- Newlyn
-
Not to be confused with Newlyn East or Newlyn, Victoria.
Coordinates: 50°06′03″N 5°33′09″W / 50.1008°N 5.5525°W
Newlyn Cornish: Lulynn 
Newlyn
Newlyn shown within CornwallPopulation 21,168 (Civil Parish, 2001) OS grid reference SW460283 Parish Penzance Unitary authority Cornwall Ceremonial county Cornwall Region South West Country England Sovereign state United Kingdom Post town PENZANCE Postcode district TR18 Dialling code 01736 Police Devon and Cornwall Fire Cornwall Ambulance South Western EU Parliament South West England UK Parliament St Ives List of places: UK • England • Cornwall Newlyn (Cornish: Lulynn) is a town and fishing port in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.[1]
Newlyn forms a conurbation with the neighbouring town of Penzance and is part of Penzance civil parish. The principal industry in Newlyn is fishing.
Contents
Toponymy
The settlement is recorded as Nulyn in 1279 and as Lulyn in 1290, and the name is thought to be derived from the Cornish for "pool for a fleet of boats".[2]
History
Before the rise of Newlyn as an important settlement the landing rights and most property within the Newlyn area were owned by the Manor of Alverton. Newlyn's history has been strongly linked to its role as a major fishing port. The natural protection afforded by the Gwavas Lake (an area of seawater in Mounts Bay) led to many local fishermen using this area as a preferred landing site.[3]. Newlyn harbour is first recorded in 1435 by the Bishop of Exeter; later large scale improvements to the harbour led to Newlyn becoming the predominant fishing port in Mounts Bay.
Before the 19th century "Newlyn" referred only to the area near the old quay. The part of the village which now contains the fish market was known as "Streetanowan", this was separated at high tide from "Newlyn Town" the site of the lower part of the modern harbour being reclaimed land and formerly a beach.[4]
Before the 1890s Newlyn (like Mousehole) had strong connections with the nearby parish of Paul. It was common for villagers to climb the relatively steep route from "Newlyn Cliff" to Paul via the area which is now known as Gwavas to worship at Paul Church. Until the mid twentieth century an ancient stone cross was present on this route at "Park an Grouse" (The Field of the Cross), this cross was one site of veneration of the Cornish sea deity Bucca, (others were the beaches of Newlyn and Mousehole) the name 'Bucca' has often been used as a nickname for people resident in Newlyn: the location of the cross is now unknown.[5]
Early history
The Spanish Raid of 1595 destroyed Penzance, Mousehole and Paul as well as Newlyn.
In 1620 the Mayflower stopped off at Newlyn old quay to take on water.[6] A plaque on the quay reads:-
In memory of Bill Best-Harris, historian who through rigorous research found that the Mayflower docked in Newlyn Harbour for fresh water as the water supplied in Plymouth was contaminated. Therefore Newlyn was the last port of call in UK for the Mayflower.
In 1755 the Lisbon earthquake caused a tsunami to strike the Cornish coast over 600 miles away. The sea rose ten feet in ten minutes at Newlyn, and ebbed at the same rate. The 19th century French writer, Arnold Boscowitz, claimed that "great loss of life and property occurred upon the coasts of Cornwall".[7]
Newlyn was the home of William Lovett a leader of the Chartist movement. During the 19th century Newlyn was the scene of the Newlyn riots following protests over the landing of fish on a Sunday by fishermen from the north of England, the local Cornish fishermen being members of the Methodist church and as such strong supporters of sabbatarianism. in the 1880s a number of artists flocked to to the town and opened an artists' colony.[8]
A map of the town from 1946 showing the tidal observatory
Modern history
In 1915 the Ordnance Survey tidal observatory was established in the harbour and for the next six years measurements of tidal height were taken every 15 minutes.[9]
In 1937 the fishing vessel Rosebud sailed to London to deliver a petition to the Minister of Health on behalf of those villagers whose homes were threatened under the government's slum clearance scheme.
During World War II Newlyn was a base for the Air Sea Rescue craft covering the Western Approaches. The harbour was bombed during the war, hitting the collier 'Greenhithe', which was beached in the harbour at the time and supplied coal to the east coast drifters, which traveled to Newlyn during the mackerel fishing season between the wars.[10] Reporting the event on the Germany Calling propaganda broadcast Lord Haw-Haw announced that the Luftwaffe had sunk a British cruiser in Newlyn harbour.
Geography
Newlyn is located in southern Cornwall, just south of Penzance. It lies along the B3315 road which connects it to Land's End. Gwavas is a residential council estate on the outskirts of the village.[11]Paul and Mousehole lie to the south.
