Mary Wyatt was a dealer in shells and minerals from her shop
in Torquay [1]. During the boom in exploring seashores that occurred during the early
Nineteenth Century, such shops supplied visitors with important specimens to
add to their cabinets of curiosities. Mary Wyatt’s shop was as well known in
Torquay as Mary Anning’s shop in Lyme Regis, where fossils could be obtained,
as well as other mementoes; the passion for Natural History including rocks and
minerals as well as living organisms.
In addition to running, and supplying, her shop, Mary Wyatt collected
algae that were dried and pressed, with some of her collections made up into volumes
published as Algae Danmonienses - illustration
by dried specimens resulted necessarily in a very limited number of copies
being produced [2]. None of this would have been possible without the close
co-operation of another famous resident of Torquay, Amelia Griffiths (1768-1858)
[3], the subject of an essay by Philip Strange and a biographical note by Ann
Shteir. From their articles [4,5], we learn that Amelia Griffiths was born
Amelia Warren Rogers on 14th January 1768 and married a vicar, William
Griffiths, in 1794. He died in 1802 and she then raised her five children on
her own, eventually settling in Torquay in 1829, where Mary Wyatt was one of
her servants. By this time, Amelia was already well known for her knowledge of algae,
their locations and their biology, and she corresponded with many of the
leading authorities of the day.
Philip Strange concludes his article [4] by writing:
The more I investigated the story
of Amelia Griffiths, the more I found similarities with Mary Anning. Both were
systematic collectors, acquiring immense expertise in their fields and passing
on samples to male scientists who furthered their own careers as a result. Both
were strong women who pursued their interests whether or not these conformed to
norms of society. Griffiths is known to have collected at Lyme Regis so perhaps
she encountered Anning on the beach; it is an interesting thought. Anning is
now better known, partly because her discoveries were much more significant for
science and partly because of the well developed Mary Anning-industry in her
home town.
Algae Danmonienses, with its limited number of
copies was unlikely to spread the fame of Amelia and Mary and, while Amelia
corresponded with many botanists, she produced few articles – Shteir [5]
mentioning only two notes to The
Phytologist and a list of Natural History specimens in Blewitt’s The Panorama of Torquay [6].
She was certainly well-known and respected in Torbay and Blewitt
wrote:
The article on Natural History
will be acceptable to all, containing, as it does, the most recent of Mrs.
Griffiths’s truly beautiful discoveries in the difficult department of marine
botany..
Blewitt also describes an interesting phenomenon at Elberry
Cove in Torbay in which Amelia’s expertise was called upon [6]:
At a short distance from the
beach, the surface of the water presents a curious phenomenon. A fresh-water
spring, rising of course in some part of the chain of hills above the cove,
makes its exit from the sandy bottom, about eight or ten feet below the surface
of the sea at low water mark.. ..It ascends perpendicularly with considerable
force and forms a smooth circle, four
or five feet in diameter, on the surface of the sea. Two of these circles are
occasionally seen, in consequence, perhaps, of the accumulation of sand; and
their size, depth, and distance from each other vary at different times,
according as they are influenced by the swell or weather. They are of course
best seen at low tide and when the sea is smooth. In April of the present year,
we made some experiments in conjunction with Mrs Griffiths, in order to
ascertain the character of the water ejected by this spring. The result was
satisfactory, and proved that it was a body of fresh water pouring out of an aperture of large size, and with such
strength that the sand disturbed was forced by its power to the surface. The
appearances within the circle resembled the effect of oil poured on the water..
..[and] The volume of fresh water must be considerable as the salt taste of the
sea perceptibly diminishes in the neighbourhood of the spring. This phenomenon
will be visited by the natural philosopher with much pleasure..
Quite what experiments were carried out by Amelia Griffiths
are not known – apart from tasting the sea water!
Having been brought up In Torbay, I made many visits to
Elberry Cove (shown above at a time of far from ideal conditions) but never
recall seeing the upwelling from springs that is described by Blewitt. Perhaps
they no longer exist?
[1] M. Rendel (1994) Women in Torquay in the First Half of
the Nineteenth Century. The Transactions
of the Devonshire Association 126: 17-39
[5] Ann Shteir (2004) Griffiths [née
Rogers], Amelia Warren (1768-1858). Oxford
Dictionary of National Biography https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/59318
[6] Octavian Blewitt (1832) The Panorama Of Torquay, A Descriptive And Historical Sketch Of The
District Comprised Between The Dart And Teign. London, Simpkin and Marshall
+ Torquay, Cockrem
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