Books

Polkerris – A History of the Village and its Pilchard Fishery

Tucked away in the north-east corner of St Austell Bay in Cornwall lies the little village of Polkerris. In the 18th century the bay was called the Bays of Mevagizey and Polkerris, the village’s significance then arising from its pilchard fishery which had developed from the late 16th century when the Rashleigh family bought extensive lands on the beautiful Gribbin peninsula and built Menabilly.

This book tells the story of both the fishery for the pilchard – that humble but essential staple food and vital export – which thrived in the village for well over two centuries and the unique village which has remained part of the Menabilly Estate for over four centuries.

This lively account of a quinitessentially Cornish coastal village also explores smuggling, the coastguards, the lifeboats, the little school housed in an old pilchard cellar, the life of the community as part of the Menabilly Estate and, bringing the story up to date, tourism which grew from the late 1800s when Polkerris was described as ‘a wild and beautiful fishing cove’.

Polkerris, Cornwall  from A Voyage Round Great Britain, 1825. Drawn and engraved by William Daniell

Polkerris in about 1864 (Cornwall Record Office)

272 pages including 16 pages of plates – over 60 colour and black and white illustrations.   247 x 171mm. Published in October 2018

Available from

Nigel Hall – 01761 221632, nigelhall256@hotmail.com.  £15, including postage and packing

or

• The Rashleigh Inn, Polkerris – 01726 814685
• Shrew Books, Fowey – 01726 833361, shrew@shrewbooks.co.uk
• Bookmark, Falmouth – 01326 211252, tasha_berks@yahoo.co.uk
• Falmouth Bookseller – 01326 312873, falmouth@mabecronbooks.co.uk
• Hurley Books, Mevagissey –  01726 842200, inquiries@hurleybooks.co.uk
• Just Books, Truro – 01872 242532, info@justbookskernow.co.uk
• The Wadebridge Bookshop, Wadebridge – 01208 812489, info@wadebridgebookshop.co.uk
• Waterstones, Truro – 01872 225765, truro@waterstones.com

Old Postcards of Polkerris

Early commercial photographers left a valuable historic record in the form of postcards. At the beginning of the 20th century these were produced in immense numbers and widely used. The postal service was reliable and even in an out of the way little place like Polkerris there were two deliveries and collections each week day. Local photographers  S Dalby-Smith, W J Osborne and Fred Kitto produced postcards well before World War 1 which tell us a great deal about the village at that time. During the inter war years Kathleen Rundell of Par continued the story with her many postcards.

This book is a selection of some of the best of these early postcards of Polkerris and the immediate area accompanied by a commentary introducing the reader to the fascinating history of this beautiful Cornish village.

46 pages  and  44 illustrations. 210 x 148mm. Second edition published in 2014

Available from

Nigel Hall – 01761 221632, nigelhall256@hotmail.com £6.95, including postage and packing

or

• The Rashleigh Inn, Polkerris – 01726 814685
• Shrew Books, Fowey – 01726 833361, shrew@shrewbooks.co.uk
• Hurley Books, Mevagissey –  01726 842200, inquiries@hurleybooks.co.uk

 

Old Postcards of Polkerris and Menabilly

A third edition of the Old Postcards book has now been published as a limited edition of 100 copies. It has been expanded to include Menabilly, the famous house at the heart of the historic Rashleigh estate of which Polkerris forms a part. The book has 64 pages and includes 60 black and white illustrations. It is available from the above outlets. £10 plus postage and packing.