Cornwall and the Coast

A favourite Cornish toast at the end of the 18th century was 'fish, tin and copper' and it was the first of these that brought prosperity to the Mount's Bay ports of Mousehole and Newlyn. Fish, fishing grounds and markets change, but Newlyn survives at the centre of the fishing industry and remains one of England's most important fishing ports. Fishing in Mousehole has long since ceased, although the port enjoys a thriving tourist industry. Cornwall and the Coast: Mousehole and Newlyn explores how the diverging interests of these physically and historically linked towns developed. From the medieval watermills and market place of Mousehole, to controversial slum clearance and the fight to save the fishing fleet in 20th- and 21st- century Newlyn, the story of the two towns is told against a backdrop of national concerns including the Spanish Raid of 1595, the English Civil War, the visits of John Wesley and the arrival of the railways. Themed chapters within this chronology explore the emergence of Newlyn's artist colony and the centrality of Mousehole and Newlyn to the survival of the Cornish language.