There isn’t a row of Cornish cottages like Trenance Cottages anywhere in Cornwall that is open to the public; that is why Trenance Cottages are so important. They are important because they are among very few remaining properties left in Newquay from the period before the passenger railway came in 1876.
The cottages are of great local architectural, historical, landscape and social significance, forming a remarkably intact group which have been largely unaltered in the 20th and 21st centuries. The term ‘iconic’ is appropriate as they are locally revered by a community wanting to promote and engage with its heritage.
History
Trenance means the farm in the valley – it’s a common Cornish place-name found in at least eight parishes in Cornwall today.
By the 1400s this Trenance belonged to the Arundels of Trerice. There was a manor watermill at Mellanvrane nearby, a dovecote and a windmill on the hill above.
The tithe map of 1841 showed a malthouse here – on or near the site of the cottages, one of six in Newquay at that time. Malt made from barley, a key ingredient of beer, was mainly exported. We know that in 1841 Trenance malthouse was owned by the Sleeman family and Peter Hoare, an innkeeper’s son, was, for a short time, the live-in ‘maltster’.
Sometime after 1850 the malthouse was converted into cottages, soon known as Vine, Middle and Rose. Each had a parlour, a kitchen, and two bedrooms, with Vine having a third bedroom and Rose a blacksmith’s forge. However, the valley was sparsely populated until the 19th century.
From 1839 to 1881 there was a shipyard round the corner in the Gannel , and a ship’s carpenter and blacksmith were early residents at Trenance. We think of tourism beginning when the passenger railway arrived in 1876, but visitors were arriving before that. The earliest visitors came on horseback, stage-coach or by sea. By 1851 it was possible to travel from London to Bristol by train and thence to Newquay by coach. Visitors staying at Trenance Cottages included, in September 1896, a party of servants from Langford House in Somerset.
In 1906 land for Trenance Gardens was given to Newquay Urban District Council by Viscount Clifden (Robartes), Silas Rickard and others and the pleasure gardens were laid out in the 1930s by the unemployed labourers who dug the boating lake were given a pasty a day and a shilling a week.
The New Millennium saw a bleak future for Trenance Cottages. Following the successful period as a 'Heritage Museum', the death of its popular proprietor and sometime mayor of Newquay, Derek James, found his widow, Mary, unable to carry on and the buildings were vacated. By then the cottages were in a sorry state- leaking roofs and crumbling walls left their owner, Restormel Borough Council with a huge problem.
Some councillors were known to want to sell the buildings off for housing, while others had openly suggested filling them with concrete , leaving just the façade as a reminder of this set of rare 19th Century dwellings! Fortunately, one councillor set out to save the cottages. Lesley Clarke, a champion of many causes in the town, announced her intention to back a hugely expensive scheme. Restormel had come up with a vision which would stabilise the structure and enclose start-up business units, a popular concept of the time. One million pounds would be needed, and grant-aid would be sought to keep the public contribution as small as possible. Enter the Friends of Trenance Cottage!
A public meeting held in the Autumn of 2005 saw Councillor Clarke spearheading a group of local volunteers in order to prove the town’s backing. There was immediate enthusiasm forsaving what was considered a valuable part of Newquay’s heritage; the Friends soon enlisted a membership of more than 800 people and the council used this demonstration of the town’s support as a vital tool in its overtures to funding bodies. Unfortunately, one by one, their bids failed. At this point, in 2007, Chairman of the Friends, Ted O’Dell, proposed that a community body like the one he represented might have more success. Heritage Lottery Fund proved very supportive of the new business plan, namely, to provide a building of community use, including meeting rooms, exhibition space and heritage displays, with sustainability in the form of Tea Rooms and a shop selling quality goods and local crafts.
HLF liked the ideas but required the Friends to form a charity and to acquire the freehold from Restormel Borough Council. And so, it was that Trenance Cottages became the last asset transfer made by the authority – on the final day of its existence, March 31st 2009 –‘sold’ for the princely sum of £1!
The cottages are of great local architectural, historical, landscape and social significance, forming a remarkably intact group which have been largely unaltered in the 20th and 21st centuries. The term ‘iconic’ is appropriate as they are locally revered by a community wanting to promote and engage with its heritage.
History
Trenance means the farm in the valley – it’s a common Cornish place-name found in at least eight parishes in Cornwall today.
By the 1400s this Trenance belonged to the Arundels of Trerice. There was a manor watermill at Mellanvrane nearby, a dovecote and a windmill on the hill above.
The tithe map of 1841 showed a malthouse here – on or near the site of the cottages, one of six in Newquay at that time. Malt made from barley, a key ingredient of beer, was mainly exported. We know that in 1841 Trenance malthouse was owned by the Sleeman family and Peter Hoare, an innkeeper’s son, was, for a short time, the live-in ‘maltster’.
Sometime after 1850 the malthouse was converted into cottages, soon known as Vine, Middle and Rose. Each had a parlour, a kitchen, and two bedrooms, with Vine having a third bedroom and Rose a blacksmith’s forge. However, the valley was sparsely populated until the 19th century.
From 1839 to 1881 there was a shipyard round the corner in the Gannel , and a ship’s carpenter and blacksmith were early residents at Trenance. We think of tourism beginning when the passenger railway arrived in 1876, but visitors were arriving before that. The earliest visitors came on horseback, stage-coach or by sea. By 1851 it was possible to travel from London to Bristol by train and thence to Newquay by coach. Visitors staying at Trenance Cottages included, in September 1896, a party of servants from Langford House in Somerset.
In 1906 land for Trenance Gardens was given to Newquay Urban District Council by Viscount Clifden (Robartes), Silas Rickard and others and the pleasure gardens were laid out in the 1930s by the unemployed labourers who dug the boating lake were given a pasty a day and a shilling a week.
The New Millennium saw a bleak future for Trenance Cottages. Following the successful period as a 'Heritage Museum', the death of its popular proprietor and sometime mayor of Newquay, Derek James, found his widow, Mary, unable to carry on and the buildings were vacated. By then the cottages were in a sorry state- leaking roofs and crumbling walls left their owner, Restormel Borough Council with a huge problem.
Some councillors were known to want to sell the buildings off for housing, while others had openly suggested filling them with concrete , leaving just the façade as a reminder of this set of rare 19th Century dwellings! Fortunately, one councillor set out to save the cottages. Lesley Clarke, a champion of many causes in the town, announced her intention to back a hugely expensive scheme. Restormel had come up with a vision which would stabilise the structure and enclose start-up business units, a popular concept of the time. One million pounds would be needed, and grant-aid would be sought to keep the public contribution as small as possible. Enter the Friends of Trenance Cottage!
A public meeting held in the Autumn of 2005 saw Councillor Clarke spearheading a group of local volunteers in order to prove the town’s backing. There was immediate enthusiasm forsaving what was considered a valuable part of Newquay’s heritage; the Friends soon enlisted a membership of more than 800 people and the council used this demonstration of the town’s support as a vital tool in its overtures to funding bodies. Unfortunately, one by one, their bids failed. At this point, in 2007, Chairman of the Friends, Ted O’Dell, proposed that a community body like the one he represented might have more success. Heritage Lottery Fund proved very supportive of the new business plan, namely, to provide a building of community use, including meeting rooms, exhibition space and heritage displays, with sustainability in the form of Tea Rooms and a shop selling quality goods and local crafts.
HLF liked the ideas but required the Friends to form a charity and to acquire the freehold from Restormel Borough Council. And so, it was that Trenance Cottages became the last asset transfer made by the authority – on the final day of its existence, March 31st 2009 –‘sold’ for the princely sum of £1!