The Ordnance Survey, the United Kingdom's mapping agency, used to base all elevations including mapped contour lines and spot heights on the mean sea level at Newlyn defined by this benchmark (see Ordnance Datum Newlyn).[12]The mean sea level data was calculated from hourly readings of the sea level between 1 May 1915 and 30 April 1921.[12]
Economy
Newlyn HarbourNewlyn's economy is largely dependent on its harbour and the associated fishing industry; Newlyn harbour is the largest fishing port in England.[13]. The port was a major catcher of pilchard until the 1960s. Today, a few vessels have resumed pilchard fishing and use a modern version of the ring net. The largest vessels are beam trawlers owned by W. S. Stevenson and Sons, one of Cornwall's largest fish producers;[14] most of the other vessels are owned by their skippers. The company based in the Old Pilchard Works today are major supplies of Cornish sardines and mixed species fish.[13]
Because of Newlyn's association with the creative arts there are also a number of artists and art galleries that are established in the area.
Notable landmarks
The UK National Tidal and Sea Level Facility (NTSLF) maintains a tidal observatory at Newlyn, and the UK Fundamental Benchmark is maintained there.[15]
Newlyn was made famous in the 1880s and 1890s for its Newlyn School artists' colony, including the painters Thomas Cooper Gotch, Albert Chevallier Tayler and Henry Scott Tuke. The current largest collection of work by the Newlyn School is held by Penlee House Gallery and Museum in nearby Penzance. Newlyn is the home of Newlyn Art Gallery [3] which houses a collection of modern art.
Between 1970 and 1983, Troika Pottery, an art pottery studio, was based in Newlyn.
Several inns lie along the harbor front including The Smugglers,[16] Harbour View Guesthouse, The Red Lion Inn and The Crown Inn.
Local government
For the purposes of local government, Newlyn is part of the Penzance Civil Parish and returns 5 councillors to Penzance Town Council. The principal local authority in the area is Cornwall Council.
Notable residents
- Margeret Freethy
- Sir Terry Frost, artist [4]
- Thomas Cooper Gotch
- Robert Hichens
- Charles Holroyd
- Bo Jeffares, author & artist[citation needed]
- W. S. Lach-Szyrma, clergyman and scholar
- William Lovett, political agitator
- John Pearson (artist)
- Brenda Wootton, singer
- Allan G. Wyon, artist
- Aidan Smith, Astronaut
See also
References
- ^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 Land's End ISBN 9780319231487
- ^ Mills, A. D.. The Popular Dictionary of English Place-Names. Parragon Book Service Ltd & Magpie Books. p. 241. ISBN 0752518518.
- ^ "The Harbour". http://members.tripod.com/vingoe/Henry%20of%20St%20Just%20Line.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
- ^ Morrab Library Archives
- ^ Hardie, Melissa (June 1995). 100 years in Newlyn: diary of a gallery. Hypatia Publications. p. 18. ISBN 9781872229225. http://books.google.com/books?id=C6R_4AYYlHoC&pg=PP18. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ Newlyn Art Gallery
- ^ "Timeline of Cornish History - The Lisbon Earthquake". http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/index.cfm/index.cfm?articleid=5772.
- ^ Cherry, Deborah (1993). Painting women: Victorian women artists. Routledge. p. 183. ISBN 9780415060530. http://books.google.com/books?id=i9wNAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA183. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ "Newlyn Tidal Observatory". http://www.pol.ac.uk/ntslf/tgi/ntobs.html.
- ^ Pool, Peter A. S. (1974). The history of the town and borough of Penzance. Corporation of Penzance. http://books.google.com/books?id=YmiAAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ [1] Cornwall Council online mapping. Retrieved June 2010
- ^ a b Lee, E. Mark; Clark, Alan R. (20 June 2002). Investigation and management of soft rock cliffs. Thomas Telford. p. 312. ISBN 9780727729859. http://books.google.com/books?id=HKNXpSmupm0C&pg=PA312. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ a b "The Pilchard Works". http://www.pilchardworks.co.uk/. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ Key British enterprises: Britain's top 50,000 companies. Dun & Bradstreet. February 1994. p. 606. ISBN 9780901491718. http://books.google.com/books?id=PZAcAQAAMAAJ. Retrieved 28 May 2011.
- ^ [2] National Tidal and Sea Level Facility website. Retrieved June 2010
- ^ Welcome The Smugglers]
External links
Categories:- Towns in Cornwall
- Ports and harbours of Cornwall
- Fishing communities in England
- Populated coastal places in Cornwall
- Penzance and Newlyn
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