Newlyn - Cornwall
The Newlyn collection is named after the beautiful fishing town located just next to Penzance. The town is famous for its history in its fishing community and for possessing the largest fishing fleets in the UK. The Newlyn Harbour takes up over 40 acres with a wide variety of different fishing vessels utilising the area. Every year during August, the Newlyn Fish Festival takes place in celebration of its fishing community and history.
In 1935, After the inclusion of Newlyn to the Penzance Borough, the Penzance Medical officer of health began to assess the housing quality of Newlyn as it was described to have had some houses that were unsuitable for living. The assessment concluded that many of Newlyn’ houses was ‘unfit for human habitation’, although many of the houses were more than suitable but were still grouped in with the few that were not. The 6 ¾ acres of Newlyn that had been decided to be unsuitable now had plans to be demolished and turned into flats and open spaces.
Unsurprisingly, Newlyn was not happy with this plan, and began to furiously protest due to the fact that many of the Newlyn Residents would become homeless. Soon, the Newlyn protest began to gain attention and support throughout the UK, especially from many of the artists who enjoyed the landscape of Newlyn and the beauty it held. This accelerated the protest’s growth in engagement and helped put a spotlight on its issues.
The most famous protest occurred in 1937 when Cecil Richards used his fishing boat, encouraged by the residents of Newlyn to carry the petition to stop the demolition in Newlyn all the way to Westminster parliament. This boat was famously named ‘Rosebud’, and it can be seen referenced all around Newlyn to this day!
There was a massive celebration as the Rosebud arrived along the themes and the cheering carried on along the Thames all the way until their destination, making headlines in all of the Newspapers!
While this protest did not fully prevent the demolition of Newlyn, it did delay it and caused only a small portion to be demolished and turned into flats/carparks until WWII began, where all works and demolition within Newlyn came to a halt.
Since the War came to an end, there was no longer a desire to continue the demolition and renovation of Newlyn, and houses that were once planned for demolition then, are now protected by Conservation Authorities.
The Newlyn Bangle collection was named after its harbour and its beautiful angular walls that have a similarity to the squareness of the bangles. Newlyn is another place in Cornwall that I and my Family are extremely fond of, and even have family that have lived and worked there all their lives. I wanted to make sure I could represent this strong, powerful and independent area of Cornwall with my Newlyn Bangle that conveys the sense of strength, power and beauty that can be seen throughout Newlyn.
