Hayle
Encyclopedia
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. It is situated at the mouth of the Hayle River (which discharges into St Ives Bay
St Ives Bay
St Ives Bay is a bay on the Atlantic coast of north-west Cornwall in the United Kingdom. It is in the form of a shallow crescent, some 4 miles or 6 km across, between St Ives in the west and Godrevy Head in the east....
) and is approximately seven miles (11 km) northeast of Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
. The name derives from the Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
heyl, meaning estuary.
Hayle parish was created in 1888 from part of the now defunct Phillack
Phillack
Phillack is a village in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately one mile northeast of Hayle and half-a-mile inland from St Ives Bay on Cornwall's Atlantic coast...
parish, with which it was later combined in 1935, and incorporated part of St Erth
St Erth
St Erth is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom.The village is situated four miles southeast of St Ives and six miles northeast of Penzance....
in 1937. The modern parish shares boundaries with St Ives
St Ives, Cornwall
St Ives is a seaside town, civil parish and port in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town lies north of Penzance and west of Camborne on the coast of the Celtic Sea. In former times it was commercially dependent on fishing. The decline in fishing, however, caused a shift in commercial...
to the west, St Erth
St Erth
St Erth is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom.The village is situated four miles southeast of St Ives and six miles northeast of Penzance....
to the south, Gwinear
Gwinear-Gwithian
Gwinear–Gwithian is a coastal civil parish in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It includes the villages of Connor Downs, Gwinear, Gwithian, Reawla and Rosewarne...
and Gwithian
Gwithian
beach2Gwithian is a coastal village in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated three miles northeast of Hayle and four miles east of St Ives, Cornwall across St Ives Bay....
in the east, and is bounded to the north by the Celtic Sea
Celtic Sea
The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the south coast of Ireland bounded to the east by Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as well as adjacent portions of Wales, Cornwall, Devon, and Brittany...
.
Early history
Although there is a long history of settlement in the Hayle EstuaryHayle Estuary
The Hayle Estuary is an estuary in west Cornwall, United Kingdom.The estuary of the River Hayle consists of a main channel, with several other nearby tidal areas, including Lelant Saltings, Copperhouse Creek and Carnsew Pool ....
area dating from the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, the modern town of Hayle was built predominantly during the 18th century industrial revolution
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and technology had a profound effect on the social, economic and cultural conditions of the times...
. Evidence of Iron Age
Iron Age
The Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
settlement exists at the fort on the hill above Carnsew Pool where the Plantation now stands. It is thought that Hayle, was an important centre for the neolithic
Neolithic
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
tin industry, trading not only Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and Breton people
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
, but also the Phoenicians of the eastern Mediterranean. Evidence of this comes from finds of imported pottery including Romano/Grecian Amphorae - containers for wine and oil.
Although the Romans
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
never fully conquered Cornwall they did, perhaps, have a presence in the Hayle Estuary, and it is thought that the rectangular churchyard at St. Uny's Church, Lelant
St. Uny's Church, Lelant
St Uny's Church, Lelant, is the Church of England parish church of Lelant, Cornwall, England, UK. It is dedicated to St Uny who is also the patron saint of Redruth....
on the western shore of the estuary is built within the outline of a Roman fort.
In those times the estuary looked a lot different from that of today. It appears that estuary was deeper and it was possible for boats to go up the River Hayle
River Hayle
The River Hayle is a small river in west Cornwall, UK which issues into St Ives Bay at Hayle on Cornwall's Atlantic coast.The River Hayle is approx 12 miles long and it rises south-west of Crowan village. Its course is west for approx 5 miles...
as far as where St. Erth Bridge is now situated; the tide used to flow in and out of what is now Foundry Square in the town, and at Gwithian
Gwithian
beach2Gwithian is a coastal village in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated three miles northeast of Hayle and four miles east of St Ives, Cornwall across St Ives Bay....
reached inland some considerable distance toward Connor Downs
Connor Downs
Connor Downs is a village in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately two miles east of Hayle.The village straddles the old course of the A30 road but has now been bypassed. Facilities include a school , a petrol station and a fish-and-chip shop....
