Attention has now turned to the many small but significant restoration jobs that now need completing before signing off with Historic England at the end of the month. One of these is the pinning and pointing of the western slip.
This small slip gives access to the Old Quay from the south. In southerly storms it would have faced the full force of heavy seas which would have poured up the slip and into the old harbour causing huge problems for any vessels moored there. Despite all the protection from the south pier, built in 1884, some of the edge stones in the slip have become dislodged over the intervening years.
This close-up of one of the larger edge stones shows just how much it had moved over the years. Even with protection from the South pier there is a considerable storm surge in the harbour in severe conditions
The current work includes re-positing and stapling key stones in place – a method used elsewhere in the harbour to secure the integrity of the stonework for hundreds of years.
Many of the stones at the working end of the Old Quay have been stapled together to prevent being moved in storm conditions. As far as is known, the ones in the photo were put in place after the quay was repaired and lengthened in 1732.
Forged iron staples were made to fit four of the stones in the slip. Holes some 6 inches deep were drilled to accommodate the staples before they were put in place prior to the final fixing.
The stales will prevent the stones from moving and preserve the integrity of the slip.
The tangs of the staples were positioned and an epoxy filler was forced into the holes to fix the staples in place.
Next to be drilled and fitted were a number of pins with rings inside the harbour to be used to help moor the larger historic ships that will, in future, makes use of the restored harbour.
This photo from Penlee House & Gallery shows just how busy the Old Quay was at times with the lugger fleet in Newlyn – note also the large two-masted schooner against the quay!. Later this year Mousehole hosts the bi-annual Sea, Salt & Sail festival – the Cornwall Maritime Trust has extended a welcome to any vessels headed for Mousehole to make use of Newlyn before or after the their festival – so maybe we could see a sight like this again!
Using a similar photo as the basis for an AI animated version to give some idea what the conditions would have been like in a sou’easterly storm – back when the south pier was a thing of the future!