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Ralph Allen (other)
Ralph Allen ( – 29 June 1764) was a British postmaster, merchant and philanthropist best known for his reforms to Britain's postal system. Born in St Columb Major, Cornwall, he moved to Bath, Somerset to work in the municipal post office, becoming its postmaster by 1712. Allen made the system more efficient and took over contracts for the British mail service to cover areas of England up to the Anglo-Scottish border and into South Wales. He purchased local stone mines from his postal profits and had Prior Park built as his country house to show off the versatility of Bath stone, using the old post office as his townhouse. Working alongside architect John Wood, the Elder, the stone Allen mined was heavily used in construction work for development works in Bath. However, the mines did not consistently make a profit and he subsidised them from his postal profits. After his death, he was buried in a pyramid-topped tomb in Claverton, Somerset. Allen is commemorated in the nam ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
St Columb Major
St Columb Major is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Often referred to locally as ''St Columb'', it is approximately southwest of Wadebridge and east of Newquay Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The designation ''Major'' distinguishes it from the nearby settlement and parish of St Columb Minor on the coast. An electoral ward simply named ''St Columb'' exists with a population at the 2011 census of 5,050. The town is named after the 6th-century AD Saint Columba of Cornwall, also known as Columb. Twice a year the town plays host to "hurling", a medieval game once common throughout Cornwall but now only played in St Columb and St Ives.It is also played irregularly and less frequently at Bodmin, but nowhere else. It is played on Shrove Tuesday and again on the Saturday eleven days later. The game involves two teams of unlimited numbers (the 'townsmen' and the 'countrymen' of St Columb parish) who endeavour to carry a sil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
