The Edgcumbe Arms, Cremyll
THE HISTORY OF CREMYLL
The gateway to Mount Edgcumbe and the Rame Peninsula.
Cremyll has long been one of the main gateways into Cornwall; records of a crossing date back to the Norman Conquest, and Cornish mail flowed through here until 1794. The turn pike ran up the hill to Crafthole and on to Liskeard, and the toll house still stands beside the road, now, the Cremyll car park. The Edgcumbe family owned the ferry rights from 1493 until 1944, and built the Earl's Waiting Room in the mid-19th century. If you have arrived by ferry from Admiral's Hard, try to imagine the waterfront as it appeared on a typical Monday in 1871, when Louis Duprez published his Visitors' Guide to Mount Edgcumbe. The beach is crowded with hundreds of visitors and boatmen are 'vociferating loudly in their zealous endeavour to embark as many fares as possible'. There are ' gingerbread and sweetmeats stalls' and trade is brisk at the Mount Edgcumbe Arms- 'an old fashioned well-regulated house'.
Walking past the pub to the end of the quay, you will arrive at the shipyard, where vessels have been built and serviced for at least 270 years. Bought by the Mashfords in 1930, in World War II the yard build anti-submarine motor launches and assault landing craft for the Admiralty. Other satisfied customers have included a trio of trailblazing sailors- Sir Francis Chichester, Sir Alec Rose and Ann Davison, The Italianate Tower House which stood beside the boatyard was reduced to rubble by german bombers in March 1941, the same night that Mount Edgcumbe House went up in flames. Three residents died in the attack, including the ferry skipper and the engineer; after this the Millbrook Steamboat Company stepped in to help with the crossing.
In 1730 the fourth Earl was so incensed by passengers' behaviour that he made Cremyll beach the new landing point, and by 1835 the crossing had changed to the present route. In 1810 fares included 5 shillings for a coach and 4 horses, and one guinea for a hearse and coffin. The first steam boats were introduced in 1885, towing a 'horse boat' which often broke away and had to be chased down stream.
Cremyll has long been one of the main gateways into Cornwall; records of a crossing date back to the Norman Conquest, and Cornish mail flowed through here until 1794. The turn pike ran up the hill to Crafthole and on to Liskeard, and the toll house still stands beside the road, now, the Cremyll car park. The Edgcumbe family owned the ferry rights from 1493 until 1944, and built the Earl's Waiting Room in the mid-19th century. If you have arrived by ferry from Admiral's Hard, try to imagine the waterfront as it appeared on a typical Monday in 1871, when Louis Duprez published his Visitors' Guide to Mount Edgcumbe. The beach is crowded with hundreds of visitors and boatmen are 'vociferating loudly in their zealous endeavour to embark as many fares as possible'. There are ' gingerbread and sweetmeats stalls' and trade is brisk at the Mount Edgcumbe Arms- 'an old fashioned well-regulated house'.
Walking past the pub to the end of the quay, you will arrive at the shipyard, where vessels have been built and serviced for at least 270 years. Bought by the Mashfords in 1930, in World War II the yard build anti-submarine motor launches and assault landing craft for the Admiralty. Other satisfied customers have included a trio of trailblazing sailors- Sir Francis Chichester, Sir Alec Rose and Ann Davison, The Italianate Tower House which stood beside the boatyard was reduced to rubble by german bombers in March 1941, the same night that Mount Edgcumbe House went up in flames. Three residents died in the attack, including the ferry skipper and the engineer; after this the Millbrook Steamboat Company stepped in to help with the crossing.
In 1730 the fourth Earl was so incensed by passengers' behaviour that he made Cremyll beach the new landing point, and by 1835 the crossing had changed to the present route. In 1810 fares included 5 shillings for a coach and 4 horses, and one guinea for a hearse and coffin. The first steam boats were introduced in 1885, towing a 'horse boat' which often broke away and had to be chased down stream.