Penzance Bus Station Area

rogb999

rogb999

Hi,

Can anyone help ? For a model I am doing I need a photo(s), or map, of the area to the rear of the station before it was the bus station and tourist information. I would also like to know what it was like when the harbour occupied what is the large car park which runs down Albert Pier opposite the bus station and when it was filled in. Anyone got any info to share ?

Best regards

Roger
 
sparky

sparky

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Staff member
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Hi Roger,
I think there may be some photo's not many, on here of what you are looking for, but as you can imagine there are litteraly thousands of pictures on here now.
if I have time over the next week will take a look/or at least narrow down the search for you and will get into contact again soon, unless anyone else can help out?
cheers Sparky::15:
 
symons55

symons55

Moderator
Staff member
I remember the harbour area before it was filled in, in fact we used to swim there as youngsters.
I also remember the Station area as I used to drive taxi in the mid 60's, the main rank was where the information and car hire is now.
 
rogb999

rogb999

Great, thanks f or that Symons55. Would love to get hold of a photo or map of that area around that time. Was the harbour a working harbour for largish vessels or just small craft as I have seen photos and plans showing a railway siding down the back of the station running out along Albert Pier.
 
symons55

symons55

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In my day it was just small boats that used it but many years earlier it would have had larger ones there, and I believe the tracks were used for loading and unloading, as were the tracks for the stone train at Newlyn.
 
welb1931

welb1931

Member
As I remember there were storage buildings and another which was the town mortuary and others which became PZ sailing club
rail tracks went to the end of the peir where a lot of scrap from the battleship Warspite was unloaded,there was also a machine
shop at the end I believe it was run by a Mr Watkins who was otherwise known as "Tarzan"....at the station end of the harbour
there was a weighbridge I think it was used in early days when ships unloaded grain - those I dont remember !!!
 
rogb999

rogb999

Hi welb1931,

Thanks for your response. The mortuary is shown old an old OS map copy I have. I presume traffic to it must have crossed the railway siding to get there. I have reference to HMS Warspite from another source, do you know when that would have been? Didn't she run aground on the way to the scrapyard ?? As mentioned it's the area around the mortuary and what I guess was the station yard with its covered goods areas, post the rebuild in the 1930-40's I am particularly intertested in. I remember the one nearest the station alongside platform 4, in front of the motorail terminal but the other wedge shaped one was gone before we first began coming down to Penzance. Thanks again for yet another insight.
 
Halfhidden

Halfhidden

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http://picturepenzance.co.uk/photos/showimage.php?i=5724&catid=searchresults&searchid=302
Here is a link to a picture before the changes to the bus station. This would have been taken in the 1980's. I'll try and find some more for you.

In this next picture is Ronnie James. His bus is standing pretty much where the tourist information centre was. They would have been on the railway station side. You'll note that the bus station and railway station were divided by concrete ship lap walls.
http://picturepenzance.co.uk/photos/showimage.php?i=5992&catid=searchresults&searchid=303

Here is a look at thee Railway station side from around 1970's. You'll note that several siding stood where the car park for the railway station and tourist information stood then.http://picturepenzance.co.uk/photos/showimage.php?i=7068&catid=searchresults&searchid=304

here's the same view 10 years later... you can see that the railway has already been down scaled.
http://picturepenzance.co.uk/photos/showimage.php?i=7061&catid=searchresults&searchid=304

Here is an OS of the Abbey and car park before it was filled in.
http://picturepenzance.co.uk/photos/showimage.php?i=20367&catid=searchresults&searchid=305

Here before the car park
http://picturepenzance.co.uk/photos/showimage.php?i=20413&catid=searchresults&searchid=304

and here in the 1960s just after completion
http://picturepenzance.co.uk/photos/showimage.php?i=5994&catid=searchresults&searchid=305

I think you may be better off contacting Morrab Private library as I know that they have quality prints of both these areas. But you will need to make an appointment with them and buy a copy of the prints
 
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rogb999

rogb999

Thanks for Your Help

Thanks for all your help in providing background to my project. It's amazing how just one question stirs up so many reminiscences. If anyone else has any photos or anecdotes regards the station and the Albert Pier please keep 'em coming. Thanks again to everyone

Best regards, brilliant site, (even to an outsider looking in !!)

Roger
 
welb1931

welb1931

Member
Hi, most of the scrap from the Warspite would have been late 40's early 50's...the 'bus station at that time would have been
in the station yard....I have an arial picture and will try a see what sort of resalution I can acheive by portioning the area out
and will post it if any good.....
 
duffy

duffy

Member
Well this thread brings back memories of when I worked on that car park job. Apart from other things one of the jobs I had was to demolish the buildings that included the old mortuary, it was replaced by another that is next to Bill Bowen's compressor shed further down the quay. Looking back on it, there was a lot of good dressed Cornish Granite thrown away on that job.
Anyway, when it came to the mortuary there was this huge bench in the middle and it was covered in thick heavy gauge lead. In no time the bench was dismantled and the lead taken up to the scrap dealer at the bottom of St James Street. A few pints were had from that load of "won" metal. ;-)))
 
duffy

duffy

Member
Right off the top and this may seem strange, but it was sometime just after the Beach Boys had a hit with "God only knows I love her".

I remember this because I had a Welsh guy working with me who was a Communist (shades of Wolfie Smith) and who was in love with this local girl who he called "Margaret". Never know what happened to him or her, but it was an easily recalled memory.

As was another when we were laying the drainage for the car park area, setting out and making the shuttering for the pipe covers. We had this "old" guy, carpenter he was, been everywhere, done every job he had, we ended up calling him "Johnny Liar". Though we could never prove he had not done all those jobs, but we calculated he would have been about 155 years old then!!!

Good old days.

Duffy ::15:::15:
 
rogb999

rogb999

Magic stuff ! 'God only Knows' was eighth track on the album, Pet Sounds and dates your recollections to around 1966. Who says nostalgia ain't what it used to be ??!!

Brilliant,

Roger



::15: ::11:
 
duffy

duffy

Member
ESSYO!!, thought it was a bit later than that. After, I worked on the then "new" Tesco building by the Gas Works site (found lots of old tunnels leading down to Albert Street.)

Duffy
 
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duffy

duffy

Member
I believe that the RAF did a full UK aerial photographic mapping programme between 1940 - 1947. Mayhaps there will be something there to help you?

Duffy
 
Halfhidden

Halfhidden

Untouchable
Administrator
Good point duffy. Also English Heritage own most of the aerial views taken between the 1940's right up to the late 70's. Well worth contacting them.
 
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