Hessenford
Hessenford photos (19 available)
Hessenford maps (2 available)
Map of Cornwall
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
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Hessenford books (12 available)
- 2 photos on Hessenford appear in 2 Frith books - View photos of Hessenford
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Hessenford and Cornwall
Hessenford memories
Read and share memories of Hessenford and Cornwall inspired by Frith photos
Hessenford, the village
I have just read the memory of the fishing trips and the use of the jeep to tow the fishing boat down the beach to launch it into the sea at Downderry. I also remember that jeep as if it were yesterday. My Grandmother, Marjorie Buckley, was the Headmistress of Hessenford School in the 40's and 50's (maybe into the 60's before she finally retired) and I spent alot of my youth living with her and on family holidays in Hessenford. I spent 9 months with my Grandparents towards the end of the war, as my home town, Redditch, had been badly bombed by the Germans. My Grandather died, I think in 1947, and is buried in the graveyard at ...read more here
Contributed by David Styler
Cornwall memories
Hessenford, the village
I have just read the memory of the fishing trips and the use of the jeep to tow the fishing boat down the beach to launch it into the sea at Downderry. I also remember that jeep as if it were yesterday. My Grandmother, Marjorie Buckley, was the Headmistress of Hessenford School in the 40's and 50's (maybe into the 60's before she finally retired) and I spent alot of my youth living with her and on family holidays in Hessenford. I spent 9 months with my Grandparents towards the end of the war, as my home town, Redditch, had been badly bombed by the Germans. My Grandather died, I think in 1947, and is buried in the graveyard at ...read more here
A memory of Hessenford contributed by David Styler
Hessenford
I have just read the memory of the fishing trips and the use of the jeep to tow the fishing boat down the beach to launch it into the sea at Downderry. I also remember that jeep as if it were yesterday. My Grandmother, Marjorie Buckley, was the Headmistress of Hessenford School in the 40's and 50's (maybe into the 60's before she finally retired) and I spent alot of my youth living with her and on family holidays in Hessenford. I spent 9 months with my Grandparents towards the end of the war, as my home town, Redditch, had been badly bombed by the Germans. My Grandather died, I think in 1947, and is buried in the graveyard at the ...read more here
A memory of Downderry contributed by David Styler
Fishing with Billy
Billy was a hero to we boys. In the daytime you could go crabbing with him; at night, out drifting. He drove an old open jeep and at times you would see five, six or even seven boys clinging to parts of this ex-US vehicle as it bounced its way up the slipway, or tore through the Cornish lanes on the way to Looe, where he kept his bigger boat, the "Ella".
A shake, or an alarm clock at 5.00am. Pull on my boots and a thick woollen jumper. It would be pitch dark, nothing stirred in the village. As I made my way the five hundred yards to the centre of the village, my heart would be in my ...read more here
A memory of Downderry contributed by D'Arcy Blank
Extracts From Hessenford & Cornwall books
St Anne’s church, consecrated in 1833, was built on a slope above the village near the site of the old church of
the same name which had been attached to St Germans Priory. It is in the Early English style, with a chancel and
nave, and a small west tower with a pointed spire containing one bell.
An extract from from"Churches of East Cornwall Photographic Memories".
We are looking west as the
A387 drops down into the
hamlet to the bridge over
the River Seaton at the
bottom of the hill, before
the road climbs up the
other side on its way to
Looe. The road has since
been widened here on
the left. Outside the near
cottage, note the two milk
churns awaiting collection
by a dairy lorry.
An extract from from"Cornwall Living Memories".
This scene has hardly changed for many years; the
beach at Polridmouth is still only accessible on foot.
Although we are just around the corner from St Austell
Bay, this photograph gives us a good view of the
prominent day mark erected in 1832 on the Gribbin
Head as an aid for shipping entering the bay.
An extract from from"St Austell Bay Photographic Memories".
The old pilchard-curing
cellar, or ‘palace’, beside the
shore in the foreground was
one of the largest in
Cornwall. However, by the
time of this early
photograph the harbour
seems already deserted by
the fishing fleet, perhaps in
favour of Mevagissey on the
far side of the bay.
An extract from from"St Austell Bay Photographic Memories".
A boat sails across the bay, which was known as Polkerris or Par Bay in the late-18th century.
The little village of Polkerris is situated at the end of a sheltered valley on the east shore of
St Austell Bay. There was an important pilchard fishery here, and the pier (left) was built in
about 1735 for sheltering the fishing boats rather than for trade.
An extract from from"St Austell Bay Photographic Memories".