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The Newlyn riots occurred in Newlyn, Cornwall, UK in May 1896. Cornish fishermen did not believe in landing fish on a Sunday, so other fleets exploited their opportunity. Locals retaliated by seizing non-Cornish vessels and throwing their catch overboard. This led to three days of rioting, quelled only by the intervention of a naval destroyer.
In the late 19th century the fishing port of Newlyn was home to one of the UK's largest fishing fleets, and was also the regular landing port for many other fishing vessels operating off the Cornish coast. At the time Newlyn was also the home to as many as five Methodist and Non-Conformist religious groups, whose congregations included the local fishermen, most of whom practised a ban on fish being landed on the Sabbath. The non-Cornish fishing crews, largely from Lowestoft and northern English ports, did not hold the same opinions about Sabbath observation, and would frequently land fish on a Sunday attracting higher prices for their fish than those sold on a weekday. [1]
The riots began in the early morning of Monday 18 May [2] when a group of up to 40 Newlyn fishermen, supported by a mob of around 1,000 others, boarded the boats of "East" (of Cornwall) fishermen moored in Newlyn Harbour and destroyed their catches. By mid-morning some 16 boats had been seized and approximately 100,000 mackerel thrown overboard. [2] By midday messages were sent to the fishing communities of St Ives, Mousehole and Porthleven for help in intercepting the further 100 non-Cornish fishing vessels still at sea in the area.
Within minutes of the riot's beginning, a message was sent to the county police station at Chyandour in Penzance asking for assistance, and by mid-morning a large number of police had assembled from all parts of west Cornwall. Since an estimated 100 Lowestoft vessels were still at sea a small steamer was dispatched, containing the Newlyn harbour master, to advise them of the situation; the steamer was duly chased by a local trawler. By late afternoon the Porthleven fleet arrived in support of the Newlyn men.
The next day the police and local fisherman exchanged in a number of violent encounters around Newlyn Harbour. The only recorded injury was to local Police Inspector Matthews, who was knocked on the head by a fish box. [2] As the rioting continued seven "Yorkie" vessels were sighted making for Penzance harbour to land their catches there. Around 300 of the rioters then made for that harbour and were met by a detachment of the Penzance Borough Police, supported by a group of local Penzance youths. The strong resistance met on arrival in Penzance forced the rioters to return to Newlyn.
By mid-afternoon the situation had become so serious that the local authorities asked for military assistance. At 6:00 pm 400 soldiers from the Royal Berkshire Regiment under Major Massard arrived by train at Penzance railway station and made for temporary barracks in Penzance to await orders.
Around 8:00 pm a considerable riot broke out between the Newlyn, Porthleven and St Ives men, and the men of Penzance supported by the men of Lowestoft, who had by this time managed to land their catches. Around 100 police of both the Penzance and Cornwall forces attempted to intervene but were beaten back, this leading the police to summon the assistance of the military recently stationed in Penzance. The soldiers immediately made for Newlyn, again joined by several hundred Penzance men, and, upon crossing Newlyn bridge, were met with stone throwing. The soldiers then made for the Harbour and occupied the piers. While this was occurring the torpedo boat destroyer HMS Ferret entered the harbour. The arrival of the military calmed the rioters, and by midnight that day they had largely dispersed.
Penzance is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about 64 miles (103 km) west-southwest of Plymouth and 255 miles (410 km) west-southwest of London. Situated in the shelter of Mount's Bay, the town faces south-east onto the English Channel, is bordered to the west by the fishing port of Newlyn, to the north by the civil parish of Madron and to the east by the civil parish of Ludgvan. The civil parish includes the town of Newlyn and the villages of Mousehole, Paul, Gulval, and Heamoor. Granted various royal charters from 1512 onwards and incorporated on 9 May 1614, it has a population of 21,200.
Newlyn is a seaside town and fishing port in south-west Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the largest fishing port in England.
Penwith is an area of Cornwall, England, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after one of the ancient administrative hundreds of Cornwall which derives from two Cornish words, penn meaning 'headland' and wydh meaning 'at the end'.
