Craig Weatherhill

{{Short description|Cornish writer and historian (died 2020)}}

{{Use British English|date=February 2021}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}

{{Infobox writer

| name = Craig Weatherhill

| image = Craig-weatherhill.jpg

| birth_date = 1950 or 1951

| birth_place = United Kingdom

| death_date = 18 or 19 July 2020 (aged 69)

| death_place = Cornwall

| nationality = Cornish

}}

Craig Weatherhill (1950 or 1951{{efn|1950 according to the blurb of Jowal Lethesow; 1951 according to the obituary published by the Association for Cornish Heritage.}} – 18 or 19 July{{efn|Weatherhill died alone at home on either of the dates given.}} 2020) was a Cornish antiquarian, novelist and writer on the history, archaeology, place names and mythology of Cornwall.

Weatherhill attended school in Falmouth, where his parents ran a sports shop. He played football for a number of local clubs, including Mawnan,{{cite news |last=Smith|first=Steven|date=2020-07-23|title=Community in mourning for 'truly great Cornishman' from Falmouth who has passed away|url=https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/18602111.community-mourning-truly-great-cornishman-falmouth-passed-away/|work=The Packet|access-date=26 February 2021}} and played as goalkeeper for the county football team.[http://gorsedhkernow.org.uk/bards.html Bards] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105224453/http://gorsedhkernow.org.uk/bards.html |date=5 January 2017 }}; Gorseth Kernow

Between 1972 and 1974, Weatherhill served with the RAF, training as a cartographer. He was discharged after a serious back injury.{{cite news |title=In Memoriam: Craig Weatherhill |work=Cornish Nation |issue=83 |date=September 2020 |page=11}} He worked as a planning officer, architectural designer and historic conservation expert in local government and private practice.{{cite book|author=Craig Weatherhill|title=The Promontory People|year=2018|publisher=Francis Boutle Publishers|isbn=9781916490611}} Under the tutelage of historian P.A.S. Pool he conducted archaeological surveys of West Cornwall.{{cite web|url=http://www.cornwall24.net/2020/07/perthi-cov-remember-craig-weatherhill/|title=Perthi cov (Remember) Craig Weatherhill|publisher=Cornwall24.net|date=July 2020|website=Association for Cornish Heritage|access-date=26 February 2021}} Weatherhill was also a Conservation Officer at Penwith District Council.{{cite web|url=https://www.cornwallheritage.com/news-blogs/obituaries-and-memorials/obituaries-and-memorials-craig-weatherhill/|title=Obituaries and Memorials Craig Weatherhill|last=Biscoe|first=Bert|author-link=Bert Biscoe|date=July 2020|website=Association for Cornish Heritage|access-date=26 February 2021|archive-date=20 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210120023718/https://www.cornwallheritage.com/news-blogs/obituaries-and-memorials/obituaries-and-memorials-craig-weatherhill/|url-status=dead}} He contributed to the BBC's Radyo Kernow, in particular to the series The Tinners' Way and Beachcombers.{{cite book|author=Craig Weatherhill|title=Jowal Lethesow|year=2009|publisher=Evertype|isbn=9781904808305}}

In 1981 Weatherhill was made a Bard of Gorsedh Kernow for services to Cornish archaeology, taking the bardic name {{lang|kw|Delynyer Hendhyscans}} (Draughtsman of Archaeology).

He was a member of Cornish language organisations Cussel an Tavas Kernuak and Agan Tavas, as well as of campaign group Kernow Matters To You. In 2020, Gorsedh Kernow conferred its Awen award on Weatherhill for outstanding contribution to Penwith and broader Cornish culture.{{cite news|date=2020-07-16|title=Gorsedh announces prestigious medal winners|url=https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/18586272.gorsedh-announces-prestigious-medal-winners/|work=The Packet|access-date=26 February 2021}}

Weatherhill also took part in numerous archaeological surveys and excavations, including the excavation of Bosiliack Barrow in 1985, among other ancient monuments across West Cornwall. During the 1980s, Weatherhill was responsible for rediscovering three lost ancient holy wells in the space of just a few weeks, those wells being Venton Bebibell, Venton Zennor and Bosporthennis Holy Well, all within the Penwith Moors. Weatherhill's rediscovery of Venton Bebibell lead to the reviving of the tradition of "dolly dunking" by the Cornish Ancient Sites Protection Network (CASPN) in 2004. More recently, restoration work has been carried out on Bosporthennis Well.