.
The departure of the Romans was followed by an influx of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
missionaries, most of whom are said to have had Irish origins and after whom many Cornish towns take their present name.
Inscribed stones
A number of inscribed stones from this period have been found in the area. Two early stones have been found at Phillack
Phillack
Phillack is a village in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately one mile northeast of Hayle and half-a-mile inland from St Ives Bay on Cornwall's Atlantic coast...
, one bearing a 'Constantine' form of a Chi-Rho cross which may date to the 5th Century. The most noteworthy inscribed stone is one uncovered during the construction of a road in the grounds of Carnsew, and is now set into a bank at The Plantation, a public park.
The stone was discovered in December 1843 by workmen, lying in a horizontal position at the depth of four feet. When the stone was moved it broke into three parts. A Mr Harvey had it fixed into the wall of his path on Carnsew cliff, within a few feet of the spot where it was discovered, and added a more recent replica which lies next to it, where it has remained since. The stone bears an inscription in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, but it is now unreadable. The version that appears on the replica is translated as "Here Cenui fell asleep who was born in 500. Here in his tomb he lies, he lived 33 years." However, in her discussion of this inscription Elisabeth Okasha passes over this transcription in silence, and mentions only three early drawings of this inscription and the results of more recent inspections, then tentatively offers her translation: "Here in peace has rested Cunatdo [or Cunaide]. Here he lies in the tomb. He lived for 33 years."
Conclusion
The lives of Saint Samson
Samson of Dol
Saint Samson of Dol was a Christian religious figure who is counted among the seven founder saints of Brittany. Born in southern Wales, he died in Dol-de-Bretagne, a small town in north Brittany.-Life:...
and Saint Petroc
Saint Petroc
Saint Petroc is a 6th century Celtic Christian saint. He was born in Wales but primarily ministered to the Britons of Dumnonia which included the modern counties of Devon , Cornwall , and parts of Somerset and Dorset...
report that both saints arrived in Cornwall at the Hayle Estuary, indicating that it was an established port at least by the 6th century. While physical and documentary evidence indicates that the port continued to be of importance through the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, it was the Industrial Revolution that saw the town and port of Hayle grow to resemble the town as seen today.
Medieval period
The Domesday survey in 1086 shows that the town of Hayle was not yet in existence. The manor of Connerton ("Conarditone") is recorded as including the Hayle Estuary with the manor centred on Conerton, close to the present day village of Gwithian. This was held by the King and was the headmanor of the hundred of Penwith. It is from Conerton that the name of the present day settlement of Connor DownsConnor Downs
Connor Downs is a village in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately two miles east of Hayle.The village straddles the old course of the A30 road but has now been bypassed. Facilities include a school , a petrol station and a fish-and-chip shop....
is derived. A number of scattered farmsteads are recorded but no substantial settlement. By the 13th century Conerton was owned by the Arundel
Arundel
Arundel is a market town and civil parish in the South Downs of West Sussex in the south of England. It lies south southwest of London, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester. Other nearby towns include Worthing east southeast, Littlehampton to the south and Bognor Regis to...
family until it was purchased by the Cornish Copper Company in the early 19th century.
The first documentary evidence of any settlements around the Hayle Estuary is in 1130 when Phillack Church and surrounding dwellings were recorded as "Egloshayle", meaning the church (eglos) on the estuary (heyl), with the church being dedicated originally to St Felec
Felec of Cornwall
Saint Felec or Felix of Cornwall was an obscure 5th or 6th century British saint active in the country's south-western peninsula. Saint Felix was said to have had the miraculous gift of being able to communicate with lions, cats, and other feline creatures. The church at Phillack, near Hayle is...
