Peters of St Mawes

How can we commemorate their legacy?

View and print Peters of St Mawes 

Suggested Activities

Introduce students to the sport of gig rowing using the initial 2 minutes of Gigs Today. 

Display Gig Data. Ask students; where did this sport come from? How did it become so successful? What do we know about the sport?
Collect student ideas.

Play students 4 minutes and 30 seconds of an interview by Ted Gundry with gig historian, Keith Harris using Azook. Ask students; why was William Peters important? What is an innovator? What does it mean to leave a legacy?

Share Peters Family Story and images relating to them including Nicholas Peters, Percuil River, William Peters and Thomasine Peters.
Help students to identify William Peters’ home (old salt store opposite where the Idle Rocks Hotel is today) and boatyard (Freshwater Boatyard, Polvarth) on a map.

Explain to students that although William Peters started building gigs in 1790, it took until 1987 for a gig to be named after him. Show students the build and launch of the gig ‘William Peters’, built by Ralph Bird for Roseland Gig Club in 1987 using Ralph Building William and Launching William Peters.

Revisit Gig Data and explain to students that since 1987 (when there were just a handful of clubs) the sport has gone from strength to strength.
Suggest to students that the Peter’s family need to be more widely known and their achievements recognised. Ask students; how do we mark or remember outstanding contributions?

Challenge pupils to produce an outcome of their choice (or set parameters according to your subject area/learning objectives) to commemorate their contribution and achievements, for instance:

• design a physical memorial or interpretation board or leaflet
• write a biography or poem
• compose a song (shanty) or instrumental piece

Encourage students to present their work to other members of the class and capture any live performances or digital outputs. 
 

Extended Activities

Share student work with the gig community via www.gigrower.co.uk .
Exhibit student outcomes in St Mawes to promote recognition of the achievements of the Peters family to members of the local community and visitors.
Challenge students to find out how gigs are built today and who builds them using resources like Andrew Nancarrow and Gig Builders.
Challenge pupils to find out more about the founding and history of Roseland Gig Club using resources like Chris Hitchens.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the Cornish Pilot Gig Association for their kind support and contributions to this material.