Celtic Recipes

Richard Lander was the son of a Truro innkeeper, born in the Fighting Cocks Inn (later the Dolphin Inn) on 8 February 1804

Lander's explorations began as an assistant to the Scottish explorer Hugh Clapperton on an expedition to Western Africa in 1825.

Clapperton died in April 1827 near Sokoto, in present-day Nigeria, leaving Lander as the only surviving European member of the expedition. He proceeded southeast before returning to Britain in July 1828.

Lander returned to West Africa in 1830, accompanied by his brother John.

They landed at Badagri on 22 March 1830 and followed the lower River Niger from Bussa to the sea. After exploring about 160 kilometres of the River Niger upstream, they returned to explore the River Benue and Niger Delta. They travelled back to Britain in 1831.

George William Everard Yoe Ward was born in Carnmenellis, Cornwall on 9 April 1909 to clergyman William George Henry Ward and his wife Annie.

He trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and won his first film role in 1947 playing Mr Trafford in Alexander Korda's 'An Ideal Husband'.

In between the years 1947 and 1960 and now known as Michael Ward, he appeared in no fewer than 30 films, making him one of Britain's busiest and most recognisable character actors.

As well as five 'Carry On' films, Ward also appeared in four Norman Wisdom films and six made by the Boulting brothers.

In the early 1960s television started to take over Ward's career and until his retirement in 1978 he appeared in (amongst many others) 'The Jack Benny Programme', 'The Avengers', 'The Morecambe and Wise Show', 'Dixon of Dock Green', 'The Two Ronnies', 'Armchair Theatre', 'Rising Damp' and 'Sykes'.

Goldsworthy Gurney was born at Treator near Padstow on 14 February 1793.

Goldsworthy went to Truro Grammar School.

After leaving school studied medicine with a Dr Avery at Wadebridge and took over the practice in 1813.

He married a farmer's daughter, Elizabeth Symons, from Launcells and settled in Wadebridge where he practiced as a surgeon.

In 1823 was awarded an Isis gold medal of the Royal Society of Arts for devising an oxy-hydrogen blowpipe (similar to a Bunsen burner).

In 1830, Gurney leased some land overlooking Summerleaze Beach at Bude and started construction of a new house to be built amongst the sand hills. The property rested on a concrete raft foundation, one of the earliest examples of this form.

Richard Trevithick - an inventor, mining engineer, builder of wheeled steam engines years before Stephenson, one of the Fathers of the industrial revolution, overseas engineer, refused support or a pension from the British Government, died in poverty.

Richard Trevithick was born on 13th April 1771 in Tregajorran Cornwall, the son of the manager of Dolcoath Mine.

By the 1780s, as a boy he did experiments to improve the efficiency of the beam engines.His aim was to make smaller and lighter steam engines with stronger boilers to generate higher steam pressures and thus more power.

Richard was educated at Camborne School.

Trevithick was tall and strong.

At six feet two inches high and was known as the Cornish giant.

At the age of eighteen he could throw sledge hammers over the tops of engine houses. Trevithick also had the reputation of being one of the best wrestlers in Cornwall.