(as appears in a 10th century Vatican
Vatican Library
The Vatican Library is the library of the Holy See, currently located in Vatican City. It is one of the oldest libraries in the world and contains one of the most significant collections of historical texts. Formally established in 1475, though in fact much older, it has 75,000 codices from...
codex), from where it is believed the name Phillack was derived. At some point in the 17th century, Felec (a male) was mistaken for Saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
Felicitas of Rome
Felicitas of Rome
Felicitas of Rome is a saint numbered among the Christian martyrs. Apart from her name, the only thing known for certain about this martyr is that she was buried in the Cemetery of Maximus, on the Via Salaria on a 23 November. However, a legend presents her as the mother of the seven martyrs whose...
(a female).
The first recorded mention of Hayle proper is in 1265 but it would seem even then the settlement was little more than a few dwellings and scattered farms.
Industrial revolution
Hayle was initially a coal importing and ore exporting port but Hayle was initially dwarfed by nearby AngarrackAngarrack
Angarrack is a village in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the parish of Gwinear-Gwithian two miles east of Hayle....
, where a tin smelter was built in 1704 and mills and stamps converted/constructed to process the ore. Hayle's role was simply to serve as a convenient point to land coal from South Wales, which was then taken to Angarrack by mule. In 1710 a copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
and tin
Tin
Tin is a chemical element with the symbol Sn and atomic number 50. It is a main group metal in group 14 of the periodic table. Tin shows chemical similarity to both neighboring group 14 elements, germanium and lead and has two possible oxidation states, +2 and the slightly more stable +4...
smelter was built at Mellanear Farm on the Mellanear stream which prospered for many years
Perhaps the first major development at Hayle was the construction of the first modern quay by John "Merchant" Curnow, in the 1740s, to service the growing mining industry. In 1758 the Cornish Copper Company (CCCo) moved from Camborne
Camborne
Camborne is a town and civil parish in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is at the western edge of a conurbation comprising Camborne, Pool and Redruth....
and set up a copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
smelter at Ventonleague (Copperhouse Creek) and this proved very successful, so much so that a canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
was built to bring vessels right up to the works and additional land was purchased on both sides of the creek for industrial use and providing housing for the workers.
The smelting process generated large amounts of waste. The copper slag was cast into large heavy dark bricks or "Scoria Blocks" which were to prove a very useful building material which were used and re-used in the town and can be seen in many buildings. The blocks were sold at 9d (about 3p) for 20 and given free to employees of the CCCo to build their own houses. Sea Lane or Black Road (and Black Bridge) as it is now known was built using these and waste used to fill in the upper reaches of Copperhouse Creek creating Wilson's Pool and dividing it from Copperhouse Pool. Copperhouse Pool was subsequently modified to serve as a tidal reservoir both to allow ships to travel up as far as the dock, (where the Co-op supermarket now stands), and to flush or sluice the channel to keep it clear of sand and silt.
In 1779 John Harvey
John Harvey (ironfounder)
John Harvey was a Cornishman whose career started as a blacksmith and engineer at Carnhell Green near Hayle, in West Cornwall. In 1779 he established a foundry and engineering works at Hayle called Harvey & Co. By 1800 the company employed more than 50 people and continued to grow as Harvey worked...
, a blacksmith
Blacksmith
A blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
from nearby Carnhell Green
Carnhell Green
Carnhell Green is a hamlet in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately three miles southwest of Camborne at ....
, established a small foundry
Foundry
A foundry is a factory that produces metal castings. Metals are cast into shapes by melting them into a liquid, pouring the metal in a mold, and removing the mold material or casting after the metal has solidified as it cools. The most common metals processed are aluminum and cast iron...
and engineering works in the area, now known as Foundry, to supply the local mining industry. The business flourished and by 1800 employed more than 50 people. It went from strength to strength through both professional and family partnerships with a series of great engineers and entrepreneurs, including Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick
Richard Trevithick was a British inventor and mining engineer from Cornwall. His most significant success was the high pressure steam engine and he also built the first full-scale working railway steam locomotive...