Mount's Bay is a bay on the English Channel coast of Cornwall, England, stretching from the Lizard Point to Gwennap Head. In the north of the bay, near Marazion, is St Michael's Mount; the origin of name of the bay. In summer, it is a generally benign natural harbour. However, in winter, onshore gales present maritime risks, particularly for sailing ships. There are more than 150 known wrecks from the nineteenth century in the area. The eastern side of the bay centred around Marazion and St Michael's Mount was designated as a Marine Conservation Zone in January 2016.
Mousehole is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately 2.5 miles (4 km) south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay. The village is in the civil parish of Penzance. An islet called St Clement's Isle lies about 350 metres (380 yd) offshore from the harbour entrance.
Golowan is the Cornish language word for the Midsummer celebrations in Cornwall, UK; widespread prior to the late 19th century and most popular in the Penwith area and in particular Penzance and Newlyn. The celebrations were centred on the lighting of bonfires and fireworks and the performance of associated rituals. The midsummer bonfire ceremonies were revived at St Ives in 1929 by the Old Cornwall Society and since then spread to other societies across Cornwall, as far as Kit Hill near Callington. Since 1991 the Golowan festival in Penzance has revived many of these ancient customs and has grown to become a major arts and culture festival; its central event Mazey Day now attracts tens of thousands of people to the Penzance area in late June.
The Scottish east coast fishery has been in existence for more than a thousand years, spanning the Viking Age right up to the present day.
The Moray Firth fishing disaster of August 1848 was one of the worst fishing disasters in maritime history on the east coast of Scotland, and was caused by a severe storm that struck the Moray Firth. The event led to widespread improvements to harbours and significant changes to the design of fishing boats over the remainder of the 19th century.
Mullion Cove, or Porth Mellin, is a small community on the West Coast of the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, England, and on the eastern side of Mount's Bay. The Cove forms part of the parish of Mullion, and is accessible by road from Mullion village, 1 mile (1.6 km) to the northeast, and also via the South West coast path. It lies within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
Bucca is a male sea-spirit in Cornish folklore, a merman, that inhabited mines and coastal communities as a hobgoblin during storms. The mythological creature is a type of water spirit likely related to the Púca from Irish, the Pwca from Welsh folklore, and the female mari-morgans, a type of mermaid from Welsh and Breton mythology. Rev W. S. Lach-Szyrma, one 19th-century writer on Cornish antiquities, suggested the Bucca had originally been an ancient pagan deity of the sea such as Irish Nechtan or British Nodens, though his claims are mainly conjecture. Folklore however records votive food offerings made on the beach similar to those made to the subterranean Knockers and may represent some form of continuity with early or pre-Christian Brittonic belief practices.
Fishing in Cornwall, England, UK, has traditionally been one of the main elements of the economy of the county. Pilchard fishing and processing was a thriving industry in Cornwall from around 1750 to around 1880, after which it went into an almost terminal decline. During the 20th century the varieties of fish taken became much more diverse and crustaceans such as crab and lobster are now significant. Much of the catch is exported to France due to the higher prices obtainable there. Though fishing has been significantly damaged by overfishing, the Southwest Handline Fishermen's Association has started to revive the fishing industry. As of 2007, stocks were improving. The Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee is one of 12 committees responsible for managing the corresponding Sea Fisheries District. The Isles of Scilly Sea Fisheries Committee is responsible for the Scilly district.
The fishing industry in England covers the fish processing industry and fishing trawler companies that fish around England.
Jack Pender (1918–1998) was a British artist.
Penzance Borough Police was the police force for the borough and corporate town of Penzance, Cornwall, from 1836 to 1947. It was formed following the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which reformed all UK boroughs, and stipulated that each appoint a Watch Committee to oversee a police force. The police force formed part of the commonality of the town's government, led by an elected Mayor, six aldermen and eighteen councillors.
Presented below is an alphabetical index of articles related to Cornwall:
