About St Ives

Whether you arrive in St Ives via the scenic coastal railway from St Erth, passing the long golden sandy beaches of Lelant and Carbis Bay and alighting above Porthminster beach to wend your way to the cobbled old town via a jumble of cottage-lined streets known as 'The Warren', or walk down from one of the many car parks, catching tantalising glimpses of the harbour, with its working fishing boats and bright turquoise water, you cannot fail to be impressed by the place whose unique quality of light and spectacular scenery attracted artists from Turner to Barbara Hepworth.

Located on the edge of the West Penwith moors, home to a plethora of ancient field systems and megalithic sites, it is thought St Ives was settled as early as the Bronze Age, when 'The Island', known as 'Pendinas' in ancient times, and offering views on three sides of the sea, was the site of a promontory fort. Later legends suggest that the town was founded by the Irish saint Ia, who arrived in the 5th century and gave both the town and the church of St Ia their names. The old town clusters around the church, which was built in the early fifteenth century and dominates the skyline. The church of St Ia is well worth a visit, if only for the Madonna and Child carving in the lady chapel, created by Barbara Hepworth in memory of her son, Paul, who died in a plane crash in 1953.

The Sloop Inn, on the wharf, dates back to around 1312, making it one of the oldest inns in Cornwall. For centuries the Sloop was a fisherman's pub, catering to what was the most important fishing port on the north coast. By the mid 18th century nine hundred million pilchards were dispatched from Falmouth, Fowey, Penzance and St Ives. Smeaton's pier, with it's octagonal cupola, was built in 1770 by John Smeaton, and the town continued to flourish as a fishing port until the twentieth century, when the arrival of the railways coincided with the decline of fishing, allowing tourism to take over as the town's main industry.

Art has long played an important role in the history of St Ives, nurturing thr growth of toursim long before the St Ives branch of the Tate gallery opened its doors in 1993. JMW Turner painted a landscape here in 1811, one of many luminaries who visited the town. Bernard Leach, the 'father of British studio pottery', arrived in 1920 and founded the Leach Pottery with Shoji Hamada, intent on promoting pottery as a combination of western and eastern arts and philosophies. In 1928 Ben Nicholson and Christopher Wood discovered the work of local artist, Alfred Wallis, and together with Barbara Hepworth founded the St Ives School, a colony of artists that survives to this day.

In celebration of the town's rich artistic identity, the St Ives September festival features a wide range of arts, music and literature. Established nearly thirty years ago, the festival now attracts thousands of visitors and performers from across the globe. Other important events in the St Ives calendar include New Year's Eve, when revellers in fancy dress flock to the town, cramming into the pubs and streets around the harbour, and the first monday in February, when the townsfolk observe an ancient tradition known as 'hurling the silver ball'. The mayor throws the ball from the church wall in the morning, whereupon it is thrown from person to person through the streets and down to the beach until noon, when whoever is holding it gets a prize. Overlooking the town is the Knill monument, a tower built in the 18th century by John Knill, mayor of St Ives in 1767. The terms of his will require that every five years ten young girls wearing white dresses dance through the streets and up to the tower, where they are joined by two widows and the mayor, who dance around the monument with them while specatators sing the hundredth psalm.

St Ives, which won the British Travel Awards 'Best Seaside Town' in 2010 and 2011, is spoilt for choice with a series of fantastic sandy beaches. Porthmeor, overlooked by the Tate gallery, is a popular surf spot, while Porthgwidden and Porthminster both provide excellent, safe swimming conditions and feature superb cafes. The main town clusters around the sandy harbour beach, where boats run trips to Seal island and bright cafe terraces battle for trade with award-winning pasty shops and excellent upmarket restaurants.