Latest news with #EmilyHobhouse
Telegraph
15-07-2025
- Telegraph
This cutting-edge Cornish attraction honours a forgotten British heroine
It's hot. It's dusty. We're sitting on the stoop of a South African farmstead wearing veldskoen and looking out over the plains. The coffee we're given tastes bitter, and the rusk is dry. But we are, in fact, in Cornwall – and it's all part of the experience at the county's newest immersive visitor attraction. The Story of Emily, tucked away in the quiet, rural village of St Ive (not to be confused with busy seaside St Ives), is rewriting the rulebook in this part of the world, where attractions are increasingly desperate to attract customers in what – post-Covid – is proving to be a tough tourist market. But here, you won't find pasties, ice cream, or any mention of Poldark. Instead, tourists who visit the Story of Emily are met by a sophisticated, tech-based, multi-sensory celebration of the life and work of Victorian social campaigner, Emily Hobhouse. The couple behind the project, Koos Bekker and Karen Roos, have already made waves in hospitality locations all over the world including the Babylonstoren wine estate in their native South Africa and The Newt in Somerset which, as the former Hadspen House, was the ancestral home of a branch of the Hobhouse family. Now in Cornwall, their signature flair and style has already attracted huge amounts of attention. 'We know we have created something very special,' says General Manager Martin Lovell, 'and our rapidly growing visitor numbers reflect this, as well as the very positive customer feedback which has been incredible to read.' The Story of Emily is not on the established tourist trail, however, and is miles from the sea, midway between the market towns of Callington and Liskeard. There are three main elements; the Hobhouse family rectory, its gardens and the War Rooms – a cleverly designed contemporary building clad in scalloped zinc. Inside the War Rooms, visitors are asked to change their shoes, given remote audio narration (plus, later, virtual reality headsets) and guided through a winding series of rooms. Precisely timed entry slots mean that the experience is almost completely personal (inside, on the fully booked day we visited, we were briefly aware of only one other couple). Using quite extraordinary cutting-edge installations, animation, film and original artefacts, visitors are transported in time and space to South Africa at the turn of the twentieth century and the Second Anglo-Boer War. With a strong social conscience, and already having established the South African Women and Children Distress Fund, Emily first travelled to South Africa in 1900 (visitors sit, like her, in a bumpy train carriage). There she witnessed the appalling conditions of the 'concentration camps' – the first time the expression had been used – in which women were kept with their children. The War Rooms doesn't shy away from other horrors as it tells the stories of vicious guerilla tactics and the British scorched-earth policy, as well as the massive number of casualties on both sides. Appalled at what she witnessed, Emily went on to work tirelessly, not only to improve conditions on the ground but, more particularly, back in England as a pacifist campaigner where she was labelled a traitor for petitioning parliament. In South Africa itself, however, she was, and is, thought of as a heroine; archive documentary footage shows thousands of people lining the route of her funeral. Back outside, elsewhere in the grounds, the Rectory where she lived with her family has been painstakingly restored to the way it would have looked in 1875, when she was 15. Audio headsets guide visitors through rooms in which designs from fragments of original wall paper, discovered during renovations, have been recreated and printed, entrance bells ring and the bed linen is starched. The Kitchen Garden, with its immaculate Victorian glasshouse, heritage vegetables and rare-breed turkeys, leads down to the restaurant. Here, completely unlike just about every other attraction in Cornwall, there's no suggestion of 'local produce', pasties, cream teas or even Cornish fudge. Instead, a menu of traditional South African recipes (albeit with modern twists) offers boerewors, ouma onder die kombers and roosterkoek, alongside a generous South African wine list. Such a development costs many millions of pounds: a brave move in a tourism climate which has seen two major Cornish attractions close within the past year. Dairyland, a farm-themed amusement park near Newquay, closed its doors last November after almost fifty years, having suffered a 'significant financial loss'. Equally, Flambards – a park of thrill and adventure rides which had been operating since 1976 – also closed its doors in 2024. Despite being the new kid on the block, its sister developments around the globe mean that the Story of Emily has an impressive tourism pedigree. Other Cornish attractions have become intrigued, and even Jon Hyatt, chair of Visit Cornwall, has referred to it as 'refreshing' and 'push[ing] new boundaries'. Its opening in May last year drew parallels with the excitement of the opening of the Eden Project in 2001. Back then traditionalists, who believed that Cornwall's visitors were content with a sandy beach and a cream tea, doubted that Sir Tim Smit's dream to tell a global story about man's relationship with plants would become reality. Millions of people have proved them wrong. The landscape of Cornish tourism is changing, and so are its visitors' preconceptions; now perhaps it's the Story of Emily's 21st-century technology, sophistication and humanitarian message that's pointing the way forward. The essentials A day ticket for the Story of Emily costs £12/25 child/adult (under fives free). Relaxed B&B Coombeshead Farm, a 25-minute drive from the Story of Emily, has rooms from £180 per night. The luxurious Pentillie Castle & Estate, a 20-minute drive from the Story of Emily, and has rooms from £2,035 per night.
