Work to re-surface the Red Lion slip with granite setts is nearing completion.  In all, over 350 sq metres of cut and dressed stone supplied by Cornwall Granite Supplies has been delivered on site. the team from Symons Construction are nearing the end of the work to restore and improve access via the Red Lion slip to the inner harbour area.

Once the new stone setts have been installed attention will be turned to completing repairs planned for the wrought iron handrail that runs the length of the slip. 

The steps are now revealed

While clearing overgrown vegetation, the centuries old access steps from the edge of the Red Lion slip were revealed.  The steps are simply long granite stones that stick out from the side of the slip wall – styles with steps like this are a common site in Cornish hedges.  The lowest of the four stone steps appeared to have been broken off at sometime. Since then it has come to light that the step fell into the harbour in the 1980s – as witnessed by two young fishermen who recalled the day it happened. Over recent months many individual granite stones have been cleared from in and around the Old Quay – it is hoped that one of these is the missing step and can be replaced!

With the scaffolding in place courtesy of Sedgemans, local building contractors who rcently completed reairs to the South Pier moved on site to begin work on the Old Quay’s parapet wall. Until the South Pier was completed in 1887, the Old Quay was subject, over the centuries, to every severe southery storm that hit Newlyn. Severe storms overtopping the wall have seen most of the original lime pointing washed away. After volunteers  removed tons of growth earlier in the year, the team from Symons, using a traditional 3-1 mix of coarse sand to lime have been busy re-pointing the parapet wall and top. Although mild for most of the time, December weather saw some days when work was carried out under heavy showers and gale force winds.

Remarkable progress has been made down the Old Harbour!

With the scaffolding successfully erected surrounding the Old Quay parapet wall the stage was set for the stone and restoration contractors to swing into action.

Monday morning saw the arrival of two teams from Symons Construction whose job is is to lay new granite sets down the Red Lion slip and re-point the parapet wall on the Old Quay.

The week started with temperatures above average and sunshine, by mid-week the temperature had plummeted to just above freezing and driving rain followed  by two chilly days of blue skies.

In that time, the parapet’s facing wall was pointed and the groundwork all but completed for the Red Lion slip in prepartion for laying the granite setts that were delivered on Wednesday.

Iain, Torsen and Marcus are the the guys mixing the lime mortar and wielding the trowels on the parapet wall.