, William West and Arthur Woolf, giving the firm a level of expertise unmatched in Cornwall. The firm of Harvey & Co is probably best remembered for producing beam engine
Beam engine
A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newcomen around 1705 to remove water from mines in Cornwall...
s, considered as some of the finest ever built, which not only served in Cornish mines but were exported worldwide. It also produced a range of products ranging from hand tools to ocean going ships, including the SS Cornubia
SS Cornubia (ship)
The SS Cornubia was built in Hayle, Cornwall, by Harvey & Co. in 1858 as a packet ship and ferry for the Hayle Steam Packet Company. Sleek and painted white, with two funnels mounted close together amidships and with a high bridge over her paddle wheels, she plied the Hayle/St Ives to Bristol route...
and the world's first steam-powered rock boring machine.
As Harvey's and the Cornish Copper Company continued to thrive, the rivalry between the two grew into open hostility. Disputes regularly erupted over access to the sea as The Cornish Copper Company controlled the dock and the tidal sluice which they had built at Copperhouse. Harveys acted to break the Cornish Copper Company's monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
by constructing their own harbour by deepening Penpol Creek and building a dock. They even constructed their own tidal reservoir and sluice by creating Carnsew Pool. Harvey's operated a "Company Store policy" forcing workers to buy their provisions from Harvey's Emporium and prohibiting the development of any independent shops. When this policy was finally brought to an end a number of shops quickly established. These so called "Garden Shops" were built in the front gardens of existing buildings, and are still evident in modern Hayle.
Prior to 1825 anyone wanting to go from Hayle to St Ives or Penzance had to cross the sands of Hayle Estuary or make a significant detour crossing the River Hayle at the ancient St Erth Bridge. Guides took travellers across the sands, but, even with guides, it was sometimes a perilous journey and the shifting sand and racing tide claimed several lives. Because of this major obstacle to trade, a turnpike trust
Turnpike trust
Turnpike trusts in the United Kingdom were bodies set up by individual Acts of Parliament, with powers to collect road tolls for maintaining the principal highways in Britain from the 17th but especially during the 18th and 19th centuries...
was formed, with Henry Harvey a trustee, to build the causeway which now takes the road below the plantation west to the Old Quay House. Costing £5000 in 1825, the investors charged a toll to use the causeway to recover their costs.
As Hayle’s prosperity grew the foundry and smelter owners invested in the nearby mining industry. There was relativity little mining in and around Hayle itself, with Wheal Alfred
Wheal Alfred
Wheal Alfred is the site of a former copper and lead mine and a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest in west Cornwall, England, UK. The mine is located east of the town of Hayle and is also a Geological Conservation Review site. The mine is famous to geologists for its important mineral...
and Wheal Prosper (near Gwithian), being the only mine of any note, the nearest significant mines being around Helston. As Hayle's involvement in the mining industry around Helston
Helston
Helston is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately 12 miles east of Penzance and nine miles southwest of Falmouth. Helston is the most southerly town in the UK and is around further south than...
grew it eventually reached the point in 1833 that it replaced Helston as the local coinage (Stannary
Stannary
The word stannary is historically applied to:*A tin mine, especially in Cornwall or Devon, South West England*A region containing tin works *A chartered entity comprising such a region, its works, and its workers...
) town, although this was short-lived as the Stannary system was abolished in 1838.
Viaduct
A viaduct is a bridge composed of several small spans. The term viaduct is derived from the Latin via for road and ducere to lead something. However, the Ancient Romans did not use that term per se; it is a modern derivation from an analogy with aqueduct. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early...
. Steam was introduced onto the Hayle Section in 1843 but the construction of the railway meant that only light engines could be used, whilst the incline at Angarrack
Angarrack
Angarrack is a village in west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the parish of Gwinear-Gwithian two miles east of Hayle....
also remained a problem. In 1852 a new railway was opened spanning the valley on the impressive Angarrack viaduct
Angarrack viaduct
Angarrack railway viaduct is situated at Angarrack in west Cornwall, United Kingdom.The eleven-arch granite-built viaduct carries the Cornish Main Line railway across the steep-sided valley of the Angarrack River, a tributary of the River Hayle, between the present day stations of and...
and passing through Hayle on a new wooden supports over Foundry Square which were later replaced with the current stone pillars. The Harbour Branch line was closed in 1982 and the station buildings and signal box were demolished at the same time. The original station in Foundry Square remained until after the Second World War when it was demolished.
