John Cecil (Chirgwin) Jenkin was born in May 1928 in the house opposite St. Peter’s Church. Born into a family with well-established roots in Newlyn extending back over several centuries, educated at Tolcarne School and Penzance Grammar School, he followed a career as a Radio Officer before training as a teacher in 1957.  Initially teaching in Dorset and Devon he came to Bodmin in 1975 as Head Teacher of St. Petroc’s C. of E. Junior School, retiring in 1990. Exiled from his native village he researched and gathered information from many sources about Newlyn past and present.
 

At some stage in his post retirement years he must have decided to gather all of this information together into a book.  This he duly did, producing, in 2002, a printing of just ten copies. Happily for local historians, myself included, he donated one of these to the Morrab Library where we had to go if we wanted to consult the book.  This is not the same as having your very own copy and, under pressure, the book, enlarged and copiously illustrated with colour and black/white photographs, has been reprinted.  I may well have headed the rush to get a copy.  This is a fascinating book, with well over 200 A4 size pages  (appendices and pages of photographs are not numbered) it can be approached from any angle.  If you want to read about shops, schools, the social scene in Newlyn in the early and mid 20th century you can easily find the chapters you need, as you can on any other aspect of village life.  If you want to know more about the past history of the village you will find it chronologically arranged in the early pages of the book. At a rough calculation I would estimate that there are approaching 150 photographs. There are hand drawn maps and much else. This is a book written by an insider, whether writing of school days, housing, or any other subject, as a reader you feel that you are seeing life as it really was, at least for a Street-an- Nowan resident.

 If you have recently moved to Newlyn and want to learn all you can about the village this book must be seen as essential reading.  It has equal appeal for long term residents and exiled Cornishmen.

Available directly from the author at Avalon, 6 Gilbert Road, Bodmin, Cornwall PL31 2BY (Tel: 01208 79115), price £26.50 +UK P&P £4.50.

Margaret Perry