Land's End
Land's End photos (286 available)
Land's End maps (2 available)
Map of Cornwall
Beautifully hand-drawn and coloured, dating from around 1840
Personalised maps
Create an historic map centred directly on any postcode!
Land's End books (12 available)
Truro Town Walk Guide
Paperback
Cornwall Living Memories
Paperback
St Austell Bay Photographic Memories
Paperback
- 2 photos on Land's End appear in 2 Frith books - View photos of Land's End
- Read extracts and see photos from these books on Land's End and Cornwall
Land's End memories
Read and share memories of Land's End and Cornwall inspired by Frith photos
Saving the shipwrecked sailors
Robert and Donald Mapleston and were excellent swimmers. (Their sister, my Great Grandmother, Anne Mapleston Jackson, passed away in 1944.) They lit bonfires to warn the ships, but when a ship wrecked they used a large rope and swam it out to pull the shipwrecked sailers back to shore. Family story also tells that they taught Kaiser Wilhelm to swim and dive and he rewarded them with silk robes with a dragon on the back. This instruction may have been in the early 1900s, unless the Kaiser was visiting in England prior to his famous visit in 1903. My Uncle told me these histories, saying he had seen one of the robes when he was young, but isn't sure what happened ...read more here
Contributed by Susan Ramagli
First & Last Forever
I have a photo of my glamorous mother in front of the First and Last House when three lines once sprawled across its roof—
H O U S E I N
E N G L A N D .
‘fore the plain structure amid stark sky.
Land’s End winds forever blow her hair—
The concept of a first and last house
first captured my mind when I was a child.
It will remain with me until my last breath.
Contributed by RM Gal
Cornwall memories
First & Last Forever
I have a photo of my glamorous mother in front of the First and Last House when three lines once sprawled across its roof—
H O U S E I N
E N G L A N D .
‘fore the plain structure amid stark sky.
Land’s End winds forever blow her hair—
The concept of a first and last house
first captured my mind when I was a child.
It will remain with me until my last breath.
A memory of Land's End contributed by RM Gal
Saving the shipwrecked sailors
Robert and Donald Mapleston and were excellent swimmers. (Their sister, my Great Grandmother, Anne Mapleston Jackson, passed away in 1944.) They lit bonfires to warn the ships, but when a ship wrecked they used a large rope and swam it out to pull the shipwrecked sailers back to shore. Family story also tells that they taught Kaiser Wilhelm to swim and dive and he rewarded them with silk robes with a dragon on the back. This instruction may have been in the early 1900s, unless the Kaiser was visiting in England prior to his famous visit in 1903. My Uncle told me these histories, saying he had seen one of the robes when he was young, but isn't sure what happened ...read more here
A memory of Land's End contributed by Susan Ramagli
Extracts From Land's End & Cornwall books
It is fair weather, and a ketch is making good progress under sail as she passes between the rocks of the Longships Lighthouse and Land’s End. Note the souvenir seller lurking by the rocks on the right to catch unwary tourists.
An extract from from"Cornwall County Memories".
The district has the first and last house and hotel, so why not a tree? The fact that trees are a rarity in this windswept peninsula makes this more significant. There is a low haystack beyond.
An extract from from"Cornwall County Memories".
This must be the most visited and certainly the best placed souvenir and refreshment shop in Cornwall, just a stone’s throw from the tip of Land’s End. We can see an extension on the right-hand side of the original small house, reflecting the increasing number of tourists who were then coming here.
An extract from from"Cornwall County Memories".
Several rock formations around Land’s End were given names, which certainly enhanced the place’s interest to tourists. These two are named after mythical giants, while other rocks have been given names such as Dr Syntax’s Head.
An extract from from"Cornwall County Memories".
This is not only the most westerly but perhaps also the most ugly and ill-sited post box in England, but it is clearly a place to post those souvenir postcards after a long cycle ride – perhaps from John o’Groats.
An extract from from"Cornwall County Memories".