To hear a person speak of past times adds a reality to history that words often fail to achieve. Some time ago, the St Ives Archive initiated an Oral History Project for St Ives. Many people had their memories of St Ives recorded and subsequently transcribed. These transcriptions became part of the Archive.
The Archive has now started Oral History Project 2. We would love to hear from anyone who would be willing to let the Archive record their stories for the use of future generations.
If you wish to take part, please contact the Archive on 01736 796408 or get in touch using the Contact Us form on our website.
Background: Oral History Project 2
On the 30th May 2024, Diane Callicot and Ethan Jerome took a trip to Madron to revisit some of the ladies who’d attended Ethan’s talk on Alfred Wallis for Madron WI last year. At the talk, it became apparent a few of the ladies had some Wallis stories of their own, so we formulated a plan to start a little Oral Histories Project.
Our first participant invited us into her home and told us of the Workhouse Christmas parties and her Grandfather who would take Wallis cardboard to work on. We then spoke to a lady who was in her 90s; she didn’t remember so much about Wallis but told us about the Workhouse allotment and what the war had been like in this area, as well as how she raised 9 children!
All participants were thanked profusely for agreeing to let us record them, and we all deserve a special pat on the back for navigating this while the whole of Madron was being resurfaced! Good job we didn’t get stuck before we arrived! A huge success and something Ethan is excited to be working on more once the September Festival preparation is over.
Lyn Burchess of St Ives Archive celebrates the 250th anniversary of Tregenna Castle in St Ives with stories of secret passages, the visit of a crown prince, steam locomotives and hosting US President Joe Biden.
This year marks the 250th anniversary of Tregenna Castle in St Ives, Cornwall. Originally the country house of Squire Samuel Stephens, Tregenna Castle, has since 1878 evolved into a luxury holiday hotel. Perched high above the town it offers breathtaking views of the historic St Ives Harbour, with its centuries-old cottages and the rugged North Cornish coast (see photo above).
Travelling Westward (Country Life May 13, 1922) described Tregenna Castle ‘as a standing sentinel amid its parks and woods above and behind the town of St Ives’, a position it proudly asserts to this day. The original house was attributed to John Wood the Younger famous for his work at The Assembly Rooms Bath and was constructed by a local builder from Penryn. It was built on the site of the old Tregenna homestead named after the long extinct family of that name. Beautifully hand coloured architectural drawings by Plymouth architect George Whitwick in 1845, now in the RIBA collection at the V&A, show the north side wing extension and the creation of service quarters at the rear. A further south side wing was added in 1922 thus achieving the symmetry seen today (see photo below).
Samuel Stephens Junior, who had inherited the property from his father, was the Member of Parliament for St Ives from 1818 to 1820. Papers held by The National Archives recall that old inhabitants can remember being told by their parents how they were brought up to the castle to line the drive and cheer the Squire’s departure to London. The day was a general holiday and the four horse coach took three weeks to arrive at its destination. The coming of the railway to St Ives was to dramatically change all that.
In 1871 Henry Stephens placed the house and the estate, which comprised most of the old town, up for auction. It was bought by mining industrialist Thomas Bolitho who was a director of Barclays and the local Bolitho’s Bank. The Great Western Railway (GWR) were looking to build a branch line to St Ives from St Erth on the main Paddington – Penzance line, which was completed in June 1877. Thomas Bolitho as one of the railways promoters quickly saw the opportunity to lease Tregenna Castle to GWR and the 42-year lease was signed in March 1878 by the famous GWR Chairman Daniel Gooch who with Isambard Brunel designed most of the broad gauge locomotives for GWR.
Tregenna Castle today
On 4th August 1878, the grand opening of this railway hotel took place. Coverage in the local Cornishman Newspaper announced the modern facilities provided and also commented on the beautiful lantern at the top of the staircase embellished with the Stephens coat of arms (see photo below). The Cornishman heartily wished the GWR scheme every success and what a success it was. This necessitated various alterations over the next 50 years, which by 1932 witnessed the expansion from the original 12 rooms, to 120.
In 1926, the Great Western Railway Magazine boasted a recent discovery, during the alteration phase ‘of a certain underground passage under the wine cellar leading to a secret underground room large enough to hoard many a smuggled hogshead in the Squires days. The underground passage made an unsuspected exit where the dining room now stands’. The hotel unusually benefitted from a heating system that was not only powered by boilers maintained by The Swindon engine works but were also fired by railway coal. The integration with the railway brought many other benefits according to GWR minutes, including a handed down GWR bus and in 1936 the redundant telephone system from Paddington Station.
