Report courtesy of Carole Wakefield, Bude Stratton and District OCS
Bude-Stratton & District Old Cornwall Society held its latest monthly meeting at the Parkhouse Centre on Monday 27th October 2025. The Chairman, Alan McIntosh, introduced the speaker, David Thorn, who spoke on “Thorns of Bude and other Things”. He gave a fascinating talk about the town and its characters over the years, supported by some wonderful photographic images taken by his ancestors.
David presented a wide-ranging slide show and gave a running commentary, effectively giving us a potted history of the Thorn Family and their achievements. The family is well known locally as the earliest photographers in Bude and their extensive collection of social history photographs from the mid-19th Century onwards is a valuable resource for anyone interested in our local history.
Highlights included shots showing how Bude developed, local beauty spots and notable shipwrecks and the rescue attempts by the local lifeboat and coastguard crews. David himself had created an image to show how the Storm Tower was moved over time by superimposing a current photo over earlier ones.
Some of the slides were of images taken by Harry Thorn and his brother Samuel dating from the early 1860s. The brothers must have been familiar figures in the district with the bulky tools of their trade, taking photographs and developing them on the spot – they are even in some of the pictures themselves! David told us that they sold miniature Carte de Visite prints (4 x 2.5 inches) at the extraordinary price of £1 each (over £100 today) as well as postcards of local scenery and shipwrecks. They became very successful, but the harmful chemicals involved led to their early deaths. The family carried on the business for many years afterwards.
A collection of albums, postcards and stereo photographs were on display. The stereo photographs included some showing the wreck of the Bencoolen at the end of the Breakwater in 1862 which gave a 3-dimensional image when seen through a special viewer. The clarity of the images was stunning, considering when the shots were taken.
The Society President, RM Heard, gave the vote of thanks. Finally, the raffle was drawn by Dennis Balsdon with help from Alan McIntosh, and Rose McIntosh kindly served refreshments. Our next major event open to non-members will be the Annual Advent Service – a celebration of the Carols of the Stratton Hundred in St Martins Church, Killerton Road, Bude at 7pm on Monday 1 December. Our season of talks will continue on Monday 26 January 2026 at 2.30pm in The Parkhouse Centre.