protected]

Plymouth and West Devon Record Office

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Although it is the principle archive repository for Plymouth and West Devon, the Record Office also holds important documents relating to the Cornish Language Revival such correspondence on the Cornish language youth movement Tyr ha Tavas (Land and Language) as well as issues of their official magazine Kernow - the first to be published in Cornish.

​Online catalogue: http://web.plymouth.gov.uk/archivescatalogue
Website: https://plymhearts.org/archives/
Email: [email protected]
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