The Hotel has played host to many famous visitors, including Herr Ribbentrop, Hitler’s Foreign Secretary who it is understood enjoyed visiting Cornwall, particularly St Ives. Because of this, it has been suggested he wanted to make Tregenna Castle his retirement home. Crown Prince Chichibu of Japan, who played an important part in Japan’s post WW2 reconstruction, also stayed on separate occasions. More recently Tregenna Castle hosted Joe Biden, President of America and his entourage, the United Nations, the Presidents of Australia, South Korea, South Africa and the EU Council for the 2021 G7 Summit held at Carbis Bay.
The Stairwell Lantern with the Stephens Family Coat of Arms
As an established golf resort, Tregenna bravely allowed its golf course to serve as a helipad. Marine One and Two were landed as required but it was the three accompanying V22 Osprey that left burn marks, causing much damage at the time. The downdraft of helicopter blades displaced large quantities of sand from the bunkers that needed replacement after the event. A marquee erected there too, served 6500 meals to contractors and staff during the course of the week. The dignitaries dined in the elegant Trelawney Suite
It is also noteworthy that from 1880-1940 four ships owned by the local Edward Hain Line, latterly P&O, were named Tregenna in homage to this renowned location. Adding to the prestige Tregenna Castle also lent its name to the famous GWR ‘Castle Class ‘locomotive which pulled The Cheltenham Flyer on its world record breaking speed journey on 6th June 1932 achieving a blistering average speed of 81.6 mph.
The Tregenna Castle Hotel continues to this day its tradition of giving back to the community with the support and funding of the Saints Boarders two storey Tregenna Surf Club House this facility provides accessible toilet facilities, board store , club house and cafe located by the Tate St Ives Gallery. As part of the 250 year celebration The Tregenna Castle team are also giving back to the environment by planting 250 trees in the Resort. Tregenna aims to minimise their ecological footprint, preserve natural beauty and enhance bio diversity. James Parker Operations Director said ‘together lets grow a greener future and ensure that Tregenna Castle remains a beacon of sustainability and natural beauty for the next 250 years and beyond.
A celebratory afternoon tea with Richard Long, author of The St Ives Branch Line: A History, is being held at Tregenna Castle on 6th September this year with all proceeds to the St Ives Archive.
Atkins Ferrie Wealth Management Services occupies an office in the cookhouse at the back of the old Stennack School in St Ives. The former school has a rich history as a building and holds fond memories for many local community members who were educated there. AFWM asked the St Ives Archive to research the history of the school for publication in its quarterly in-house magazine, Venture, that goes out to all its clients and staff. The resultant story is contained in the article which is printed in full below.
St Ives Archive is on the move, as the partnership between the Archive and the Town Council secures Government Funding
St Ives Town Council, working in close partnership with St Ives Archive, are thrilled to announce that Community Ownership funding has been secured to help the relocation of the Archive to the historic Market House.
Plans involve the renovation of the first floor of Market House to bring the Archive back to the heart of the town. The distinctive Grade II Listed building will have an improved access and be opened up to the community for the first time in decades.
Market House, St Ives in 2007 (Photo: Kenneth Allen / Wikimedia Commons)
£275,000 has been awarded from the fund, which will enable the restoration and refurbishment works, improving the access to the building while enhancing the important historic features.
The Community Ownership Fund has so far awarded £71.4 million to 257 projects across the UK, and the St Ives Archive’s relocation to Market House is part of the third round of the fund.
Returning to the heart of the Town, the Archive will be able to welcome more visitors, revealing a wealth of important local material and by moving to Market House, a unique local landmark building will be restored and safeguarded for the future.
The second community open day at Market House, will take place this week on 28th March 2024 between 10am and 3pm. Today’s (25th March 2024) announcement will make the day more special as there is now great confidence that the project will become a reality. All are welcome to take a look inside Market House, enjoy a celebratory slice of cake, and view the exhibition about Bryan Pearce, renowned St Ives artist, who portrayed Market House in his paintings, many times.
