Newquay Harbour Tramway

The transformation of Newquay from a small fishing hamlet to a major Cornish town took place as a result of the purchase of the Manor of Town Blystra by London entrepreneur Richard Lomax in 1832. His initial replacement of the small quay at Newquay by a larger harbour, and completed following his death by industrialist Joseph Thomas Treffry, saw the 1830’s and 1840’s as pivotal decades and what all Newquay’s future expansion would rest upon. The harbour coastal maritime trade would develop as a result of the mineral tramway. In due course replacement of the tramway by a passenger railway from 1876 allow the development and growth of Newquay as Cornwall’s most popular tourist destination.

Here is a brief story of the harbour tramway accompanied by images of the harbour for over nearly 160 years. Images from the collections of Newquay Heritage Archive & Museum and the ‘John Vaughan Collection’ of Newquay images, acquired by Association for Cornish Heritage from the well known railway author, in order that projects such as this could be carried out.

This video support the 2021 Local History and Community Month as a collaboration between Newquay Heritage Archive & Museum and Newquay Library.