At the Boathouse, August 2017

Above: A morning at the archive. Visitors with Maurice Bishop, Dave Barron and Sean Perrott.

So much has happened since the last posting in June. The Boathouse is now open to the public Tuesday-Friday (four mornings) from 9.30-12 o’clock, thanks to our generous landlords the Newlyn Harbour Commissioners. We opened with a beautiful new carpet, a suitable blue for the Admiralty Boathouse, provided courtesy of Alfred Smith, Penzance who gave us the carpet and sent a wonderful team to fit and lay it. Our opening events have been successful, thanks to the generosity of Heritage Lottery.

Since we opened our committed team of archive volunteers have provided a super service to old Friends of the Archive and newcomers many of whom have become Friends of the Archive. We still have a lot of work to do. When the chimney is sorted at the back of the room we can move the rest of the archive cabinets down. When we have got a water supply and drain working under the stairs we can be more generous in offering tea and coffee. But progress has been miraculous.

Most recently, Frank Iddiols came to the Boathouse (on Wednesday 23 August 2017 at 12 noon) to present the Ordnance Survey Flush Bracket that he has mounted for the Archive (see picture above). It is now placed inside the front door of the Boathouse about 2′ off the ground, as is appropriate. He will now inform Ordnance Survey and update the bench mark database. David Tredinnick presented this bench mark to the archive and it represents 100 years of Newlyn history. Do come and have a look at the bench mark.

As well as opening on our usual mornings we will be open on Bank Holiday Monday from 9.30 until 4 o’clock to coincide with the Newlyn Fish Festival. The entrance to the Fish Festival is just past the Boathouse. Do drop in to see us before enjoying the excitement of the Fish Festival.

We will soon be distributing the poster for our next Open Day at Trinity Centre on Saturday September 2, 2017 10-3.00. Called ‘The people who made the harbour at Newlyn’ it traces the history of the harbour and its designers, builders, commissioners, harbour masters, fish dealers and fishermen from earliest times until the building of the Mary Williams Pier and the new Fish Market. Please put this date in your diary.