Voyage to the Planets: The Astronomical Forays of Arthur Stanley Williams (1861–1938)

Abstract

St. Mawes is the principal village on the Roseland Peninsula, Cornwall, situated on the mouth of the River Percuil. Long regarded as a strategically important port dating from medieval times, it is now a picturesque harbor with a small, hard-working fishing fleet, protected by the most pristine remaining Tudor fortress of St. Mawes Castle, originally built during the reign of Henry VIII. The village sports two beautiful, sandy beaches and is a paradise for those who enjoy plying the seas in small sail boats and yachts. St. Mawes became the favorite haunt of a shy and retiring gentleman, who had grown weary of his workaday occupation in order that he could pursue the two great passions in his life; astronomy and sailing.