Rev. Wladislaw Somerville Lach-Szyrma M.A., F.R.H.S., (25th December, 1841 to 1915) was born at Devonport

Devonport, Devon

Devonport, formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889...

. His father, Krystyn Lach Szyrma

Krystyn Lach Szyrma

Krystyn Lach Szyrma was a professor of philosophy at Warsaw University.-Life:Szyrma was professor of philosophy at Warsaw University from 1824 to 1831...

, a Polish Professor, moved from Warsaw

Warsaw

Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

 c. 1830 to escape persecution (around the time of the November Uprising

November Uprising

The November Uprising , Polish–Russian War 1830–31 also known as the Cadet Revolution, was an armed rebellion in the heartland of partitioned Poland against the Russian Empire. The uprising began on 29 November 1830 in Warsaw when the young Polish officers from the local Army of the Congress...

), and married into the naval Somerville family in Plymouth

Plymouth

Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

. After studying the classics at Brasenose College, Oxford

Brasenose College, Oxford

Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...

, his first curacy was at Pensilva

Pensilva

Pensilva is a village in east Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated at approximately four miles northeast of Liskeard. Nearby settlements include Charaton Cross and Middlehill....

. In 1869 he took the curacy of St Paul's, Truro

Truro

Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...

, and in 1871 Carnmenellis

Carnmenellis

Carnmenellis Hill gives its name to the area of west Cornwall between Redruth, Helston and Penryn. The hill itself is situated approximately three miles south of Redruth....

. On his return from Paris, after a short illness (and his obituary published in a number of newspapers!), he became the vicar of St. Peter's Church, Newlyn

Newlyn

Newlyn is a town and fishing port in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Newlyn forms a conurbation with the neighbouring town of Penzance and is part of Penzance civil parish...

 from 1873 until 1890. He was a prolific writer on church history and the antiquities

Antiquities

Antiquities, nearly always used in the plural in this sense, is a term for objects from Antiquity, especially the civilizations of the Mediterranean: the Classical antiquity of Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt and the other Ancient Near Eastern cultures...

 of Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, especially of the district around Penzance

Penzance

Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...

. and was also a pioneer of science-fiction

Publications (selected)

• 1864: On the Relation of the Slavonians to the Other Indo-European Nations.
• 1878: A short history of Penzance, S. Michael's Mount, S. Ives, and the Land's End district. Truro: Lake and Lake.
• 1882: "M. Sebillot's System as applied to Cornish Folk-lore
  Folk-Lore
  Folk-Lore was released in 2002 by Celtic metal band Cruachan.-Track listing:#"Bloody Sunday" – 4:15#"The Victory Reel" – 1:21#"Death of a Gael" – 5:38#"The Rocky Road to Dublin" – 3:07#"Ossian's Return" – 4:44...
  
  ". Transactions of the Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society
  Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society
  Penzance Natural History and Antiquarian Society was a local society founded in Penzance in Cornwall, England, UK, whose aim was "the cultivation of the science of Natural History, and for the investigation of the Antiquities referring to the early inhabitants." It was established at a public...
  
  . New Series: pp. 132-150.
• 1883: Aleriel, or A Voyage to Other Worlds. London: Wyman and Sons
• 1884: Newlyn: Its History and Legends. Penzance: Oakmagic, 2001 (Originally published as: Newlyn & its Pier. Penzance : W. S. Lach-Szyrma, 1884.
• 1889: Relics of the Cornish Language. Penzance (with W. C. Borlase and S. Rundle) (reissued: [Dumfries?]: Oakmagic, 2008 ISBN 1904330975 )
• 1891: A Church History of Cornwall and of the Diocese of Truro
  Diocese of Truro
  The Diocese of Truro is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury.-Geography and history:The diocese's area is that of the county of Cornwall including the Isles of Scilly. It was formed on 15 December 1876 from the Archdeaconry of Cornwall in the Diocese of Exeter, it is thus one...
  
  . London: Elliot Stock
• ( ) Curious Churches in Cornwall.