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William Merrifield

William Merrifield - teacher, librarian and photographer of Tavistock, Devon - was born in the town on 10th March 1804. He died there on 27th January 1884, aged 79.

In the 1860s - possibly earlier - William took up photography and took some stereographs of the Tavistock area. The stereographs consisted of two nearly identical photos taken through a special camera which had two lenses. When looked at through a special viewer, the image appeared to be three-dimensional. The original card mount was a bright yellow colour - an example can be seen in the corner of one of the pictures below. The photos themselves were almost square in shape, but with the top two corners rounded.

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The librarian's house. This was built to join the remains of the Court Gate to the Police Station. During Merrifield's period the building was covered with ivy, but this has now been removed. The figure standing in the doorway may be Merrifield's wife, Ann. Who are the two men lying on the bench outside the Library gate?

Note the position of the lamp-post.

Is this a photograph of Ann Merrifield?

Looking towards the Guildhall (built in 1848) from in front of Court Gate. There is an official (policeman?) standing in front of the building and a man sitting on the ground of the Square.

Note the relative position of the lamp-post.

A close-up of the two figures.

Taken from Bedford Square looking towards the Town Hall. The Town Hall was completed in 1858. On the far right is the side of Court Gate.

Note the yellow mount at the top right corner.

The full-width version of the picture above.

A view of the Parish Church on the other side of Bedford Square. Note the lamp-post again. The angle suggests that this was taken from above ground level - possible the from the roof of the Guildhall's porch. Court Gate is on the far right.

The full-width version of the picture above. The time on the church clock is 10.35 a.m. and the trees are bare. There is a group of men sitting on the corner of Bedford Square and Plymouth Road.

The Town Hall taken from the churchyard. Note the churchyard railings which were removed during the Second World War.

A detail from the picture above. A couple of headstones in the churchyard can be clearly seen. These were later moved to the side of the churchyard and the whole area left clear.

Tavistock Grammar School, built in 1837. Also known as Russell Street School from its location.

The National School in Dolvin Road, built in 1847. William Merrifield is buried in the cemetery opposite the school.