Harvey's of Hayle reached their peak in the early/mid-19th century but, along with the other foundries and engineering works in Hayle, began a long and slow decline. Harvey's acquired the Cornish Copper Company in 1875 but the downturn continued. The engineering works and Foundry were closed in 1903 though the company continued to trade as general and builders merchant, eventually merging with UBM to become Harvey-UBM in 1969.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is a charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man, as well as on selected inland waterways....
stationed a lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
at Hayle in 1866. A boat house was built for it in 1897, but after it was closed in 1920 it was moved to a site near the power station where it was used as a store for about 60 years before being demolished. The first lifeboat was replaced in November 1887; the third and final boat, the Admiral Rodd arrived in 1906. A memorial to Hayle's volunteer lifeboat crews has been placed in the Isis Gardens beneath the viaduct on the site of the town’s first railway station.
In 1888, the National Explosive works were established on Upton Towans (giving it the alternative name "Dynamite Towans"). Originally built to supply the local mining industry, it soon grew to supply the military and, during the First World War, employed over 1500 people. The remote location on the Towans proved a wise move as there were a number of accidents resulting in explosions.
The 20th century
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
over which people are encouraged to roam.
1910 saw the opening of Hayle Power Station
Hayle Power Station
Hayle Power Station was a coal-fired power station situated at the mouth of the River Hayle, at Hayle in Cornwall, South West England.-History:...
on Harvey's Towans. It was coal-fired and the coal was supplied by ship from South Wales until the station was closed in 1977. At the same time Hayle Harbour was also closed to commercial shipping, although a locally important fishing
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
fleet, specialising mainly in shellfish
Shellfish
Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...
remained.
Until the early 20th century Hayle had two very distinct areas of settlement around the competing foundries but slowly buildings began to appear between the two communities. St Elwyn’s Church, the Passmore Edwards Institute and a new Drill Hall all appeared within a few years of each other, and housing followed. The Passmore Edwards Institute was just one of a series of institutes and libraries built throughout Cornwall by its eponymous benefactor, who had made a fortune in the publishing business. The town council used it for offices for many years but moved to the Community Centre in April 2008.
In the years between the World Wars a number of small works were established on North Quay, including a glass works, a small oil depot and an ICI
Imperial Chemical Industries
Imperial Chemical Industries was a British chemical company, taken over by AkzoNobel, a Dutch conglomerate, one of the largest chemical producers in the world. In its heyday, ICI was the largest manufacturing company in the British Empire, and commonly regarded as a "bellwether of the British...
plant for producing bromine
Bromine
Bromine ") is a chemical element with the symbol Br, an atomic number of 35, and an atomic mass of 79.904. It is in the halogen element group. The element was isolated independently by two chemists, Carl Jacob Löwig and Antoine Jerome Balard, in 1825–1826...
–a fuel additive for high octane
Octane
Octane is a hydrocarbon and an alkane with the chemical formula C8H18, and the condensed structural formula CH36CH3. Octane has many structural isomers that differ by the amount and location of branching in the carbon chain...
aviation fuel. This additive increased the power of aircraft such as Hurricanes
Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd for the Royal Air Force...
, Spitfires
Supermarine Spitfire
The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
, Lancasters
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
and Mosquitoes. All are now closed and most of the buildings have been demolished. The metalworking business of J & F Pool, founded in 1862, survived in Copperhouse producing perforated and fabricated metal. The engineering tradition continues with the more recent small specialist firms of Bassett Engineering and Rigibore which specialise in tooling and precision engineering products from the Guildford Road Industrial Estate. Rigibore provides tooling to a global market and offers revolutionary products for hole boring. Bassett Engineering offer a wide range of engineering services to the Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
.
