Image source: Cornwall Yesteryear
mary kelynack
Fishing, Farming Agriculture, Physical stamina
1776 - 1855
Suggested by Matt Thompson
Matt writes,
“Mary Kelynack was a fish hawker, an occupation requiring both strength and stamina, carrying, as they did, a large “cowel”, or back-basket, of wicker-work filled with fish and supported by a band passing back from the fore-head.
Mary, excited by the wealth of industrial innovation on show in the Great Exhibition of 1851, walked all the way from Newlyn to London by foot at the age of 75.
The journey took five weeks and attracted much attention.
A celebrity by the time she arrived, she met with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert.
I admire the sheer physical stamina of Mary Kelynack to walk to London by foot. Granted, life was harder then, but even so, most people, including myself as a relatively young man, would struggle to achieve this, even with modern walking equipment.”