BBC News
12-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Cornwall museum celebrates Emily Hobhouse's 165th birthday
A museum celebrating the life of Cornish heroine Emily Hobhouse is celebrating her 165th birthday. Hobhouse saved the lives of thousands of women and children held in British concentration camps in South Africa in the Second Boer War of grew up in the village of St Ive, near Liskeard, where her father was a vicar and the first Archdeacon of Bodmin. Wednesday marked her 165th birthday and additional celebrations are taking place on Saturday. The museum, called the Story of Emily, is in Hobhouse's restored birthday celebrations taking place on Saturday include a talk, a birthday cake competition, a bust unveiling and kite Brits, content consultant at The Story of Emily, said at the time Hobhouse was regarded as a traitor in England for her work during the Second Boer said she was never formally recognised in England and it was time "the whole story is told".Hobhouse died in 1926 in London but her ashes are interred in a statue in South Africa.
The Guardian
08-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Emily Hobhouse's effect on the 1906 election
There will be great rejoicing in Cornwall and beyond at the opening up of the home of the courageous pacifist and human rights activist Emily Hobhouse, who campaigned so nobly against British atrocities on the veldt, in their concentration camps, during the Anglo-Boer war of 1899-1902 (Anglo-Boer war whistleblower Emily Hobhouse celebrated in Cornish home, 8 April). She was strangely absent from the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography but the then editor, Colin Matthew, readily agreed to include her when I suggested it. She is certainly a figure of national importance, whose articles had a profound impact on radical opinion during the 1906 general election. David Lloyd George introduced her to the then Liberal leader Henry Campbell-Bannerman, who spoke of the 'methods of barbarism' used on the veldt. Hobhouse's record of British army barbarities in South Africa shifted national opinion, and I have a card of one of her pictures of the Transvaal in my home (she was also a skilled artist). It is a constant O MorganLabour, House of Lords Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
The Guardian
08-04-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Anglo-Boer war whistleblower Emily Hobhouse celebrated in Cornish home
She took on the might of establishment and empire to expose the suffering of women and children held in British concentration camps but her story has 'faded' from the history books. From 12 April a series of events are being held at the Cornish home where the pacifist, whistleblower and activist Emily Hobhouse grew up, around the 165th anniversary of her birth, part of efforts to shine a new light on her fight for justice. Hobhouse travelled from Cornwall to South Africa at the turn of the 20th century and reported back on the awful conditions endured in the British bell tent camps set up during the Anglo-Boer war, but was dismissed as a 'hysterical woman' and a traitor. Her life and times are being celebrated at a new historical attraction called The Story of Emily at the rectory in St Ive, near Liskeard, where she grew up. On Saturday a talk will be given by a leading Hobhouse expert, at the lovingly restored rectory. There will also be birthday cake baking and kite-making sessions. Elsabé Brits, who will give the talk, said the British establishment had been embarrassed at what Hobhouse discovered and managed to make her largely 'fade' from history. She said: 'Emily Hobhouse was an eyewitness of the British concentration camps during the Anglo-Boer war. Not only did she provide relief, such as food, clothing, and other necessities, but she also compiled a 40-page report, published in June 1901, detailing all her observations and findings. 'This report was discussed in both [British] Houses of Parliament. It generated a significant amount of negative press and denialism. She was called a traitor and a hysterical woman.' Brits said: 'Much of her criticism had a feminist slant, which was also not appreciated, especially since she dared to challenge the mighty British empire during wartime. 'Eventually, a ladies' commission was appointed to investigate the conditions in the camps, but Hobhouse was not invited to be part of it. This commission's findings were fundamentally the same as those of Hobhouse. 'However, she was never mentioned in their report nor formally recognised for her humanitarian work in England. She faded from British history.' Brits said Hobhouse was very relevant today. 'When she was abused in the press and public, she did not stand down – she kept on fighting for human rights. She is an excellent role model and a true forgotten British activist who should be remembered along with all the other greats.' At the centre of the The Story of Emily attraction is Hobhouse's childhood home, restored to how it would have been when she was 15 in 1875. The 'war rooms' at the attraction gives an insight into the conflict and the camps. More events are planned next year to mark the centenary of Hobhouse's death. For details of The Story of Emily along with admission prices click here. Details of the birthday celebrations can be found here
BBC News
02-03-2025
- General
- BBC News
Devon and Cornwall buildings on architecture awards shortlist
Building projects in Devon and Cornwall have been included on a shortlist for an architecture award.A museum and a house in Cornwall and an office in Devon join 11 other buildings shortlisted for the Royal Institute Of British Architects (RIBA) South West and Wessex Awards of the shortlisted projects will be visited by a regional jury and the winning buildings announced in jury chairman Rob Gregory said: "This year's shortlist showcases a wide range of projects, from standalone new builds, to holistic transformations of existing properties, and discrete extensions." The two Cornish building projects are a new-build family home overlooking Mawgan Porth bay in Newquay and the Story of Emily Museum in Saint latter celebrates the life of humanitarian Emily Hobhouse, who campaigned against the UK's use of concentration camps in the Boer encompasses the rectory where she grew up in addition to a collection of new build and rebuilt elements. The Devon building on the shortlist is the Block office redevelopment in Royal William modern office is hidden behind the exterior of the Grade I listed Melville Building, which was a former naval warehouse."With nine homes in contention this year, domestic architecture in the south-west region remains as strong as ever," said Mr Gregory."Alongside these, the jury is looking forward to visiting new workplaces, cultural venues and community housing, on a carefully choreographed journey that extends over 135 miles (about 220km) - from the suburbs of Bath to the far reaches of West Cornwall."The regional winning buildings will be considered for further RIBA awards including the UK's best new building.
