Intertwined with the history of St Ives
- Porthminster hotel
- Your stay
- Surrounded by history
Surrounded by history
The very special appeal that St.Ives holds to residents and visitors alike centres on its picturesque cottages, narrow twisting alleyways and cobbled streets which, by and large, have successfully resisted the onslaughts of time. However, while those features have endured, it’s economy has undergone a complete transformation, and is no longer dominated by the mackerel, pilchard and herring fisheries, but by tourism when holiday makers from far and near visit this delightful old Cornish town to enjoy it’s unique atmosphere and attractions.
This new industry arrived in the 1870’s with the opening of a branch railway line from St. Erth. The effect on the townspeople of St.Ives was profound. Families who had previously earned a hazardous living from the sea found that it was possible to pay a whole years rent by letting their properties out for just a few weeks. Slowly the traditional industries began to die out. Net making, sail making, coopering, ship building and fish curing have all disappeared. What remains, though, is very special – Magnificent beaches, a thriving artists’ colony, wonderful coastal walks, the town itself, and a climate that allows sub-tropical plants to flourish and holiday makers to enjoy long days in the sun.
It was for the purpose of providing first-class accommodation to holiday makers that, in 1894 a new company was formed: The Porthminster House Company Limited. The “St.Ives weekly summary, visitors list and advertiser” of Saturday, March 25th. stated, “A valuable freehold site of nearly an acre in extent has been acquired at the comparatively low price of £625.00. Designs for a handsome and substantial building have been prepared, containing 38 bedrooms, large drawing rooms and dining rooms, private sitting rooms, billiard and smoking rooms, with all conveniences and offices necessary for comfort.” 750 shares of £10 each were issued bringing the nominal capital to £7,500. The original Board of Directors were some of the most prominent people in St.Ives; Mr. John Nicholls was Mayor of St.Ives; Mr. Thomas Lang was a builder whose firm not only built the Porthminster Hotel but also the railway line from St. Erth. Also on the Board were Mr. Joshua Daniel, a J.P., and Mr. Edward Hain, a local shipping magnate. Mr. Hain's name is carried by the Hospital opposite the Hotel. The Company Secretary was Mr. Edward Boase, the town Clerk. The Company’s bankers were Messrs. Bolitho, Williams, Foster, Coode, Grylls & Co. of St.Ives now part of Barclay’s Bank. Many descendants of the original Board and Shareholders are still actively involved with the Hotel.
When the Hotel was built the front entrance was situated at garden level and the doors are to be seen in the main lounge bar. Guests were met at the railway station by the Hotel Porter and walked up through the gardens to the Hotel. As the motor car became established the current entrance was constructed. This is why guests now enter the Hotel on the first floor.
As time progressed, so too did the Hotel. As new trends and fashions emerged and new technology became available they were reflected in the Hotel. A lift was added, television lounges appeared and then disappeared to be replaced by televisions in each bedroom:
Gas and electric fires with slot meters came and went; all rooms became fully carpeted; billiards lost it’s popularity and the Hotel found another use for the Billiard Room and so it continues.
The facilities outside the Hotel have changed too. When built, the Hotel boasted a tennis court, this became a croquet lawn, a plain lawn, a putting green and finally, in 1971, our outdoor heated swimming pool. The last guest to hole a putt on the old putting green was Mr. Geoff Boycott, the former England and Yorkshire opening batsman. With the addition of a chalet containing sauna and solarium, and a children’s play area, the Hotel gardens became a delightful place to spend a lazy day and to soak up the sun for the whole family.
Extensions were built for the dining room and lounge bar areas, both offering uninterrupted views of Porthminster Beach, Hayle Towans and Godrevy Lighthouse.
In 1988, the Hotel acquired two properties adjoining the Hotel. ‘Sea Melody’ and ’St. Michaels by the Sea’. ‘St. Michaels by the Sea’ (now our Leisure Centre) was the home of Miss Emily Hobhouse, the famous reformer of the concentration camps during the Second Anglo-Boer War. Miss Hobhouse (who was born in a parsonage in Cornwall on the 9th. April, 1860), became a national heroine in South Africa with her relentless recommendations to both the Government in Britain and Lord Milner in South Africa for improvements to conditions in these camps. Thanks to her hard and unselfish work many thousands of lives were saved. South African General Jan Smuts was moved to quote
“We stood alone in the world, the smallest nations ranged against the mightiest empire on the earth. Then one small hand, the hand of a woman was stretched out to us… strangest of all, she was an Englishwoman”.
‘St. Michaels by the Sea’ was purchased in July 1921 by the people of South Africa for Emily Hobhouse. On her birthday Miss Hobhouse received a basket of fruit from the country for which she had done so much. Miss Hobhouse was invited to unveil the National Women’s Monument at Bloemfontein in 1913, but sadly she was not well enough to attend; her inaugural address was read out by her good friend Mrs. Steyn, wife of the Free State President. In the grounds of the Porthminster Hotel, can be found the Orange River Lily, which is the official flower of the Orange Free State which was planted all those years ago by Emily Hobhouse.
As part of the Hotel’s Centenary Celebrations, on Wednesday, 8th. June, 1994 the Emily Hobhouse commemorative plaque which is situated within, what was her lounge, but now forms a part of the Porthminster Hotel Leisure Centre was unveiled by the South African High Commissioner Mr. Kent Durr as a tribute to her humanitarianism and heroism during the Anglo-Boer War. A leaflet is available at Reception giving a more detailed history of this remarkable Cornish Lady.
These two properties now house a fully equipped Leisure Centre, a Meeting Room and some additional Family Suites. The Leisure Centre boasts an indoor Heated Swimming Pool, Sauna, Solarium, Spa bath and Trimnasium.