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Recently I was asked what early guide books had to say about Newlyn, on reflection the answer could only be very little. There are records of 17th and 18th century travels in Cornwall, but if Newlyn is mentioned it is usually just as ‘a little fishing village’. However, the picture below, c1800, suggests that the fields between Penzance and Newlyn provided opportunities for a rural walk despite the proximity of the Wherry Mine, on the right in this early print.
The earliest guide book to Mount’s Bay was written by a Dr Paris and published in 1816 by T. Vigurs of Penzance. Penzance had begun to become known as a watering place with a mild climate during the Napoleonic wars. Doctors were not able to suggest travels on the continent for patients and turned to the milder climate of Cornwall as a healthy alternative. Dr Paris wrote about the geology and flora of the area as well as topography, Newlyn has scant mention but the Newlyn fishwives fare rather better. Describing the Penzance market he writes:
Every description of fish in season is offered for sale by the Newlyn Fish-women, whose delicate complexions, and the vivacity and brilliancy of whose jet black eyes, darting their rays from beneath the shade of large beaver [felt] hats, fascinate the traveller.
Nearly 30 years later J. S. Courtney wrote the first official guide to Penzance. Consisting of 223 pages and a 90 page appendix only one paragraph is devoted to Newlyn:
The town of Newlyn contains nothing remarkable to attract attention, indeed with the exception of some pleasantly situated dwellings at its southern extremity, it is a confused assemblage of houses.
By 1890 the guide had reached its fifth edition and had started to resemble the guides we know today, a paperback of around 90 pages it includes several pages of advertisements and is illustrated with drawings. There are suggestions for walks and excursions in the area. By this time the promenade had been built and, as the then Vicar of Newlyn, Rev. W. S. Lach-Szyrma, had written a section of the guide, Newlyn is given greater prominence. In addition to the harbour, then in the process of being extended, there is St. Peter’s Church and Tolcarne to be visited.
A series called ‘Homeland Handbooks’ was started in 1915. My edition for 1926 has many more advertisements and information for the tourist. Local information includes details of rent and rates, train and bus travel. The 3rd class return fare from London in that year was £3.15s. 10p (£3.75p), this is expensive in comparison with wages at that time.
Guide books make fascinating reading and can often be found lurking in dusty corners of secondhand book shops. Some can be expensive, one such is ‘Excursions in Cornwall’ by F. W. L. Stockdale, described as a complete guide for the traveller and tourist, it was published in 1824. It is illustrated with fifty engravings and includes a map of the county. One sentence is allocated to Newlyn – on the Western side of Mount’s Bay, about a mile and a half from Penzance, is the small fishing town of Newlyn. Predictably perhaps, there is no picture.
Medieval bridge, Newlyn c1880
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