Image first from left taken from:
Portrait of Sir John St. Aubyn (1758 to 1839)
By John Opie (1761 to 1807)
Collection: Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery©

Sir John St Aubyn Collection

The Sir John St. Aubyn collection at Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery consists of two principal parts:

• Mineral collection
• Herbarium

Both collections are extremely important because they illustrate our understanding of geology and botany 200 years ago.

Mineral collection: overview

Consisting of over 1500 specimens, the collection contains material that St Aubyn purchased from Richard Greene of Lichfield and Dr William Babington (previously owned by the Earl of Bute) as well as material from Europe. There are also some Cornish specimens which St Aubyn may have collected, and a small micromount collection.

Sir John’s position at Clowance, in the centre of the great mining district of Cornwall, and his other seat on the granatic pinnacle of St Michael’s Mount in the bay of Penzance, placed him in a position of geological and mineralogical advantage to obtain the finest specimens.

You can read the mineral collection page for further details. A smaller collection is also held at Saffron Walden Museum.

Herbarium: overview

The herbarium dates from 1793 to 1803 and consists of approximately 1000 specimens. The collection provides a comprehensive insight into not only the local ecology at the time, but also the use of plants in medicine and the presence of new cultivars.

Associated with these are many important collectors of the period who knew St Aubyn. The notes on the herbarium sheets are exceptionally detailed and the specimens themselves are in good condition. There is further information on this collection in the herbarium page.

Improving access to the collection

Using a grant secured from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, we will be able to conduct a variety of work from translating catalogues, carrying out research and conservation work to deciphering and updating labels, and ensuring safe storage of the St Aubyn collection. The collection will also be digitised in order to create an online database.

You can find out more about Sir John St Aubyn, his herbarium and his mineral collection or return to the natural history collections page for information on the other collections we hold.

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