The Royal Geological Society of Cornwall is a geological society originally based in Penzance, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1814 to promote the study of the geology of Cornwall, and is the second oldest geological society in the world, after the Geological Society of London which was founded in 1807.

History

The first President of the society was Davies Gilbert, the first Secretary John Ayrton Paris, and other notable members include Humphry Davy (some of whose papers are held by the Society), and William Gregor, who discovered titanium. The society's first premises was a house in North Parade, Penzance and in 1853 the Borough of Penzance put forward plans for a new public building on the west side of Penzance. It was planned to have the Borough offices, county court and police station in the east wing, the two floors of the west wing housing the RGSC's museum and a public hall between the two run by a public company. The building, known as St John's Hall, was opened in 1867 and still exists although, in July 2016, the west wing was occupied by the new Penzance library. In 2023 the RGSC moved its base to King Edward Mine, near Camborne, although meetings and lectures are usually held at Camborne School of Mines and other facilities on the Penryn Campus, and via Zoom.

Notable people associated with the society

Bolitho Medal

The society awards the Bolitho Medal for notable achievement in geology. The first award was made to Robert Etheridge in 1896. It was awarded in 1948 to Sir Arthur Russell, 6th Baronet.

Past presidents