Exciting discovery down the Old Harbour!
With the bulk of the serious stone work completed on the Red Lion Slip and the Old Quay’s parapet the civil engineers have moved on to the Old Harbour access road. The early days of the restoration work saw volunteers in action removing years of weed and debris from the area.
These photos show the restoration work back in January 2025 when volunteers helped clear away decades of weed growth, buddleia and accumulated soil.
Ivy and other plants were undermining the integrity of the stone work – they were also helping to hide from view some key information about the construction history of the harbour – but more of that later!
This was the surface of the access road at the time of commencement – a patchwork of tarmac and concrete repairs and wear and tear representing decades of ongoing maintenance to keep the Old Quay accessible.
The lower section of the access road had been repaired several times with tarmac to stabilise the surface. Underneath, there appeared to be a more substantial layer of well-worn stones.
These photos shows the surface of the access road at the top where it sweeps round the bend below the cottages. The deep central channel would indicate that in this area the surface was just infill rather than stone setts. There is a deep channel visible in both photos which would indicate that the access road surface was worn away through usage and the channeling of rain water running off Fore Street. The left hand image was taken before the cliff face below the Red Lion was reinforced with a granite retaining wall which is clearly visible in the right hand image.
Both images reveal just how worn the access road was around 100 years ago after years of fishermen’s boots, donkeys, horses and carts used it to access the Old Quay.
Historic England provided guidance on the next stage of the project and it was decided to remove the layers of concrete and tarmac before taking a decision on how best to make good the surface to maintain safe access in the future.
Top right and right: The old tarmac was broken up and removed
With the contractors from Symons now able to focus on reinstating on the access road the remaining surface was scraped down using a swing shovel. It became apparent to the masons that there was a very obvious edge feature to the huge flat stones that they had now revealed. Immediately, an archaeologist and architect from Historic England were called in to assess the findings. Their conclusion matched what the masons had thought – that this was the edge of a much older access road down to the Old Quay.
The masons also pointed out that the infill in the older section contained a lot of ochre coloured clay soil – just the same as had been discovered when re-pointing the parapet wall last year. This would suggest that they were completed around the same time as the infill between the newly discovered edge and the outside edge does not contain clay soil at all.
Their conclusion matched what the masons had thought – that this was the edge of a much older access road down to the Old Quay. The style of the stonework in the outer, newer edge is very different to the earlier as can be seen in the lower left photo.
Above: Some of the edge stones still bear traces of tar running down the faces. If you look carefully, surface tar is a feature found all over the Old Quay, a material used in its molten state by fishermen to protect nets and wood rotting from fresh water.
Left: Further advice from Historic England gave the masons the go-ahead to excavate between the old and new edges. It became even more clear that this was indeed the edge of the earlier access road.
Evidence that the access road was widened has become increasingly apparent upon inspection of the retaining wall. Now cleared of decades of ivy and overgrowth, the structure reveals several distinct masonry styles. Notably, the left-hand section lacks the skilled craftsmanship found throughout the rest of the harbor walls—offering clear proof that this portion is a relatively modern addition.
Left: Closer inspection of the walls also reveals evidence that the stones used in the ‘new’ retaining wall were recycled. Many bear traces of tar as can be seen elsewhere on stonework in the harbour.
Right: However, closer inspection reveals that the tar runs in both horizontal and vertical directions, a sure sign they were previously used in a wall where fishermen maintained their fishing gear and boats.
Both photos show stones in the retaining wall of the access road. Some stones are entirely devoid of tar, others quite clearly show where molten tar has run across the surface – yet some of these clearly show the tar running in a horizontal direction – proof that they were previously from a much older wall.
Overlooking the access road stands a retaining wall, constructed by the Penzance Council in the 1950s. This structure followed the demolition of local cottages and fish stores—a project designed to widen Fore Street for improved safety and navigation. The expansion was specifically driven by the increasing volume and scale of HGV traffic transporting stone from Penlee Quarry.
Much of the wall’s material was likely salvaged from the razed cottages that once occupied the site of the current grass embankment. Interestingly, these stones still bear traces of a common local practice: applying tar to the lower three feet of a building to ward off dampness. This traditional weatherproofing remains a visible architectural quirk in the area today, often preserved through the use of black paint on external walls.
At the same time, work has begun on making good the surface at the top of the access road. This proving a challenge as the concreted section is made of blue elvan grit – and, as any local builder will tell you, it creates the hardest form of concrete known to man.
Right: You can just see the line of granite stones that helped protect the cottage wall from cart wheels coming down the access road. They too have tar on their outside facing edge.
Below: Blue elvan granite chipping concrete challenges even the biggest hammer drills.
The top section has now been removed and re-concreted and now includes a channel which drains into the harbour and prevents water during heavy rain running across the access road.
With a base layer of aggregate and concrete used to fill in the trench, work has now begun to replace the missing sections with salvaged granite and blue elvan stones. In some places, missing stones have been located and re-fitted.
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The same section a few days apart – much of the old layer has now been re-instated with stone retrieved from around the harbour.