21st century
In autumn 2011 there was a large landslip on the North Cliff and the coastal footpath had to be diverted.Hayle today
More reliable sunshine in the Mediterranean, coupled with cheap flights, saw a downturn in the fortune of Hayle as a tourist destination in the 1980s, although it remains a popular destination for families with young children. Schemes have been proposed for the regeneration of the town and its harbour but none has yet come to fruition.
Hayle Harbour development and regeneration
Penwith
Penwith was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, whose council was based in Penzance. The district covered all of the Penwith peninsula, the toe-like promontory of land at the western end of Cornwall and which included an area of land to the east that fell outside the...
. In the 1980s, well-known businessman Peter de Savary
Peter de Savary
Peter John de Savary is an English entrepreneur and a former Chairman of Millwall F.C. In the 1999 Sunday Times Rich List, he was placed in 971st place with an estimated fortune of £21 million, but was not listed in the top thousand places in subsequent editions.-Biography:De Savary built his...
fronted an attempt to develop the harbour area but ultimately failed to attract financial support to bring his plans to fruition. Despite several other similar schemes, today the harbour is still not regenerated. In 2004, ING Real Estate, an international property development company, became the owners of Hayle harbour http://www.hayleharbour.com/ and started to purchase land within the immediate vicinity of their planned project area. In April 2008, ING submitted an outline planning application to the planning department of Penwith
Penwith
Penwith was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, whose council was based in Penzance. The district covered all of the Penwith peninsula, the toe-like promontory of land at the western end of Cornwall and which included an area of land to the east that fell outside the...
District Council. As of November 2009, the granting of outline planning permission still depends on the Section 106 Agreement being agreed, a sticking point to this is finalising traffic and transport improvements. Outside of the harbour area, Hayle has been the site of a number of successful regeneration schemes; including the on-going Harveys Foundry project which has seen the development of business and residential units in the hope of attracting employment to the Hayle area; and projects being progressed through the Hayle Area Plan Partnership.
World Heritage
The townscape of Hayle and its historic harbour were part of the initial submission of the Cornwall and West Devon historic mining landscape World Heritage bidCornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape
The Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape is a World Heritage Site which includes select mining landscapes across Cornwall and West Devon in the south west of the United Kingdom...
On 13 July 2006 it was announced that the bid had been successful and that the historic mining landscape of Cornwall and West Devon would be added to World Heritage list.
Transport
Hayle railway stationHayle railway station
Hayle railway station serves the town of Hayle, Cornwall, United Kingdom. The station is operated by First Great Western and is on the Cornish Main Line north east of .-History:...
is close to Foundry Square, at the east end of the viaduct. It is also linked to the harbour area along a footpath that used to be the branch railway line serving the quays.
Notable buildings
A famous landmark is Godrevy LighthouseGodrevy
Godrevy is an area of west Cornwall, United Kingdom, found on the north coast within St. Ives Bay and is popular with both the surfing community and walkers. It is home also to some areas administered by the National Trust, and a lighthouse maintained by Trinity House.- Godrevy Head :The headland ...
, situated at the eastern end of Hayle Towans, said to have inspired Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolf
Adeline Virginia Woolf was an English author, essayist, publisher, and writer of short stories, regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century....
's novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
To the Lighthouse
To the Lighthouse
To the Lighthouse is a novel by Virginia Woolf. A novel set on the Ramsays and their visits to the Isle of Skye in Scotland between 1910 and 1920, it skilfully manipulates temporal and psychological elements....
.
The church of St Elwyn
Elwen
Elwen was the name of an early saint or saints venerated in Cornwall and Brittany. The hagiographical material asserts that he came to Cornwall from Ireland in the company of Breage and six others, but this is attested late...
was built in 1886-88 to the design of J. D. Sedding
J. D. Sedding
John Dando Sedding was a noted Victorian church architect, working on new buildings and repair work, with an interest in a ‘crafted Gothic’ style. He was an influential figure in the Arts and Crafts movement, many of whose leading designers studied in his offices...
