Herbert Victor - Mousehole artist.

There is an interesting story on the Newlyn.info web site about a watercolour painting by TH Victor, a Mousehole artist whose painting of the North Pier with a steamer alongside has been spotted on the walls of houses in many TV programmes over the years.

According to the article, the house in the middle of the picture is 34 Fore Street - if the story is referring to the house with the granite steps running up the side then this property is, in fact, 68 Fore Street, to the west is 72 and sharing the same entrance as 68 is 64 Fore Street. One explanation for the missing number could be that the side entrance to 68, which gives access to what was the net loft, may have been used as accommodation at the time.

The building that is 64/68 has a single, wide entrance, protected heavy wooden doors at either end of a shared passage allowing access to the front doors of both houses. Inside, there is an open courtyard with one of the best preserved pilchard cellars in Newlyn with many original features including the blue elvin granite pebble floor. The net loft section at the rear of 68 is supported by a number of tall granite stone pillars.

For much of the 1900s both properties were one and lived in by a Miss Jacka - a well known seamstress who provided many Newlyn girls (well off ones!) with wedding dresses copied from latest fashions from the cover of Vogue (from Freda Hichens). She had a less than tolerant view of any tourists who parked in front of the downstairs kitchen with its huge fireplace so restricting her view and would appear at the door brandishing her broom demanding that they move on!

The house, originally thought to be thatched, was built around 1700, but the inside walls suggest that this may have been based on an earlier cob walled dwelling.

In the painting, the window just to the right of the stone steps (originally to the pantry) may possibly be a candidate for the smallest glass window in the UK!