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Blacksmiths shop at Godolphin Cross, Cornwall. Early 1900s

A group of men outside the blacksmith's shop at Herland Cross in Godolphin Cross. On the left is George Reynolds standing on a granite block used for fixing iron bands to waggon wheels. He spent many years abroad mining in South America, possibly Chile. Astride the horse is Harry Magor (possibly Meagor) of Carleen. He was a teamster who drove teams of up to thirty horses taking timber to boatyards and mines. He carried the large poles used at Poldhu, Mullion in Marconi's experimental wireless station (in 1901). In the donkey trap is Streamer John, a tin streamer who extracted tin from the tailings of mine-workings and supplemented his income by selling vegetables from his trap. The blacksmith is William Rowe with his dog Ben. Photographer: Unknown

© From the collection of the RIC

River Street, Truro, Cornwall. Around 1905

View down River Street showing the Truro Savings Bank and Baptist Chapel, later to become the Royal Cornwall Museum. The architect of both buildings was Philip Sambell (1798-1874). The Savings Bank was built in 1847 and closed in 1894. The building then became Henderson's School of Mining in 1897. The School of Mining closed in 1907 and the Royal Institution of Cornwall purchased the building in 1908 to house their growing collections. The interior of the building underwent extensive alterations, including the demolition of the rear part to build the main gallery and a west wing was added. Truro Baptist Chapel was built in 1850. The chapel was purchased by the RIC in 1985 as an extension to the museum. Extensive refurbishment and additions followed, including the link between the two buildings. An upper floor was added to the Baptist Chapel creating the Treffry gallery. Photographer: Arthur Philp

© From the collection of the RIC

Kenwyn Church, Truro, Cornwall. 1905

Taking away the old bell from Kenwyn Church. Two-horse drawn carts, loaded with a church bell, outside Kenwyn Church lychgate. Edward Pascoe is the carrier. The old bells were taken to a foundry in Loughborough and were melted down to make the new bells. Cornishman and amateur photographer, Major Arthur William Gill, was well known in Cornwall and elsewhere during the 1920s and 1930s for his presentations of stills and cine film to many groups including The Royal Institution of Cornwall, Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society and the London Cornish Society. The quarter plate slides which he took prolifically with his ordinary camera are, in some cases, painted by his own hand to great effect

© From the collection of the RIC