November News 2015

The amazing picture of St Mary’s Church photographed by Vaughan T Paul after the thunderstorm of 4/8/1899 shows work in progress to replace over 100 small panes of glass in the five southern windows which were broken. The Great Storms is the title of the first Newlyn Archive Open Day in 2016 which will be held at Trinity Centre, Chywoone Hill on Saturday 13th February 2016. DO PUT THE DATE IN YOUR DIARY.

2015 was a tremendous year for the archive and we ended the year with the 6th Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the Newlyn Archive on Saturday November 7th 2015 at 6pm followed by an evening entertainment held at the Newlyn Art Gallery who generously provided the accommodation. The following Friends were elected to the committee for 2015-2016: David Tredinnick (chairperson), Ron Hogg (treasurer), Amanda Thompson (secretary), Tom Lodge (deputy chairperson), Diane Tredinnick (membership secretary), Jay Coleman, Diane Donohue, Anne Forrest (to liase with the Lamorna Society), Andrew Gordon, Denny Harvey, Linda Holmes and Jean Lodge. Margaret Follows was co-opted for school liaison. The honorary archivist Pam Lomax remains an ex officio member of the Committee. Reports were received from the chairman, the treasurer and the honorary archivist.

At the end of the meeting Friend of the Archive John Lambourn talked about The Journal of Henry Kelynack which was amongst the material passed to the Archive by the Newlyn Harbour Master, Rob Parsons.

The journal covered a voyage Henry Kelynack made as a signed on crew member of the ‘Queen of the West’. The voyage started at Penzance on June 2, 1851 and finished at Penzance on February 15, 1852. Henry Kelynack recorded details of the weather, sail changes, work activities, cargo handled, navigation aspects such as land seen, speed of the vessel and sights taken with sextants. From the journal it was possible to deduce that the ‘Queen of the West’ was a topsail schooner. The journal was a remarkable achievement on Henry Kelynack’s part as he was only 18 at the time.

John Lambourn’s research at Truro Records office revealed records of the ‘Queen of the West’ registered at Penzance as a two masted schooner, 79 feet in length, 13 feet breadth, 159 tons, square-sterned, with a female figurehead. It was built October 16, 1848 at Newport Monmouthshire and lost in the Mediterranean on November 10, 1860. In keeping with all registered vessels its ownership was in 64 shares which were held by: Thomas Roberts Iron founder (12 shares); Abraham Roberts Gentleman (12 shares); Stephen Tregarthen Master from the parish of Paul (16 shares); Mary Moore Spinster from Liverpool (8 shares); William Gambell Sailmaker from Liverpool (8 shares); John Young and John Cook Ship builders from Newport (8 shares).

The ‘Queen of the West’ loaded ballast for Cadiz where it was discharged into a barge and loaded salt and barrels of olives for Buenos Aires where this was discharged and a cargo of tallow, hides and bones was loaded for Penzance. This might seem an unlikely cargo but Penzance was very active in trading and manufacturing in the past. There were at least two tanneries in Penzance, one of them at Chyandour owned by the Bolithos. The bones were used to produce many things which we now make of plastic i.e. buttons, cutlery handles etc. The tallow was much needed as a lubricant and other things which our oil industry now provides. Every axle every cog needs lubricant. In the past there were traders known as tallow chandlers. Newlyn and Penzance had very industrious pasts, we tend to think it was all mining, fishing and farming but there was a lot more to it than that.

After the AGM the usual evening of entertainment titled Cark, Byes, Cags and Callamarks was provided for Friends of the Newlyn Archive. The entertainment and a quiz, which had been organised by Andrew Gordon, was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone, not least because of Andrew’s showmanship and sterling readings from David and Diane Tredinnick, Liz Harman, Dave Barron and Tom Lodge. A highlight of the evening was Jay
Coleman who played the guitar and sang three songs that told stories of Newlyn’s past. If you are not a friend of the archive, it is worth joining just to get along to the annual entertainment!