Restoration Blog
Restoration information, news and photos
A step in the right direction.
Once the new ladder ironwork has had the mounts fixed in place, the ladders will go away to have a three-part protective finish applied using the same technology that protects wind farm platforms. In the meantime, two more ironwork jobs remain. The repair of damaged...
Reviving the Old Harbour
The harbour, first recorded in the 11th century, in its current form dates to rebuilding in the 1730s. The current structure is identified as belonging to a collection of similarly constructed quays dating to the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The distinguishing characteristic of quays of this period in south and west Cornwall is the use of a distinctive engineering tradition of vertically coursed battered drystone masonry, probably developed from and related to smaller scale Cornish hedging techniques. Pounded by heavy seas the vertically laid stones channeled the force of the water upwards thereby reducing the impact on the overall defensive structure.
Breathing New Life into Newlyn’s Old Harbour
Breathing New Life into Newlyn’s Old Harbour The first stage of restoring Newlyn’s historic Old Harbour has been successfully completed, with years of overgrowth cleared from the slips. This essential step paves the way for the next phase of the project:...
Worn through and corroded ironwork removed
Beginning the return of safe and sound moorings and quay ladders. Over the years, wrought iron staples have been used to hold capping stones together Corroded mooring ring removed Corroded rings romoved Corroded ladder romeoved All the dangerously corroded metalwork...
Newlyn Association member Jeanette Ratcliffe
As a proud member of the Newlyn Association, a Councillor for Newlyn, Mousehole, and Paul, and a Newlyn native born and raised in the heart of the fishing community, I hold deep connections to our harbour and its traditions. Growing up, the Old Harbour was a vibrant...
Clearing growth from the shingle
Years of weed growth and rubbishScraped and riddled shingle
Scraping back the old quay surface
Before After scraping back
Scraping back reveals missing granite stones
Before the excavation it was hoped that years of weed growth was hiding the original granite stonework. But, as can be seen here the granite has long since been removed - probably around the time the oroginal old harbour parapet wall was removed in the 1940s and '50s!