Councillor Tony Harris, Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee for St Ives Town Council said:
“I am absolutely delighted at this news! St Ives Archive can realise their long-held dream of moving back into the heart of our community, where it belongs. The move to the Market House will help the Centre provide archival and local history services for many more local people and visitors alike. This will help further safeguard and promote our local heritage for generations to come. Its new home, Market House has its own fascinating history and is a perfect match. Funding has made this possible, but it would not have happened without the trustees at the Centre and the Town Council’s own team working tirelessly together.”
Lyn Burchess, Chair of the Archive said:
“We have been working very closely with the town council for many months on this exciting project, with the aim of moving back into town. The Market house is an iconic building, and it’s a perfect fit for the Archive, allowing more people to access our wonderful heritage.”
Community Ownership funding is awarded by the Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. The programme is allocating over £150 million in funding to support community ownership of local assets. The project was one of two in Cornwall in round three, window 3. It is eligible because the Town Council will be passing a long lease of the first floor premises to the Archive, to safeguard its future as a community project.
Most of the funding is for capital works but a small amount will help the Archive fund a project officer. Funding will allow the project to go ahead, although a smaller award of a Town Deal Enterprise grant has been approved in principle but awaits final sign off.
In 2023, St Ives Town Council approached the Trustees of St Ives Archive and offered them a permanent home – Market House in Market Place. It is a perfect partnership, enabling the guardians of St Ives history to breathe life once again into this important building, which was Grade II listed in 1972.
The Market House has been the home of commerce and administration in St Ives since 1490. The original building was made of wood with an open ground floor which provided a sheltered area for trading. In 1832 this building was demolished and replaced by the larger granite building that exists today. The rounded ends of Market House, which gives the building such a distinctive shape, were designed for a specific purpose. The rounded ends allowed space for carts carrying ships’ masts to and from the Harbour to negotiate around the tight corners of St Ives’ streets.
The first floor of the new Market House became the Town Hall. It became both the council chamber for St Ives Town Council and also the Magistrate’s Court until the new Guildhall was built in Street an Pol and the Municipal Offices relocated there in 1940.
Since it was founded in 1996, St Ives Archive has never had a permanent home. Wesley Methodist Church in Carbis Bay is currently its third location, and to move back into St Ives was always the aim of the Archive. So when the Archive Trustees were approached by the town council with the offer to move into the first floor of Market House, they were delighted to accept. The proposal is subject to raising the necessary funding, with the aim of completion in 2025. Applications for a St Ives Enterprise grant and the Government’s Community Ownership Fund are being prepared.
Archive volunteers were the first members of the public to have an escorted tour of the premises. An Open Day hosted by the Archive was held on 15th December 2023, and the response from the many visitors was overwhelmingly positive towards the move. On Thursday 28th March 2024, from 10am until 3pm, St Ives Archive will once again open the doors of Market House and hold a second Open Day with the co-operation of the Town Council.
It will be an opportunity to see the historic first floor – complete with the ceremonial chair and cells – before the first floor is closed for renovation. Refreshments will be available on the Open Day and a selection of Archive publications will be on sale. Volunteers will be there to give information and answer questions about the Archive and also to extend a warm welcome to any prospective volunteers. Volunteers are the life blood of the Archive and each one is valued for their commitment, time and skills at every level. This is an exciting time to join the team of enthusiastic volunteers and to experience being part of this unique project of relocation and the creation of a new Heritage and Study Centre.
By: Wendy Grove
This article was originally published in the March / April 2024 issue of St Ives Local magazine.
Image: Market Place, St Ives pictured in April 2010. Market House and Moffat Gallery can be seen on the right with St Eia House and No Worries souvenir shop on the left (Source: Wikimedia Commons).
Pearce, Bryan; The Market House, St Ives; Royal Institution of Cornwall; http://www.artuk.org/artworks/the-market-house-st-ives-15295
St Ives Archive invite you to view the historical Market House, which will be our new home after restoring the first floor and transforming it into a modern facility for reference, display and study with access for all.
While the restoration project is still in the early stages, we are excited to open the doors to the public for a “before” look around the historical space. Join us on Thursday the 28th of March from 10am-3pm for coffee, cake and a display on Bryan Pearce, the St Ives artist who painted this beautiful picture of the Market House below (thank you Royal Cornwall Museum for permission to reproduce his work).
For more information about our move to the Market House in partnership with St Ives Town Council, please read our joint press release here.
If you are able to make a donation in support of our move to the Market House, we would be very grateful as a registered UK charity. A donation can be made through the Donate page on the website or by contacting the team at admin@stivesarchive.org.
