Discovering the Identity of the Troy Town Maze Man
When researching for our project we were lucky enough to have access to the archives of the Isles of Scilly Museum and Cultural Centre where we found an early glass plate negative taken by the Gibson family - pioneer photographers on the islands who began documenting life on the islands in the 1860s - of an incredibly charismatic-looking gentleman standing besides Troy Town Maze. There was no information with this glass-plate negative (the Gibson archive was acquired by the museum only a few years ago on mass and is still being catalogued) and try as we might we had no way of working out who the man might be.
Initially we thought perhaps this was Armor Clarke - son of the St Agnes lighthouse keeper who reportedly built the maze in 1729… but seeing as photography wasn’t invented until the 1820s we concluded that probably wasn’t right - even with the fresh, salty air of the Scillies to preserve him, there was no way the man in the photograph was over 100 years old. Our next guess was that it might be a descendent of Clarke, or possibly someone who had restored the maze at a later time.
The mystery image of Troy Town Maze and the charismatic gentleman, from the Isles of Scilly Museum collection…
We reached out to the folk on the Scilly Memories Facebook Group, as to whether anyone knew who the mystery man was, and local history expert Lindsey Sandford responded that, according to the 1881 census, there were 19 men over 40 years of age listed as living on St Agnes in 1881. These were:
Higher Town (Watch House), Robert Thomas, 50, Chief Boatman Coastguard, Dawlish Devon, ,
Higher Town, Humphrey Hicks, 63, , Farmer (4 Acres), St Agnes Scilly
Higher Town, Israel Hicks, 51, Pilot (Port Of Scilly), St Agnes Scilly
Higher Town, Walter Hicks, 60, , Pilot (Port Of Scilly), St Agnes Scilly
Middle Town, Isaac Legg, 54, , Farmer (4 Acres), St Agnes Scilly
Middle Town, Abraham Humphreys, Head, 80, Farmer (10 Acres), St Agnes Scilly
Obadiah Hicks, 49, Trinity Boatman (Pilot), St Agnes Scilly
Lighthouse Dwelling Middletown, Edwin S. Davis, Head 67, Principal Light Keeper, St Agnes Scilly
Hugh Hicks, 85, , Superannuated Pilot, St Agnes Scilly
Lower Town, Israel Hicks80, Farmer (7 Acres), St Agnes Scilly
Lower Town, John Hicks 62, Merchant Seaman, St Agnes Scilly
Lower Town, Jacob Deason, 62, Superanuated Pilot, St Marys Scilly
Lower Town, Edgar Wingate, 51, Naval Pensioner, Miltion Hampshire, ,
Down, William Mortimer, 66, Farmer (8 Acres), St Agnes Scilly
Down, Abraham Hicks, 42, Pilot Port Of Scilly, St Agnes Scilly
Down, William Hicks, 66, Farmer (3 Acres), St Agnes Scilly
Down, Stephen Hicks, 55, Pilot Port Of Scilly, St Agnes Scilly
Down, Uriah Legg, 59, Shoemaker, St Agnes Scilly
Down, William J. Hicks, 45, Farmer (8 Acres), St Agnes Scilly
Perhaps the charismatic maze man was on this list, but we had no way of telling which one he was. It is interesting to note that so many of the men on this list were pilots, considering the connections between labyrinths in Scandinavia and early pilotage too.
We scanned the glass plate and were able to enlarge the image to A0 size for display the Vanishing Labyrinths exhibition. This means we could get a really clear look at the stones and their layout. Comparing this image of the mystery man to (what was previously believed to be) the earliest known photograph of Troy Town Maze (another Gibson image) datable by the wreck of the Earl of Lonsdale in the background to the 8th June 1885, we think that the mystery man image actually pre-dates the shipwreck image. It is possible to see where new stones have been laid on top in the later image, with the original stones still visible beneath. This gave us a date of pre-June 8th 1885, which is good to know, but we were still no closer to fiding the identity of the charismatic man.
Towards the end of the exhibition run we had pretty much given up hope that we would find out the identity of the man in the photo. But, after a visit to the gallery from a local St Agnes man (actually a cousin of Teän’s), we discovered not only the identity of this man but an amazing story of his adventures as well.
We were told that the man in the image is Jacob Deason (mentioned in the census list above (Lowertown, 62, Superanuated Pilot, St Marys Scilly) so we know the census supports this story too). Deason was once fishing (with a Legg - a common Scillonian family name from St Agnes) out at the Western Rocks when the two of them were captured by French privateers and taken to the Amazon. Deason eventually made his way back to Scilly, but the Legg who was with him remained in South America.
Deason’s connection with the maze is unclear - but maybe it is the position of the Western Rocks behind him (where he was captured years before) that was the reason he was photographed at this location, after his return to Scilly, rather than a connection with the maze?
Either way - what an incredible story and I am so happy to have found out who he is.
The Gibsons began photography in Scilly in the 1860s, but that would make Jacob Deason in his 40s here and he looks older than that. So we think the photograph dates to around the late 1870 to early 1880s (pre 1885).
