B/w print photograph

Acc.no: PEZPH : 1993.45.29

Identification

Item: The grave of John Rutherford Shortland

Description: The grave of 'John Rutherford Shortland Canon of Plymouth Died July 19th 1889 Aged 75 years Requiescat in Pace (May he rest in peace) Beati servi illi.(Blessed is he)' The grave is decorated with a large crucifix, which was erected as his memorial and has fencing. John Rutherford Shortland was born on 24th March 1814 in Devonshire, at Princetown where his father was in charge of prisoners of war. His education led him to ordination in the Church of England and he served, among other places, as a curate at St. Mary's in Penzance. Soon after his conversion at the Oratory in Birmingham by John Henry Newman in 1851, he went on to become a Catholic priest, ordained by Bishop Ullathorne in 1855. He was appointed first to the Cathedral in Plymouth, from where he helped in a number of the small missions of the early days of the Plymouth Diocese. The Cathedral Chapter had just been established when Father Shortland was made a Canon in 1856. As the mission at Penzance began to recover, he was entrusted in 1858 by Bishop Vaughan with guiding it back to health. Canon Shortland was a man of some means, which was just as well for the mission at that time could never have been self-sufficient. The Oblates had sold most of the furnishings of the church to settle their debts. So the Canon, gradually during his 30 years in the mission and helped by some very generous people, steadily replaced them and greatly improve the church and mission. Such was his progress that, during the Second Diocesan Synod at Ugbrooke, Penzance was one of only four missions in the diocese given the title of Missionary Rectory, and the Canon its Missionary Rector. His funeral was a memorable occasion in Penzance, attended by numerous priests of the diocese and leaders of the town churches; crowds of townsfolk lined the streets on the way to the cemetery.

Condition: Good - slight discolouration to the right edge and a small amount of foxing to all the edges of the photograph.

Description

Height: 148mm

Width: 114mm

Material: Photograph

Production

Method: Printed

Date: 1880

Person: Branwell, John

Place: Penlee House

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