St Ives Archive invites you to an Open Day at the Market House on the 15th December from 10:00am – 15:00pm.
The St Ives Archive is on the move, having been in its present home for the last five years in Carbis Bay an opportunity has arisen to move into the town centre again. The first floor space has now become vacant in the Market Place building and the St Ives Town Council have offered this great space to create a new heritage study centre and storage facility for the St Ives Archive.
This move will provide greater access for everyone to visit the collection and learn more about the fascinating history of St Ives from early times. The Market House building itself was completed in 1832 just five years before Queen Victoria came to the throne. The building is an important historic asset and the home of the former borough council and assizes. The original building was open downstairs and was covered later in the 20th Century to create shop units. In contrast, the upstairs is, amazingly, little changed from its early days. The raised Council chair and seating are all still in position along with the old cell food hatches from the assize court days.
Whilst the building is in sound condition there is a lot to do to bring it into the 21st century. The existing access is generally unsuitable and lift access will need to be provided for those not able to use the stairs. Modern archive storage facilities will be needed along with new toilet and kitchen areas and a fresh coat of paint all around!
Lyn Burchess, Chair of the Archive, said:
“The hard work has begun and we are looking to take advantage of this opportunity to increase our accessibility to the community by extending our opening hours and providing up-to-date facilities, catalogue access and equipment in a refurbished building. The journey started over a year ago with the purchase and implementation of a new online browser-based catalogue bringing together our legacy databases in one place. The work is ongoing and the refinements to the contents of the new Epexio system will take a few more years yet.
We are hoping to move into the Market House in 2025 but this is dependent upon availability of funding to carry out the renovation work. We are currently progressing applications to the St Ives Enterprise grant and also the Government’s Community Ownership Fund.
We also need to raise our own funds to make the move happen and to finance the running costs for new accessible opening hours, equipment and systems. We are holding an Open Day on the 15th December to give everybody a chance to see inside a building they rarely see the interior of and also enjoy a display from our Archive collections. This all needs new volunteers to help deliver the change. We would particularly welcome those volunteers with skills in fundraising, cataloguing and marketing.”
If you are able to volunteer please email the Chair at admin@stivesarchive.org and we can arrange a chat. Equally, if you are able to make a donation we would be very grateful as a registered UK charity. A donation can be made through the Donate page on the website or by contacting the team via the above email address.
Plans for a new Archive to Unlock the Secrets of Market House
St Ives Town Council, working in close partnership with St Ives Archive are about to embark upon an exciting new heritage project to create an Archive Resource Centre in the centre of the town. The project’s aim is to renovate the first floor of Market House, bringing it back into community use for the first time in decades.
The St Ives Archive, now celebrating its 27th year, was for many years located at the Parish Rooms. Following the sale of the Rooms five years ago, the Archive has operated from the Wesley Chapel in Carbis Bay, but has always aspired to return to a prominent location in the town so more people can access its wealth of important local material. The organisation is operated by local volunteers and is self-supporting from its own fundraising activities.
The Town Council is the owner of the Market House, a listed building built in 1832. The first-floor premises are an impressive heritage asset, retaining many original features of the old Guildhall where the Mayor and Corporation met to discuss the town’s affairs. Regular magistrate court hearings were also held, complete with original judge’s chair and prisoner cells, yet few people have had the opportunity to look inside. The building is in good shape but the upstairs rooms are in need of sensitive restoration.
The ambition is to refurbish the upper rooms into a modern facility for reference, display and study with access for all. This will then be leased and operated by the Archive. The project will also involve the departure of the snooker club and the Council has considered this very carefully. But with the club’s dwindling membership, the community benefits of housing the Archive and the chance to restore the historic building, meant this difficult decision has been taken.
The project will take some time to progress – the restoration work will require listed building consent for a new access. The Council and the Archive will be working closely together over the coming months, to progress the scheme and develop a funding strategy to seek grant funding for the works.
Councillor Tony Harris, Chair of the Finance and General Purposes Committee said:
“This exciting project will bring together the Archive’s local treasure trove and a building with a hidden history. Although the project is at an early stage, the Council is fully committed to working with the Archive to unlock the funds needed to restore this unique building for a very fitting use. We hope it will also ensure more local people have the chance to enjoy the history of the parish.”
Lyn Burchess, the Archive Chair said:
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to make the Archive a focus for the community it serves and also serve the wider visiting public. We look forward to working with the Town Council to make this exciting vision a reality.”
