A painting purchased from the Poly has taken pride of place at the Maritime museum in Falmouth thanks to the generousity of the public.
The painting of the Loss of the Kent and a number of other important historic artefacts were recently purchased by the National Maritime Museum from the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society.
The objects had been on long-term loan to the museum and help to tell a number of key stories about Cornwall’s maritime heritage.
The painting depicts the incredible rescue of 550 passengers and crew from the Kent, which caught fire in the Bay of Biscay in 1825. By chance the brigantine Cambria, under the command of Captain Cook, saw the Kent's distress signal and the 11 crew and 20 Cornish miners onboard worked tirelessly to rescue survivors from the sinking ship.
Sarah Riddle, curator at the maritime museum said: “We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has donated money for this painting and the other objects we’ve purchased from the Poly. The painting of the Loss of the Kent depicts one of the great stories of Cornish heroism and we are extremely pleased to be able to safeguard it for future generations.”
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