Knill Monument, St Ives, Cornwall. About 1920

The " Knill Ceremony", showing little girls seated at the base of the monument together with two older ladies. John Knill was born in Callington on 1st January 1733 and worked as a collector of Customs in St Ives between 1762 and 1782, where he also became mayor in 1767. He was regarded as being slightly eccentric. In that same year, 1767, he decided to build a 50 foot, three sided, pyramid style granite structure on Worvas Hill just to the south of St Ives, to be known as Knills Steeple. It was erected as his intended burial place. The monument bears on one side the painted coat of arms of Knill, with the Latin " Resurgam" (I shall arise) and, in English, " I know that my redeemer liveth". In his will he left detailed instructions for ceremonies to be carried out in his memory every five years on St James Day, July 25th at the Steeple, including dancing for fifteen minutes to the tune of " All people that on earth due dwell" by ten young girls under the age of 10, and who traditionally have to be daughters of either fishermen, tinners or seamen. They are accompanied by two widows, the Mayor, the Customs Officer and a Master of Ceremonies. In his will John left money for the upkeep of the monument and for celebrations to take place. The first ceremony, in which John Knill participated, took place in 1801. He died in his chambers on 29th July 1811 in Grays Inn Square London and is buried in St Andrews Church, Holborn. Photographer: Arthur William Jordan

TRURI : IVSkn.12

Media ID 12083054

Dresses Hats Suits Women

Your artwork will be printed orientated as per the preview above, with landscape (horizontal) or portrait (vertical) orientation to match the source image

Made in UK
Safe Shipping, Easy Returns

FREE PERSONALISATION
We are proud to offer a range of customisation including Cropping, Captions, and Filters. Zoom Cropping can be adjusted in the basket

FREE COLORIZATION
You can choose advanced AI Colorization for this picture at no extra charge

SECURE PAYMENTS
We accept all major payment options so you can pay for the things you need in the way that is most convenient for you