Who is Daniel Gumb?
Daniel Gumb (1703–1776) was no ordinary 18th-century stone mason. He was a self-taught mathematician, astronomer, philosopher, and accidental off-grid icon.
To avoid paying rent and taxes, he carved his family a home underneath a giant granite slab on Bodmin Moor and lived there until he died. By day he worked stone and made maps for local landowners; by night he studied the stars.
He has inspired historians and researchers, writers and poets, walkers and adventurers ever since.
Although his life was marked by incredible tragedy and a dramatic family scandal, he became part of local folklore and legend, and his individuality and defiant spirit earned him the title of Cornwall’s “Philosopher Mason”.
“Daniel Gumb built more than a home – he built a life on his own terms.”
Daniel Gumb’s 5 Acts of Defiance
1. The Ultimate Tax Dodge: Rent-Free Living
The simplest, most powerful reason to live on the moor was to live rent and tax free.
In the 18th century, building your own home on Bodmin Moor was the ultimate tax dodge. Living on ‘unclaimed’ land immediately freed Daniel from the burden of rent and tax. It also gave him clean water and isolation, protecting his family from the constant threat of infectious disease that afflicted villages and towns.
Daniel found a massive granite slab, approximately 10 meters by 3 meters, and decided this would be the roof. He carefully excavated the ground beneath the inclined rock and supported the roof with natural rock on one side and stone pillars on the other. He cut a chimney through the earth, and outside, he created a ‘curtilage’ (an enclosed area, possibly for livestock) and a ‘kailyard’ (a garden), transforming his cave into an effective small holding. Find out more about Daniel Gumb’s cave
And while he continued to earn money from the community as a professional, he refused to pay any of it back to the landowning elite as rent.
Daniel Gumb’s reconstructed cave. Not the original location.
Credit: photofilecornwall
2. The Stone-Carved Public Service Announcement
Forget an anonymous pamphlet; Daniel Gumb used his trade to deliver a permanent, public message.
His most famous piece of stonework is not for the wealthy, but a simple slate gravestone at St Melor’s Church in Linkinhorne. At the time, wealthy families paid for the honour of being buried inside the church walls, while the common folk were outside, exposed to the elements. This practice caused arguments over burial costs and status.
Daniel carved this poem onto the stone – a glorious, self-satisfied retort to the wealthy who thought their indoor graves made them superior.
Not only did he openly mock the class and religious divides of the time, he then signed it. This wasn’t just a mason doing a job; it was an intellectual making a statement and claiming authorship of his defiance. Find out more about Daniel Gumb’s work
“Here we lye without the wall,
Twas full within they made a brawl:
Here we lye no Rent to pay,
And yet we lye so warm as they.
Cut by Daniel Gumb”
3. DIY Education: A Self-Taught Genius
In Daniel’s era, advanced academic knowledge was strictly reserved for the elite who could afford access to institutions like Oxford or Cambridge. Daniel was a moorstone mason, a tough, hands-on trade. But he wasn’t content with just knowing how to split granite and taught himself everything.
He mastered advanced mathematics, astronomy, and cartography – knowledge that was typically confined to those with a costly university education – and made money by being smarter than the system that tried to exclude him.
His classroom was his cave roof. He carved complex diagrams, including a geometric proof of Pythagoras’ Theorem, directly into the granite. He essentially turned his ceiling into a permanent whiteboard for his kids and himself, demonstrating his constant pursuit of knowledge.
Find out more about the carvings on Daniel Gumb’s cave.
Daniel’s knowledge of advanced mathematical principles went far beyond the basics needed for stonework. Local gentry hired him to create highly precise, detailed maps of their estates, relying on his deep, self-taught expertise over expensive, formally-trained surveyors.
Take a look at the amazing maps created by Daniel Gumb.
4. The Enlightenment Hermit: Philosophy of Isolation
Daniel Gumb chose isolation not because he was an outcast, but because he valued reason, study, and freedom over the constraints of village life.
Daniel didn’t reject society – he just preferred it at arm’s length, and on his own terms.
It’s likely he was deeply influenced by the Enlightenment and Rational Dissent movements. These movements preached that science, reason, and independent thought were more important than rigid societal rules or religious doctrine.
Daniel was a seeker of knowledge, and living on the moor offered the peace and solitude necessary for his study. His eccentric address was a choice, and a philosophical statement that intellectual freedom and self-sufficiency are more valuable than social conformity.
Bodmin Moor, near the Cheesewring, provided the solitude Daniel craved.
Credit: DirectEMark
5. Mixing Brains and Brawn: The Ultimate Flex
Daniel defied the common snobbery of his time that placed academics and tradesmen in separate boxes.
He was a highly intelligent, self-taught academic who mastered the toughest physical work of the era – cutting and shaping granite and slate. Daniel’s ability to master both hard physical labour and complex academia made him unique.
He shaped and prepared local stone for various construction projects including supplying granite for the regeneration of Liskeard Castle in 1749, and for a sundial at Trelaske House in 1760.
He remains famous for his ideas (his defiance, his philosophy) and his craft (the maps, the gravestone). He proved that eccentric brilliance could be found anywhere – even under a rock on a windswept moor.
He made his money with his hands and his mind, giving equal weight to the physical and the intellectual in his professional and private life.
Want the Full Story?
Daniel Gumb’s life was shaped by intense personal tragedy, losing his mother, two wives, and his baby daughter within a devastating four-year period. This sorrow was compounded by complex family dynamics that cost him his inheritance.
Through it all, Daniel showed remarkable resilience, channeling his energy into building an extraordinary life of intellectual freedom, leaving behind just a few clues as to his brilliance.
About us
This website has been created by one of Daniel Gumb’s direct descendants through his son John. It draws on extensive historical research including church records, County and Parish archives, estate maps, quarry leases, and with input from local historians. The story continues to evolve as new documents and information come to light.
Created in loving memory of Anthony George Gumb and Vera Monica Gumb (Moule) who inspired me to discover more about our Gumb ancestry.
Contact us
Are you connected to the Gumb family or do you have additional information about Daniel’s life?
We’re always interested in connecting with fellow researchers and relatives to expand our understanding of this remarkable Cornish figure.