Poole, Davy and the Copley Medal

by Dr Mike Redwood

How Humphry Davy won the Copley medal in Tom Poole’s garden.

Join us at the library for Dr Mike Redwood’s talk and tea with Tom Poole at Poole House.

Saturday 15th July, 2 pm – 5 pm Tickets £5

TO RESERVE A PLACE, EMAIL eventsandpr@thomaspoolelibrary.org.uk

We remember Tom Poole today as a local philanthropist and as the special friend of Coleridge. But other aspects of his life are equally important. First and foremost, Poole was a prosperous tanner and a fierce champion of the leather industry. He shared this interest with his lifelong friend, England’s brilliant chemist, Sir Humphry Davy.

Davy is best known today for his miners’ lamp and laughing gas. We forget that a Penzance saddler nurtured his interest in science. So when Davy met Poole, they decided to study the science of tanning together. Asked by the Royal Institution to deliver lectures on “The Principles of the Art of Tanning”, Davy headed straight for the tan yard at Nether Stowey. The oldest scientific medal, the Royal Society’s Copley Medal, was within his grasp.

Dr Mike Redwood has the story!