Penzance, set on the rugged shores of Mount’s Bay, was not always the peaceful coastal town we know today. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, it became a hub of smuggling activity, largely due to a mix of geography, economy, and social acceptance.

Geography: Nature’s Perfect Hideaway​

Mount’s Bay provided numerous secluded coves, hidden beaches, and caves, ideal for landing contraband under cover of darkness. From Bessemer Cove to Prussia Cove, smugglers had ready access to the sea while remaining hidden from customs patrols. The town’s proximity to European trade routes made it easier to transport goods directly from ships to the shore without detection.

The coastline’s rugged cliffs and rocky inlets also acted as natural barriers, discouraging law enforcement from patrolling extensively. Local fishermen often doubled as smugglers or guides, giving them a “legitimate” cover while navigating these areas.

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Hayle Railway​

• 23 Dec 1837: Line opened from Hayle Foundry to Pool and Portreath, with branches to Roskear and North Crofty mines.
• 1838: Extended to Redruth with a branch to Tresavean, totaling 17 miles of track.
• Track & Operation: Narrow gauge (4’ 8½”), single track. Locomotives used throughout, except for the Angarrack Incline, where horses worked the trains initially.
• 22 May 1843: First passenger service introduced with two carriages built by Will Crotch of Hayle. Initially, the service carried both passengers and freight.
• Crossings: Line crossed the Redruth & Chacewater Railway, but no interchange existed due to differing gauges (4 ft).

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West Cornwall Railway​

• 1846: West Cornwall Railway company took over the Hayle Railway.
  
  • Extensions: West to Penzance, east...

The first prefabricated house on the Treneere Estate, Penzance, was officially opened on Thursday, in what is believed to be the first fully furnished home of its kind completed in Cornwall. The opening ceremony was attended by the Mayor, Alderman Robert Thomas, supported by the Chairman of the Housing Committee, Mr. P. T. Johnson, members of the Corporation, and representatives from neighbouring authorities including Falmouth, Penryn, Camborne-Redruth, and Kerrier. The Borough Engineer and Surveyor, Mr. J. H. Blight, and Housing Manager, Mr. J. C. Ungate, were also present. The key to the house was handed to the Mayor by Mr. S. Tucker, Clerk of the Works.

The house was opened to the public following the ceremony, and it drew widespread admiration. Visitors praised the home’s modern amenities, with many housewives commenting that it was “lovely” and noting that it offered more conveniences than other properties on the Treneere estate.

The...

A contemporary commentary of the time reflected the resistance of Penzance’s civic leaders and citizens toward electric lighting, favouring the reliability of gas and the prudence of waiting for improvements.

The Penzance Town Council had taken the position of “let others experiment first and wait for economies and improvements” before committing the borough to electric lighting. This cautious approach frustrated advocates of private electric companies, who wished to set up municipal schemes, erect poles, disrupt streets, and make charges as they saw fit. Electricity, the article argued, has one purpose: to provide electric light, not to protect the pockets or liberties of the town’s burgesses.

The commentary reminded readers of a historical precedent: in the 1840s, a water company attempted to take control of Penzance’s water supply. The late Mr. T. S. Bolitho, aided by the borough surveyor Mr. John Matthews, successfully repelled the move. As a result, Penzance enjoyed half a...

Uncertainty. During Sunday afternoon 13th February 1881 for those who were watching at the Quay and Coastguard Station observed a small vessel beating across Mount's Bay, evidently uncertain as to her whereabouts, and there was strong S.S.W. gale blowing, with fall of thick, misty rain, which made it impossible to see more than a very short distance, considerable anxiety was shown to her fate. Once or twice only did the rain clear sufficiently to enable the ship to be seen, and it was then discovered that she was brigantine (a two-masted sailing vessel, square-rigged on the foremast and having a fore-and-aft mainsail with square upper sails), apparently a foreigner, was standing towards the Mount under reefed topsails. At half-past five she was seen within a quarter of a mile of the Gear; seeing which she almost immediately tacked and again stood away towards the eastern land, having added the mainsail to her former spread of canvas. At seven o'clock rockets were fired and...

Penzance celebrated a major milestone on 24th May 1935 with the official opening of the Jubilee Bathing Pool and Sun Lounge, located at the eastern end of the Promenade. The pool represented one of the most significant civic improvements in the history of the borough, both for residents’ enjoyment and the attraction of visitors.

The opening ceremony was conducted by Alderman J. W. Meek, former Mayor of Penzance, and attended by the Mayor, councillors, and a large gathering of townspeople. The event included aquatic demonstrations, swimming races, water polo matches, and a bathing belle parade.

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Origins of the Scheme​

• The idea of improving the eastern Promenade arose from Alderman W. H. Julyan, who proposed the original Green Street improvement scheme decades earlier.
• The plan evolved into the Battery Road Improvement, culminating in the creation of the Jubilee Bathing Pool.
• The...

Penzance was not without newspapers in those days. They were: "Penzance Gazette," 1839; "Penzance Journal," 1848; "Cornish Telegraph,' 1850, that merged in the "Cornishman" Co. Other industries were, paper mills at Castle Horneck, a woollen cloth factory, between the orchard and Alverton House (Early in the 19th century). A pottery in Cornwall Terrace, worked by Mr. Slooman. Dying works run by Mr. Cara in Chapel Street, and the candle factories of Messrs. Higgs, Bodilly and Bromley, where tallow candles, known as "dips," were made mostly for miners' use. Higgs' factory was removed from the Weeths to Gulval, where Messrs. Bazeley carried on for some time. Messrs. Bazeley also had an ice factory at Gulval.

Miners hats were made in early days in a factory at the Abbey Slip, while Messrs. Michell, and Smith in more recent times, had factories behind their shops in Market Place and The Terrace. Lime kilns for burning lime, were situated at the bottom of Jennings Lane (Messrs. Davy)...

THE TANNING INDUSTRY. Chy an dour, too, was formerly the tannery owned by the Messrs. Bolitho. In addition to local hides, their ships brought foreign hides, and these would be caned from the beach at Ponsandane, where the ships would run in on the sand and discharge at low water. Then there was Cunnack's tan yard near the Victoria Hotel (later renamed the Railway Hotel in 1935 and today known as the longboat Hotel), and also in the 17th century, a tan yard stood in the ground between John Batten's house, in Chapel Street and New Street, and was owned by a man named Roberts. Cunnack’s were also curriers, and later on this trade was carried on by Messrs. J. H. Rowe, W. Richards and Son, Lanyon and Edmonds. Then there were the shoemakers, a numerous company, sufficiently important to have a special benefit society of their own. They conducted much their business from stalls in the streets, a form of trade much vogue for that century in Penzance.
A saying was,

Bought...

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