. According to Pevsner it is "loud outside ... and dull inside".
Trevassack Manor is a house of the 17th to 18th century; there is a datestone of 1700. Bodriggy House is of granite, ca. 1710.
Local government
For the purposes of local government Hayle is a town and elects its own town council. The principal local authority in the area is Cornwall Council.Twinning
Hayle is twinned with Pordic (Porzhig in Breton)-
PorzhigPordicPordic is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Pordic are called pordicais.-Breton language:...
, BrittanyBrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
Notable residents
- John Gilbert "Jack" CockJack CockJohn Gilbert "Jack" Cock DCM MM was an English footballer who played for various English club sides as a striker. He also had the distinction of being the first Cornishman to play for the England national team, a decorated World War I soldier, and an actor...
DCM MM (14 November 1893 - 19 April 1966) Born in Hayle, had the distinction of being the first Cornishman to play football, and score, for the England national team. Cock played for Huddersfield TownHuddersfield Town F.C.Huddersfield Town Football Club is an English football club formed in 1908 and based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. They currently play in League One...
, ChelseaChelsea F.C.Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
, EvertonEverton F.C.Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...
, Plymouth ArgylePlymouth Argyle F.C.Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
& MillwallMillwall F.C.Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
. Cock was a decorated World War I soldier, and an actor. Cock ended his first class playing career with 234 Football League goals from 391 matches. He managed Millwall between 1944 and 1948, leading them to the War Cup South final at Wembley in 1945, where they lost to Chelsea. He made his England debut against Ireland in 1919, and scored after 30 seconds. - Henry JennerHenry JennerHenry Jenner FSA was a British scholar of the Celtic languages, a Cornish cultural activist, and the chief originator of the Cornish language revival....
, antiquary, scholar of the Cornish language - Cyril "Rick" RescorlaRick RescorlaCyril Richard "Rick" Rescorla was a retired United States Army officer of British birth who served with distinction in Northern Rhodesia as a member of the Northern Rhodesia Police and as a soldier in the Vietnam War as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army...
, policeman and soldier, was born in the town and served with distinction in the British and American armed forces. He later died in the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, New York City, United States, after evacuating over 2,700 employees of Morgan StanleyMorgan StanleyMorgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
from one of the towers which was collapsing. A memorial stone in his honour stands in the town. He is featured in the books We Were Soldiers Once...And Young, by Joseph Galloway and Harold Moore, and, more prominently, in The Heart of a Soldier, by James B. Stewart. - Admiral of the FleetAdmiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)Admiral of the fleet is the highest rank of the British Royal Navy and other navies, which equates to the NATO rank code OF-10. The rank still exists in the Royal Navy but routine appointments ceased in 1996....
Sir Caspar JohnCaspar JohnAdmiral of the Fleet Sir Caspar John GCB was the British First Sea Lord from 1960 to 1963. He was pioneer in the Fleet Air Arm, and rose to become Vice-Chief of Naval Staff to Sea Lord Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma in 1957 and subsequently First Sea Lord from 1960 to 1963.-Early...
, GCBOrder of the BathThe Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(22 March 1903 - 11 July 1984), First Sea LordFirst Sea LordThe First Sea Lord is the professional head of the Royal Navy and the whole Naval Service; it was formerly known as First Naval Lord. He also holds the title of Chief of Naval Staff, and is known by the abbreviations 1SL/CNS...
from 1960 to 1963. Moved to Hayle after retiring and later died there.
Further reading
- Wigley, Edward (1972) "Hayle: a new industrial town of the West" in: Todd, A. C. & Laws, Peter The Industrial Archaeology of Cornwall. New ton Abbot: David & Charles; pp. 86–102
- Nick Cahill with the Cornwall Archaeological Unit (July 2000) "Hayle Historical Assessment Cornwall", Report for English Heritage