Bernard Deacon

Bernard Deacon is a retired former Senior Lecturer in Cornish Studies and History at the ICS who has written widely on Cornwall and Cornish Studies. Bernard worked closely with Professor Philip Payton in the 1990s and 2000s in developing the ‘new Cornish Studies’ and pioneered the first taught MA degree in Cornish Studies, delivered by distributed learning.

His publications include Cornwall: a concise history (2007), The Surnames of Cornwall (2019, second edition 2024), Cornwall’s First Golden Age: From Arthur to the Normans (2016, second edition 2024), Industrial Celts: Making the modern Cornish identity, 1750-1870 (2019), The Cornish Family (2004), Cornwall and the Cornish (2010) and several other books and articles on Cornwall, including 17 contributions to the periodical Cornish Studies. His current research interests include migration studies, the Cornish language, comparative Celtic history and contemporary Cornwall. Full details of publications and research updates, together with various downloadable resources pertaining to Cornish Studies, may be found on his website at https://bernarddeacon.com/