Bert Biscoe is a Cornish politician, historian and

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

of the

Cornish Gorseth Gorsedh Kernow (Cornish Gorsedd) is a non-political Cornish organisation, based in Cornwall, United Kingdom, which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of Cornwall. It is based on the Welsh-based Gorsedd, which was founded by Iolo Morg ...

also known by the

bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh term bardd ("poet") originally referred to the Welsh poets of the Middle Ages, who m ...

Viajor Gans Geryow. He represented

Cornwall Council Cornwall Council ( kw, Konsel Kernow) is the unitary authority for Cornwall in the United Kingdom, not including the Isles of Scilly, which has its own unitary council. The council, and its predecessor Cornwall County Council, has a tradition o ...

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

Boscawen District as an independent Cornwall Councillor until May 2019 and is still serving as an independent Truro City Council councillor for the new Boscawen & Redannick ward. Bert Biscoe is known locally for his work as a

local historian The British Association for Local History (BALH) is a membership organisation that exists to promote the advancement of public education through the study of local history and to encourage and assist the study of local history throughout Great Bri ...

and for his

activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in Social change, social, Political campaign, political, economic or Natural environment, environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes i ...

related to the Cornish identity debate. In 2012, his book of poems called "Trurra" won a

Waterstones Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...

Publishers Award at the Holyer An Gof literary competition. Biscoe was made Mayor of Truro 2020/21 in an online ceremony.

Personal life

Bert Biscoe was born in Stithians, Cornwall. He attended

Truro School Truro School is a coeducational independent day and boarding school located in the city of Truro, Cornwall, England. It is the largest coeducational independent school in Cornwall with over 1050 pupils from pre-prep to sixth form. It is a membe ...

and his higher education was completed at

Bangor University , former_names = University College of North Wales (1884–1996) University of Wales, Bangor (1996–2007) , image = File:Arms_of_Bangor_University.svg , image_size = 250px , caption = Arms ...

. He lives in Truro, Cornwall.

Bardic work

Bert Biscoe is a traditional musician and poet, specialising in Cornish folk music, some of which is in the

Cornish language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or ) , is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. It is a List of revived languages, revived language, having become Extinct language, extinct as a livin ...

. Some of his audio works have been collected into a compilation titled "An Kynsa". He was created a Bard of the Cornish Gorsedh in 1995 for services to Cornwall with the

''Viajor Gans Geryow'', and has been a member of the Council of the Gorsedh since 2009. He is the author of several books of poetry. As a bard of the Gorsedh he is regularly in attendance at celebrations of Cornish culture and important cultural occasions. His poetry centres on the 'spirit of Kernow', he has performed with other bards in Cornwall.

Political career

He is an independent councillor in

Boscawen District. He was also a city councillor on Truro City Council until he lost his seat in the May 2021 elections. Until 2017, he was Cornwall Council's portfolio holder for transport and was responsible for Cornwall's transport links. He was replaced by Councillor Geoff Brown. During his time in office, he was involved in many projects including the

A30 road The A30 is a major road in England, running WSW from London to Land's End. The road has been a principal axis in Britain from the 17th century to early 19th century, as a major coaching route. It used to provide the fastest route from Londo ...

improvements at

Temple, Cornwall Temple ( kw, Tempel) is a small village in the parish of Blisland on Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, England, UK. The village is bypassed by the A30 road. History and antiquities Temple derives its name from the hospice or preceptory founded by the ...

, and one of the failed bus lane projects in

Work as local historian

He is the Chairman of the Truro Civic Society, a registered charity based in Truro, he is also current President of the

Truro Old Cornwall Society The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies (FOCS) was formed in 1924, on the initiative of Robert Morton Nance, with the objective of collecting and maintaining "all those ancient things that make the spirit of Cornwall — its traditions, its old ...

. He is also the honorary secretary and a trustee on the board on the

Royal Cornwall Museum The Royal Cornwall Museum in Truro holds an extensive mineral collection rooted in Cornwall's mining and engineering heritage (including much of the mineral collection of Philip Rashleigh). The county's artistic heritage is reflected in the mus ...

. He is the author of two books about the history of Cornwall.

Activism

Bert Biscoe is a relevant figure in the Cornish Identity debate and has campaigned for increased powers for Cornish local government and the creation of a

Cornish Assembly A Cornish Assembly ( kw, Senedh Kernow) is a proposed devolved law-making assembly for Cornwall along the lines of the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) and the Northern Ireland Assembly in the United Kingdom. The campaign for ...

. He has been the chair of the

Cornish Constitutional Convention The Cornish Constitutional Convention (CCC; kw, Senedh Kernow) was formed in November 2000 with the objective of establishing a devolved Cornish Assembly (Senedh Kernow). The convention is a cross-party, cross-sector association with support both ...

Books

Bert Biscoe is the author of several books, mainly related to Cornwall and poetry. *''MAUDLIN' PILGRIMAGE'', book of verse set in the reign of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. *''Rebecca'', (1996). *''The dance of the Cornish air'', (1996). *''At a wedding with Yeats in Turin'', (2003). *''Trurra'', Published by ''Dew Vardh'', winner of the Waterstones Award at Holyer An Gof Publishers' Awards 2012. *''Words of Granite'' (). *''Mercifully Preserved'' Fictional account of the life of

Sir John Betjeman Sir John Betjeman (; 28 August 190619 May 1984) was an English poet, writer, and broadcaster. He was Poet Laureate from 1972 until his death. He was a founding member of The Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture, ...

*''On Yer Trolley: Poems Made During Complete Bed Rest!'', (2008). *''White Crusted Eyes: Tales of Par'', (2009). *''MEDITATIONS ON CARN BREA Poems and Pictures from a Cornish Hill'', (2005). *''Accompanied by Larks''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Biscoe, Bert Living people Alumni of Bangor University Bards of Gorsedh Kernow Cornish-speaking people Members of Cornwall Council Poets from Cornwall Year of birth missing (living people) Politicians from Cornwall Politics of Truro Mayors of places in Cornwall Deputy Lieutenants of Cornwall