Charles Sandoe Gilbert (1760–1831) was a Cornish druggist and historian of

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

Life

The son of Thomas Gilbert, Charles was born in the parish of

Kenwyn Kenwyn () is a settlement and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The settlement is a suburb of the city of Truro and lies 0.5 mi (1 km) north of the city centre, within Truro parish, whereas Kenwyn parish covers an are ...

, near

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

, in 1760. In conjunction with a Mr. Powell he became an itinerant vendor of medicines in Cornwall and

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

. On Powell's retirement Gilbert continued the business alone, but later took on a Mr. Parrot. Later on he had establishments at 29 Market Street,

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

, and at Fore Street, Devonport, with a staff of six travellers. In about 1810 Gilbert was led to believe that he might claim descent from the Gilberts of

Compton Castle Compton Castle in the parish of Marldon in Devon, is a fortified manor house in the village of Compton (formerly "Compton Pole"), about west of Torquay on the southern coast of Devon, England (). The estate was home to the families of Compto ...

, Devon. Antiquarian studies saw him undertake a general history of Cornwall. In the course of his journeys through Cornwall he took notes, and also had his travellers collect information. After 1812 he was accompanied on several excursions by the artist

Henry Perlee Parker Henry Perlee Parker (1785–1873) was an artist who specialised in portrait and genre paintings. He made his mark in Newcastle upon Tyne in the 1820s through patronage by wealthy landowners and through paintings of large-scale events of civic p ...

. The first volume appeared in 1817 of ''An Historical Survey of the County of Cornwall, to which is added a Complete Heraldry of the same, with numerous Woodcuts'', 592 pages. The second volume came out in 1820, 962 pages. Although Gilbert was patronized by successive

dukes of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of N ...

, and obtained a number of subscribers, the work cost double his estimate. According to Joseph Polsue in his ''Complete Parochial History of the County of Cornwall'': "There are many errors in the topographical portion of the ''History'', and a number of misplaced paragraphs; and nearly the whole of the monumental inscriptions given were imperfectly and carelessly transcribed". During the progress of his ''Survey'' Gilbert had money troubles, and on 29 October 1825 he was gazetted a bankrupt. The next year he moved to London, where, taking Gilbert Morrish into partnership, he opened a chemist's shop at 27 Newcastle Street,

The Strand, London The Strand (commonly referred to with a leading "The", but formally without) is a major street in the City of Westminster, Central London. The street, which is part of London's West End theatreland, runs just over from Trafalgar Square eas ...

. He died at the same address 30 May 1831. He was buried in the churchyard of the

Savoy Hospital The Savoy Palace, considered the grandest nobleman's townhouse of medieval London, was the residence of prince John of Gaunt until it was destroyed during rioting in the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. The palace was on the site of an estate given t ...

, where a headstone was erected to his memory.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilbert, Charles Sandoe 1760 births 1831 deaths English antiquarians 19th-century English historians Historians of Cornwall People from Truro