Yes, it is believed that the name Newlyn is derived from Cornish Lulynn , and this is from Lu meaning fleet and Lynn meaning lake . it is believed that ther was once a lake in the bay (Gwavas Lake) when it was a vast forest stretching out to the horizon prior to inundations of the sea two thousand years B.C. up possibly up until the middle Ages. In 1962, after the Great Ash Wednesday Storm that decimated the Prom at Penzance, and the wall in this pic, I remember going down to inspect the damage and found all the shingle and sand washed away to reveal all the brine-conserved branches and tree trunks in peat and clay. Awe-inspiring or what!
Well, I think without being able to be authoritative about it, that it must have been a lake in the forest originally and later have become a deep anchorage of a fleet of fishing boats out beyond what is today Newlyn Harbour. Another thing is that Gwavas ( Gwav Bos = Winter Abode ) is where cattle were once wintered, away from the colder uplands. These are things I have been told or read but it might be a load of cobblers for all I know. Seems feasible though.
Oh! I forgot to say that in a book Old Penzance by Edgar Rees, he writes that at a repoted meeting in 1871-73, it was recorded that after a tremendous gale c. 1835-6, an ancient dug-out that could hold three men, was washed up at Tolcarne, Newlyn, among all the old exposed tree-trunks. When the main mast-stump was removed, a coin believed to be Roman, was found . We have no idea what became of this, unfortunately.
That book is/was brilliant, I read it a couple of times, I must try and get a copy. I believe they did a couple of re-runs but then stopped. I found some of it very interesting indeed.
I remember learning about this forest when at school. I would also add that we was shown a photograph of the petrified forest in the bay. I wonder is we ever see that picture again.
@symons55 - I will PM you as I may be able to help. I am currently working on calculations and maps to work out where the division between the old bay coast and the lake. Despite many geologists attitude, there are records of such an event, and I need to check some other stories. I am not an expert, but I look at simple evidence and simple isostasis, as well as written records.
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