SPENCER Thorns Book Shop is due to host an exhibition of images in the Castle Bude, from a new book telling the pictorial history of the town.

The exhibition, showcasing images from the recent book Thorns of Bude, written by cousins David and Stuart Thorn, will take place from December 6 to December 31 at the Castle Bude, and will give visitors the opportunity to meet the authors, as well as delve into the old Bude that once was.

The Thorn photographers were pioneers of the art in Bude. Thorns of Bude celebrates their enormous contribution to Cornish history, with over 250 fantastic images taken from their original glass negatives — many never before published — and will be displayed in a thrilling exhibition at the Castle in December.

The images illustrate the landscape, seascape and shipwrecks of north Cornwall, as it was in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, packed with personalities and characters, recalling the hard but gentle pace of Cornish life, as well as the incidents that live on in the memory of the Cornish people.

Harry Thorn, who began the Thorns’ photography dynasty, was the first photographer in Bude village, as it was known then, with a population of approximately 600. He began to record daily events, and became a true pioneer for Bude in a field with many hazards, particularly the chemicals used to develop his photographs, of which not a lot was understood.

In the 1860s, Harry was joined by his brother, sister and niece, who continued the business after his death in 1876.

The photographs of Thorns of Bude will be displayed in an exhibition at Bude Castle between December 6 and December 31, from 6pm until 8pm. There will be a chance to meet David and Stuart Thorn on Sunday, December 11, where they will be signing copies of the book.