As the project to reclaim the Old Harbour in Newlyn nears completion one final forging still needs to be made. Using wrought iron salvaged from old chain the final forging was finally carried out by Sanny Fey at Pencarn Forge, Canonstown near Hayle. The forging would be an exact copy pf the other handrail ends – known in the trade a a ‘monkey tail’.
The process begins with a length of round wrought iron. Counter-intuitively, the forger first has to estimate the length of bar needed and beat it into a square cross-section using a foot operated stamp. This is then put through the stamp again using it to beat along the length of each edge which then creates an eight-sided bar. That then allows each edge to be beaten again to form a round taper. Then its time to fire up the forge so that the tapered bar can be beaten into a curl – firstly using the anvil to begin the shaping repeatedly going back to the hot coals to stop the bar from cooling and then using a former held in a vice – all the time checking the curl of the monkey tail over the car template. JT Fabrications are due to weld on the end as they have done to the other refurbished handrails as ca be seen in the photo above.
Damaged in a severe storm last year, the 136 years old St Ives lugger Ripple has been brought alongside the Old Quay for repairs.
During storm Eowyn that blasted through Newlyn in January 2025 the Ripple lost her fore mast. Owner, John :ambourn then spent many months sourcing some suitable timber to repait the damaged mast while the boat lay against the North Pier in Newlyn. With the Old Quay refurbishment completed and with water and electricity available on the quay, John decided to bring the Ripple into the old harbour for a refit and the installation of the repaired mast.
With the advent of a big Spring tide this week, the boat was brought up ahead prior to the work being carried out.
Taking full advantage of the workboat Obervargh currently in the harbour lifting out the old quay fenders the boat was pressed into service to pick up the repaired mast from alongside the ice works.
The Obervagh headed for the old harbour an hour before high water at 7pm with the mast held aloft.
With highwater fast approaching and, despite the limited draft of the workboat, time was of the essence for skipper Jeremy to come alongside the Ripple and lower the mast in place.
Right on high water the mast was successfully lifted across the deck and above the mast step.
Where several willing hands help with the lowering of the mast in its final resting place.
The future of the Old Harbour is bright! Thanks to Nick Howell, a dedicated team of volunteers, and local tradespeople, the historic site is officially secure. With financial backing from NHPC and Historic England, this collaborative effort ensures that many more vital restoration projects will follow.
Next week will see an influx of classic sailing and work boats spending a few days in the Old Harbour before getting in festive mood at this year’s Sea, Salts & Sail Festival dpwn the coast in Mousehole!
Time and tide wait for no man, final restoration work almost complete!
Intro
Each of the three new quay ladders needs protecting from direct contact with boats. Two huge timber baulks are being fitted either side of each set of ladders. The baulks were transported from Sandy Cove across the foreshore to the Old Quay.
One of the main issues working in a tidal harbour – is the tide! All the gear is ready and waiting for the tide to drop sufficiently. A scaffolding tower allowed the engineers to work safely to fix the baulks in place between tides – which necessitated 6am starts on some days.
One the tide had dropped John in the swing shovel was able to position the timber baulks in place so that David and the team from JT Fabrications could get to work drilling fixing holes for the mounting plates.
The timber used is greenheart, a very dense hardwood – it doesn’t float – that will resist the attempts by the local gribble worm population to eat it fr many years to come!
Each ladder is now protected from scuffing by boats coming alongside the ladders.
A huge pot of molten tar provided the raw material to repair the surface of the parapet wall on the Old Quay that is covered in layer upon layer of tar that has dropped from masts and spars and fishing gear over centuries.
In places the Old Quay had been covered with tarmac around the early part of the 20th century from tarmac produced just up the road in Penlee Quarry. Tons of crushed recycled tarmac will be brushed into the surface to provide a flatter walking surface – in places over the years the setts on the surface of the Old Quay have dropped.
The final touches to the wrought iron had rails and posts have now been fitted to the access road and edge of the Old Quay. These will provide safer access to those a little unsteady on their feet on wet days!
Where possible, existing materials have been re-purposed in the work to make the old harbour more user friendly and encourage visitors to dally a while. In this case, the old hardwood fenders have been cut to size to provide a picnic bench and other quayside seats.
Finally, water and electricity supplies are now on tap from three bollards installed along the Old Quay. A quick call to the harbour office identifying which power supply socket is required is all that it takes to get up and running.
The old harbour now boasts two luggers and more are expected when Mousehole’s Sea, Salt & Sail Festival starts in the first week in July. The Cornish Maritime Trust who are now based in the Fishermen’s Rest in the Old Harbour are playing host to any visiting classic boats in the run-up to and after the festival
“Once upon a time you could look down on the channel between St. Clement’s Island and Mousehole Harbour and see one of the largest Cornish fleets of luggers, heading out to their fishing grounds. Sea Salts and Sail will re-enact that scene as over forty traditional boats with similar tanned sails, leave the port, tacking back and forth inside and around the island. This festival really reveals Mousehole’s close relationship with the sea. From kids paddling at low tide, sculling races, to the harbour packed full of historic vessels, it’s when the village really comes to life. It will be a very nostalgic scene whether you are a spectator on the shore or a participant under sail – be there! The best way to arrive is by classic boat, of course – I’ll be on the 40′ lugger Barnabas.”
Toby Floyer – Skipper of lugger Barnabas, 1881 St Ives mackerel driver (Cornish Maritime Trust)
Echoes on the Old Quay: A Musical Tribute to the Men of the Margaretha Maria
With nearly one thousand years of fishing history as a backdrop, what better place to record a song dedicated to fishermen? Dan Tolchard and Mark Richards using Dorian Arnold’s poignant adaptation put the song Band of Brothers to music and chose to perform the song at the end of the Old Quay as a fitting way to mark its release. With the fishing community being the tight-knit industry that is is, everyone involved has some connection with the loss of the beam trawler, Margaretha Maria that was the inspiration for the new arrangement. There is an additional video that provides more context and background to the story of the song and how it came to be recorded.
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 large edge stones in 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 forced upwards and outwards over the 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 used to fix the staples in place.
Next to be drilled and fitted were pins and rings to be used to moor larger historic vessels that will, in future, makes use of the restored harbour. This is one of several mooring rigs made from recycled wrought iron by the good folks at nearby Pencarn Forge.
This photo from Penlee House & Gallery shows just how busy the Old Quay was at times with the lugger fleet – note also the large two-masted schooner against the quay!. Later this year, Mousehole hosts its bi-annual Sea, Salts & 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 festival – so maybe we could see a sight like this again!
Using a similar photo as the basis for an AI animation to give some idea what the inside of the harbour would have been like in a sou’easterly storm – back when the south pier was a thing of the future!
