Rowena Cade

Creative, Artist, Builder

Deceased 1983

Suggested by Didi Baldwin, Sarah Tridgell, Pat Woodfield and an anonymous Radio Cornwall listener who rang into Julie Skentleberry's BBC Radio Cornwall programme.

Rowena Cade is the builder of Cornwall's most well known outdoor performance space, The Minack Theatre.⁠
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Rowena moved to Cornwall in the early 1920s and bought the Minack headland for £100 which according to the Bank Of England inflation calculator is the equivalent of just £3,750.65 today.⁠
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“Here she built her home, Minack House and then Rowena and her helpers worked largely with hand tools (and the occasional stick of dynamite) to shape the theatre we see today. Rowena was an artist as well as a builder. Throughout the theatre she etched complex designs into the wet concrete with an old screwdriver.” (Extract and image from www.minack.com)⁠ She also produced some beautiful embroidery that can be seen in the church at St Levan.
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Didi Baldwin says; “I am so grateful that Rowena Cade created the open air theatre as it’s a magical place that celebrates nature and the arts simultaneously. I admire her vision and determination immensely and this supports me in my creative endeavours.”

minack.com
@minacktheatre