Silvanus Trevail was a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

, and the most prominent Cornish

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

 architect of the 19th century. He was born in Luxulyan

Luxulyan

Luxulyan , also spelled Luxullian or Luxulian, is a village and civil parish in central Cornwall, United Kingdom. The village lies four miles northeast of St Austell and six miles south of Bodmin...

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

 in October 1851. He rose to become Mayor of Truro

Truro

Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...

 and, nationally, President of the architects' professional body, the Society of Architects. His success however, did not bring him happiness. Trevail had a history of depression

Depression (mood)

Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...

 and had been unwell for some time before committing suicide. In November 1903 he shot himself in the lavatory of a train as it entered Brownqueen Tunnel

Brownqueen Tunnel

Brownqueen Tunnel is a railway tunnel Cornwall, on the Cornish Main Line. It is 88 yards long and is situated just above the River Fowey...

 a short distance from Bodmin Road railway station

Bodmin Parkway railway station

Bodmin Parkway railway station is a station on the Cornish Main Line and serves the nearby town of Bodmin, Cornwall, United Kingdom. The station is west of , in the civil parish of St Winnow....

.

He was Cornwall's most famous architect

Architect

An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...

, certainly of the 19th century. Following the Education Act of 1870 which created Board Schools, Trevail designed around fifty such schools throughout the county. He also designed hotels including the Headland Hotel

Headland Hotel

The Headland Hotel is located in Newquay, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is near Towan Head and overlooks Fistral Beach.-History:In 1911, Edward, Prince of Wales, and his brother Prince Albert recuperated at the hotel after catching measles and mumps while studying at Royal Naval College,...

, Newquay

Newquay

Newquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....

, Carbis Bay Hotel

Carbis Bay Hotel

Carbis Bay Hotel is an AA 3-star hotel in Carbis Bay near St Ives, Cornwall. It is the most prominent building in Carbis Bay, overlooking the beach.-History:It was built in 1894 by Silvanus Trevail, Cornwall's most notable architect of the 19th century...

 in Carbis Bay

Carbis Bay

Carbis Bay is a village and seaside resort in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It lies one mile SE of St Ives on the west side of St Ives Bay on the Atlantic coast....

, and restored the church at Temple

Temple, Cornwall

Temple is a hamlet in the parish of Blisland on Bodmin moor, Cornwall, UK. The hamlet is bypassed by the A30 road.-History and antiquities:...

. He was said to be a man ahead of his time, a campaigner for sanitation improvements and an entrepreneur.

Further reading

• Perry, Ronald (2009) "Silvanus Trevail: social reformer, developer, architect", in: Ferry, Kathryn, ed. Powerhouses of Provincial Architecture, 1837-1914. London: Victorian Society; pp. 15-27

External links

• BBC Inside Out, on Silvanus Trevail and the Newquay riots
• Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Silvanus Trevail

• There are biographical references to Silvanus Trevail on the Library & Museum of Freemasonry website, www.freemasonry.london.museum under classmark BE68(Tre)Roy, which contains reference to a copy of the Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall
  Royal Institution of Cornwall
  The Royal Institution of Cornwall was founded in Truro, Cornwall, United Kingdom, in 1818 as the Cornwall Literary and Philosophical Institution. The Institution was one of the earliest of seven similar societies established in England and Wales. The RIC moved to its present site in River Street...
  
  for 2001