William Lambert Bell 1904
Mevagissey Harbour Cornwall
''W Lambert Bell''
oil on canvas
39 x 49 cm.
Mevagissey is a village, fishing port and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is approximately five miles (8 km) south of St Austell.The parish population at the 2011 census was 2,015, whereas the ward population at the same census was 4,354.
The village nestles in a small valley and faces east to Mevagissey Bay. The inner and outer harbours are busy with a mixture of pleasure vessels and working fishing boats. It has a thriving fishing industry and is the second-biggest fishing port in Cornwall.
Mevagissey village centre consists of narrow streets with many places to eat and shops aimed at the tourist trade. The outer areas are built on the steep slopes of the surrounding hillsides and are mostly residential.
St Peter''s Church, Mevagissey
Former Mevagissey Methodist Chapel
The first recorded mention of Mevagissey dates from 13
...13 (when it was known as Porthhilly), although there is evidence of settlement dating back to the Bronze Age.
The old name of the parish was Lamorrick, and it was part of the episcopal manor of Tregear. The church was dedicated to Saints Meva and Ida in 1259 by Bishop Bronescombe and in 1329 Sir Otho Bodrugan appropriated it to Glasney College. The Norman church was cruciform and some Norman work remains but the church was more or less rebuilt in the 15th century. In the Commonwealth period the tower became ruinous and the bells were taken down and sold to a Quaker of St Austell. According to tradition there has been a church on the same site since about 500 AD. Meva may well be the same as St Mewan and Issey is also the patron saint of St Issey.
Mevagissey is home to three holy wells. The Brass Well and Lady''s Well are both situated in the manor of Treleaven, and the third is within the gardens of Mevagissey House, the old vicarage.
Towards the end of the 17th century, Porthhilly merged with the hamlet of Lamoreck (or Lamorrick) to make the new village. It was renamed ''Meva hag Ysi'', after two saints; St Mevan/Mewan, a Welsh man and an Irish woman, St Issey or Ida/Ita, (hag is the Cornish word for ''and''). There is no evidence for why this new name was adopted but it may have been due to the Church replacing a Cornish name with a Christian one. The modern Cornish name is Lannvorek, after the old parish name. At this time the main sources of income for the village were pilchard fishing and smuggling and the village had at least ten inns, of which the Fountain and the Ship still remain.
Andrew Pears, the founder of Pears'' Soap was born in the village in 1768 and set up a barber''s shop here until he moved to London in 1789.
Cornish wrestling tournaments, for prizes, were held in Mevagissey in the 1800s and 1900s.
The parish lies within the parliamentary constituency of St Austell and Newquay; it had previously been in the Truro and St Austell, & Truro constituencies.
Mevagissey civil parish was formed on 1 April 1983. It fell under the then Borough of Restormel until its abolition in 2009, since when it has been under the Cornwall Council unitary authority.
It is in the Anglican diocese of Truro, the archdeaconry of Cornwall, and the deanery of St Austell.
Mevagissey harbour at dusk
The harbour is built on the site of a medieval quay. The first Act of Parliament allowing the new port to be built was passed in 1774. The inner harbour, consisting of the current East and West Quays, was constructed from this time. An outer harbour was added in 1888, but seriously damaged in a blizzard in 1891. The outer walls were rebuilt by 1897. The harbour was given charitable trust status in 1988.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) opened Mevagissey Lifeboat Station in 1869, although the lifeboat was kept at Portmellon until 1
Internal Reference: 5156
Antique ID Number (AIDN): SA1122068
Dateline of this antique is 1920
Height is 39cm (15.4inches)Width is 49cm (19.3inches)Depth is 1cm (0.4inches)
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