Sunday 19 August 2018

New! Newlyn Tidal Observatory book launched.

The new book tells the story of the small unassuming building next to the lighthouse on Newlyn’s South Pier. It is the Newlyn Tidal Observatory and it houses a simple domed brass bolt set in a recess in the floor, the top of which is the bench mark for all height measurements in mainland Great Britain.

The iconic painting on the cover of the book is The South Pier, Courtesy Anne Forrest (1918-2002 )

The Observatory opened in 1915, when the first world war was already underway. Its job was to collect sea level data which was used to calculate a mean sea level that became the bench mark for all heights in Great Britain and is known as the Newlyn Datum. The book describes the original equipment installed in the Observatory, the people who acted as official tidal observers, and how the work evolved over the next hundred years. The story has never been told with such detail, because the authors had available the original Newlyn Harbour Logs, Minute Books and Account Books, meticulously written by various harbour clerks, covering the period from when the Tidal Observatory was first conceived until the records held in the Archive end in 1986.

We will be launching the new Newlyn Archive publication 'The Newlyn Tidal Observatory' compiled by Richard Cockram, Linda Holmes, Ron Hogg and Frank Iddiols at the Boathouse on Bank Holiday Monday 27/8/2018 which will be open from 09.30 to 3.30. Up until that date we are offering the book at the discounted price of £7 (normally £8) to people who place their order before the launch date. 

Books may be picked up from the Boathouse on Bank Holiday Monday, where there will be a small exhibition about the Observatory, or later on mornings when the archive is open, or they can be posted (the buyer will have to pay postage charges).

You can download an order form from this link here:

Special Price for Orders before Bank Holiday Monday 27/8/2018 £7.00 (Normally £8)