Edwardian Gallery

St Pirans Oratory during construction of the concrete shell, Perranzabuloe, Cornwall. 1910

A good crowd viewing the site during the building of the concrete protective shell in 1910. The site hut can be seen left of centre. St Piran's Oratory survives as an early Christian chapel with all four walls standing. It represents the supposed site where St Piran, an Irish saint came ashore and established a Christian centre of worship in the sixth or seventh centuries AD. The site has a documented entry in the Domesday book. There is a small nave, chancel and stone bench around much of the interior plus a cemetery. Situated on Penhale Sands, east of Perranporth, the Oratory has been subject to blown sands over the years. Excavations were carried out in 1835 and 1843 and then railings were erected around the site in the 1890s. In 1910 it was re-excavated and a concrete preserving structure constructed over it. A large number of burials were uncovered during the works. The concrete shell was largely demolished in 1980 and the chapel reburied. The site was re-excavated in 2014-2015. Photographer: Unknown

© From the collection of the RIC

Alan Tindal Lennox-Boyd. Around 1907

Studio portrait photograph of Alan Tindal Lennox-Boyd as a young boy playing with building blocks on a chair. Born on 18th November 1904, Alan was the son of Alan Walter Lennox-Boyd and Florence Annie Begbie. Educated at Sherborne School, Dorset, and Christ Church, Oxford, he married Lady Patricia Florence Susan Guinness on 29th December 1938 and died on 8th March 1983. He held the office of Member of Parliament (Conservative) for Mid-Bedfordshire between 1931 and 1960, holding the positions of Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Labour in 1938, Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Aircraft Production in 1943, Minister of State for Colonial Affairs 1951-1952, Minister for Transport and Civil Aviation, 1952-1954 and Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs, 1954-1959. He served as Lieutenant in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during the Second World War, was admitted to Inner Temple in 1941 and entitled to practise as a Barrister at Law. Appointed Privy Counsellor in 1951, he held the office of Deputy Lieutenant of Bedfordshire between 1954 and 1960, was managing director of Arthur Guinness & Sons between 1959 and 1967 and appointed Companion of Honour in 1960. He was created 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton in September 1960 and that same year, his wife, Patricia, Viscountess Boyd, purchased Ince Castle in St Stephens by Saltash, Cornwall. In 1965, Viscount Boyd held the office of Deputy Lieutenant of Cornwall. The Boyd family lived at Ince Castle until 2018. Photographer: Owen & Son, Boscombe

© From the collection of the RIC

Gwennap Pit, Busveal, Cornwall. Around 1900s

A service at Gwennap Pit. The photograph captures an excellent display of fashionable clothing worn for Sunday best. An open air amphitheatre near Redruth made famous by John Wesley the founder of Methodism, John Wesley first visited Gwennap Pit on 5th September 1762. At this time it was described as a relic of mining activities in the area, with a rock face covered in vegetation by the 1760s. In 1766 Wesley described it as "a round green hollow gently shelving down" and as "a natural amphitheatre". In November 1806 a mining engineer Richard Michell of Gwennap and four mine Captains: John Martin, John Dennis, W. Davey and T. Trestrail met at Busveal and agreed to repair Gwennap Pit or rather reconstruct the amphitheatre in respect to and in memory of John Wesley who had died in 1791. Between 1762 and 1789 John Wesley preached at Gwennap Pit eighteen times. The amphitheatre has twelve staged rings top to bottom. It is claimed that walking around all twelve levels top to bottom is equal to one mile and that it can hold 1,500 people. Photographer: Arthur Philp

© From the collection of the RIC