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Carlyon Bay

Carlyon Bay photos (18 available)

Old photo of Carlyon Bay

Carlyon Bay maps (2 available)

Old map of Carlyon Bay

Carlyon Bay books (9 available)

Carlyon Bay memories

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You can also read memories of nearby places in Cornwall below.

Cornwall memories

The tiny port of Charlestown

I briefly attended Charlestown Infants' school in 1942 as it accepted children a years earlier than Mount Charles Infants (just a mile away) which I lived just a few yards from on Porthpean Road.  I was four years old at the time.
During those war years the quaysides around the inner dock had corrugated iron buildings that were used in the fitting out of inshore mine-sweeper vessels.  These boats were built at nearby Par and had their engines and machinery fitted at Charlestown.  These sheds were removed at the end of the war and once more the harbour looked very much as it had when it was built by Charles Rashleigh in the last decade of the 1700s.  
   ...read more here
A memory of Charlestown contributed by Peter Marks

My first home

Biscovey, Edgecumbe Terrace c1955

I moved to 12 Edgecombe Terrace in 1965, no 12. We were renting and had just got married. I remember the toilet out the back, my husband had to go out with me with a lantern when it was dark. We lived next door to a Mrs Cowley who kept chickens out back. My mother in law Mrs Jannie Gribbin lived  near by. There was a telephone box on the green opposite where I used to phone my mum in Bristol. I remember parking the car once in the Four Lords car park and being told off by the landlord.
A memory of Biscovey contributed by veronica gribbin

Anti Invasion Devices

Porthpean, Beach c1955

I spent many happy hours on Porthpean beach, both with my family and my friends during the summer holidays. I remember the anti invasion devices well as we used them as monkey bars. After the war they became very rusty with many sharp rusty edges to get snagged on.

I also remember during the war years that a few miles off the beach were some bombing targets and we used to watch bomber pilots practising their skills from time to time.

Peter, I believe you were a year behind me at St. Austell Grammar school and that a few years back I think we swapped emails. I now live in Marblehead, Massachusetts, having moved here in 1968.
A memory of Porthpean contributed by Gerry Mewton

The boat house Porthpean Beach

Porthpean, Beach c1955

The tall building at the bottom left hand side of the slipway leading down to the beach was used by a Mr Axford who had two or three wooden rowing boats that he hired out by the hour.  He would sit on a bench outside the boathouse and having paid the appropriate monies one was issued with a pair of oars and allocated a boat.  My dad bought one of Charlie's boats in the early '50's which we kept on the quay at Charlestown and used it for recreation fishing. We initially powered it with a 4hp Seagull outboard.  Then,  on one of our fishing trips we come across a large quantity of wood planks that must have washed overboard from ...read more here
A memory of Porthpean contributed by Peter Marks

Extracts From Carlyon Bay & Cornwall books

Polkerris, Polridmouth Beach near Gribbin Head c1960

This scene has hardly changed for many years; the beach at Polridmouth is still only accessible on foot. Although we are just around the corner from St Austell Bay, this photograph gives us a good view of the prominent day mark erected in 1832 on the Gribbin Head as an aid for shipping entering the bay.
An extract from from"St Austell Bay Photographic Memories".

Polkerris, 1888

The old pilchard-curing cellar, or ‘palace’, beside the shore in the foreground was one of the largest in Cornwall. However, by the time of this early photograph the harbour seems already deserted by the fishing fleet, perhaps in favour of Mevagissey on the far side of the bay.
An extract from from"St Austell Bay Photographic Memories".

Polkerris, 1888

A boat sails across the bay, which was known as Polkerris or Par Bay in the late-18th century. The little village of Polkerris is situated at the end of a sheltered valley on the east shore of St Austell Bay. There was an important pilchard fishery here, and the pier (left) was built in about 1735 for sheltering the fishing boats rather than for trade.
An extract from from"St Austell Bay Photographic Memories".

Polkerris, c1950

Polkerris has hardly changed, with virtually no new houses in 70 years. Here we see the village tucked away in its valley, with the great expanse of the bay reaching beyond to Black Head (centre) and the Dodman Point (left). The garden plots of the houses are prominent, sheltered by hedges and mostly on the south-facing slope on the right.
An extract from from"St Austell Bay Photographic Memories".

Polkerris, the Village c1960

The gable end of the lifeboat house is seen in the background, almost at the end of the road through the village. Stone cottages, teas for sale and no unsightly road markings are the delights of this village.
An extract from from"St Austell Bay Photographic Memories".