It's been raining for a month, 10 inches of rain since the 19th October....

It’s been a dismal day in court. Dismal, that is, for those of us on the Bench who still hold out a glimmer of hope for the youth of West Cornwall in general – and Penzance in particular.

A clear night, a calm sea and only a short passage home to Cardiff. What could go wrong?

Regular readers may remember that, on October 26^th, we left two Penzance men awaiting sentence. Here is the third and final part of the story. If the wait has seemed long to you, imagine how it might have felt to them…

The name Batten had been synonymous with Levant since the reopening in 1820 but in 1849 John Batten IV brought the association to an end.....

New Street, the morning after, a whiff of smoke and some broken glass..........

Tonight Oscar Wilde is going to speak on the subject of America, about which he will later say that, "America has never quite forgiven Europe for having been discovered somewhat earlier in history than itself". 

Penzance's finest are holding a ball in Chapel Street but their enjoyment is about to be interrupted by news of a great victory....and a great death!

Councillor Thomas is the man who runs Penzance entertainment but today he is at the centre of the drama and doing none to well.........

To have the postal service served by by a building which is "second to none of any building of that kind in the west of England" is essential for a civilised town.................

It's two o'clock in the afternoon at St Michael's Mount, the tide has just started to flow, when suddenly the sea level rises by about six feet. It falls away then, 10 minutes later, rises again and again by six feet. And not just at the Mount, St Ives, Newlyn, Penzance all report the same occurence............

Lemon Hart, founder of a rum distilling business which was selling 100,000 gallons a year to the Royal Navy by 1849, was born in Penzance on 31 October 1768.

On 30 October 1899 the fishing boat Emeline left Lowestoft to return home to Mousehole. She never arrived. What happened to her?

There's something fishy about the closure and reopening of Levant Mine in 1871, and it's nothing to do with being under the sea..............

Thirty contestants are participating in a round-Penwith race which will end at Penzance Pavilion. Crowds have gathered, medals have been truck and maintenance completed. Newlyn has never seen the like! 

Lawyer Lanyon was arrested yesterday, along with Richard Stevens and now they're up before the magistratefor forgery and perjury..........

Morrab Place, bastion of middle class values, has been raided by the police and there they go, prisoner discretely held between them............. 

In 1851 Mary Kelynack, an elderly woman from Newlyn, walked to London over the course of five weeks. Did she really set off to see the Queen, or the Great Exhibition, or was it something else?

Penzance Corporation borrowed and spent a lot of money in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Mayor Henry Boase was one of those who found himself dealing with the consequences........

A glimmering light spotted through the murk and a ship is saved, but the Admiral, his flagship and 1400 men will not survive the night....

It’s Saturday evening, and the departure platform at Penzance is packed with 60 people.

The second worst accident in the history of mining in Cornwall happened at Levant Mine on 20^th October 1919. Thirty one men were killed and 19 were recorded as injured when the Levant man engine rod crashed down the shaft carrying with it its human cargo of miners coming up to grass from the morning core.

Cornishman, Thursday, 21st October. Newlyn, Tuesday.
With sunlight streaming across the Bay, the Rosebud set sail this morning from Newlyn.

It used to take 32 men to unload a collier at Penzance, but Taylors now have a steam crane............

St Ives Young Conservatives think they have a cunning plan to thwart the Socialist governments attemps to speed up progress.....

Vessel on fire reported off St Ives. Boats manned for rescue attempt…….

Coastguard Charlie May can hardly believe his eyes. There before him is a brilliantly lit leviathon of a ship and she's heading for the Manacles..............

Penzance Free Library, a beacon of light illuminating the path to the future......

There a public, or is it private, enquiry in Sennen today. Did the lifeboatmen fail in their duty, that's the issue under scrutiny.

The 11th October 1837 marked the first appearance of shoals of herring off St Ives for 14 years. It was the first day of a plentiful season....

The St Keverne gold rush: Ballarat expert forecasts bright future.

On the 9th October 1821 Joseph Carne presented a paper to the Annual Meeting the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall on the Mineral Productions and the Geology of St Just. The paper included the first mineralogical map of the St Just Mining District.

It’s 9.15 of a Tuesday morning, and the Swift – with Captain John Jacka at the helm – is heading out to sea. Captain Jacka is proud of the Swift: she’s a long-liner, only seven years old, with a proper motor.

The seafront at penzance is subject to fairly regular assaults by the sea. Many ppeople will remember the damage caused to the Jubillee Pool in 2014 but in 1880 the road to Newlyn was destroyed and lives were lost.

Elixirs, remedies, renewed vigour, improved performance etc. The snake oil salesman has been ever with us. But have you ever heard of Casumen which will put an end to "weakly, stunted men?" 

On 5th October 1900 Edward Hain, fourth of the name of head of  the family shipping business, was elected as M.P. for St Ives.

It's been hot, but the pressure has suddenly fallen, a storn is coming. How bad will it be?

This is Penzance. This is Penzance. The train now standing at platform 1 is the 10.00 am train for Paddington. Passengers for Aberdeen please board the rear two carriages. This train calls at St Erth, Hayle, Camborne..........arriving in Aberdeen at 8.35 tomorrow morning. 

Sunday 2nd October 1938. Chamberlain is back from Munich with his piece of paper and the church sermons give thanks for the lessening of international tensions while, in a less sombre mood, harvest festivals are celebrated across Penwith.

On 1 October 1817 a house belonging to Admiral Linzee, in Chapel Street, Penzance, was put up for sale. Which house was it? Is it still there? And who was Admiral Linzee?

1660: The restoration of the Monarchy, good times all round with the Merry Monarch and his friends and supporters. But this is a king who is a bit short of his own resources so how are the good times going to be paid for? People can be difficult to count, they move about, let's try hearths!

It's the "first annual demonstration" of the St Ives, Lelant and Towednack United Conservative Association and Mr Charles Ross M.P. is just arriving at the Malakoff, in a carriage and pair I hasten to add........

The St Just Wesleyan Chapel is a huge place, in its day it regularly hosted congrations in excess of 1000 people. Opened in 1833 it is a monument to a cultural moment which has now passed in into history but the iconic building still seems to draw the people......

100 degrees fahrenheit, high humidity, low oxygen, quarter of a mile out under the Atlantic ocean and about 1500 feet beneath the ocean floor. Why would anyone want to go to such a place...............

It's 1882, just three years since Joseph Swann amazed the Lit. and Phil. in Newcastle with his electric light, and now the people of Penzance can visit an exhibition lit by electric light.

The steam packet ship Herald made her first voyage from Bristol to Hayle on 24 September 1831, ushering a new service which would bring numerous benefits to west Cornwall over the next 30 years.

World Championship Heavyweight Boxing comes to Penzance, two years after the event on Coney Island but now's your chance to see the Cornish Blacksmith and World Champion Bob Fitzsimmons of Helston face challenger James J. Jefferies of California....