Helston

Coordinates: 50°06′00″N 5°16′00″W / 50.1°N 5.266667°W / 50.1; -5.266667

Helston
Cornish: Hellys/Henlys
Helston  Helston shown within Cornwall
Population	9.780 (Census 2001)[1]
OS grid reference	SW664273
Parish	Helston
Unitary authority	Cornwall
Ceremonial county	Cornwall
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	HELSTON
Postcode district	TR13
Dialling code	01326
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Cornwall
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	St Ives
List of places: UK • England • Cornwall

Helston (Cornish: Hellys or Henlys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula. It is the most southerly town in the UK, being around 1½ miles further south than Penzance. In 2001 the town celebrated the 800th anniversary of the granting of its Charter, making it the second eldest town in Cornwall after Marazion. The former tin-mining and cattle market town is also known for the annual Furry Dance (known locally as the Flora Dance), said to originate from the medieval period.

Geography

Helston is situated along the banks of the River Cober in Cornwall. It was previously an inland port. However the port declined when access to the sea was blocked by a sand bar (the Loe Bar) creating the biggest natural freshwater lake in Cornwall, known as Loe Pool. This was damaging to Helston but not fatally so, and the town continued to prosper through industries such as tin mining and coining, and its cattle market. Even with the closure of the port the various enterprises persuaded Customs and Excise to maintain a Customs House, which today houses "The Angel Hotel". The manor of Helston in Kerrier was one of the 17 Antiqua maneria of the Duchy of Cornwall.^[2]

Transport

Helston is not far from the main road links in Cornwall, and the nearest airport is in Newquay. Helston railway station used to be the terminus of the Helston branch line, the other end being Gwinear Road near Hayle, until the closure of the line in 1964 at the height of the Beeching cuts. A bus service linking Helston to the rail network is provided by Truronian (T34) bus service from Redruth railway station to Helston and RNAS Culdrose ^[3]. Currently the Helston Railway Preservation Company is undertaking the restoration of part of the line.

Climate

Helston has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb).

Flora Day: The Furry Dance and Hal-an-Tow ceremonies

Coinagehall Street and the Blue Anchor Inn

Flora Day occurs annually, on 8 May (except when the date falls on a Sunday or Monday - Monday being Market Day - when it is the preceding Saturday) Helston hosts the Furry Dance. There are four dances throughout the day, the first starting at 7 a.m. (historically for domestic servants), the ladies in summer frocks and the gentlemen in white shirts and dark grey trousers with neckties bearing the town crest, loaned for the day. The second dance at 9.50 is when children from the town's schools dance dressed all in white, the individual schools denoted by the head dresses that the girls wear. The premier dance follows at Midday when the "gentry of the County" dance, the ladies in long ball-type gowns topped off with picture hats and the gentlemen wearing full morning dress. The final dance of the day begins at 5 p.m., a dance historically for the tradespeople of the town. Participants in this dance are the only dancers to dance around the town twice, having already danced in the 7 a.m. dance. Only Helston- born people can dance in the lead set in each dance and the first male and female will only lead that dance once in their lifetime. Flora Day is administered by Stewards who elect stewards therefore continuing this wonderful occasion without outside interference. Helston Town Band play the famous tune and accompany all four dances on a long route around the town. The dwellings and shops of the town are festooned with bluebells, campions and whatever green foliage is available. Specific dances (not including the children's dance) go into and out of various private buildings, shops and grounds. The origins of the dance are not known but appear to represent a pre-Christian celebration of the passing of winter. On the same day the "Hal an Tow", another celebration of the coming of spring, is performed upon the streets of the town.^{[5][citation needed]} This is a morning ritual that is traditionally more boisterous than the dance. It is a moving street theatre that appears to have its origins in the Middle Ages, and the themes tend to be more English than uniquely Cornish. The theatre consists of the Hal-an-tow song accompanied by dancing and acting out the content of the verses. The costumes and the song itself represent many different historical and mythical themes. It has evolved over time, the most recent verse (about St Piran) only appeared within the 21st century.

Helston Town Band

Helston Town Band has a rich history, which can be traced back to the turn of the century. Indeed, there are members of the current band whose family connections extend back four generations. Inevitably, during the War the band reformed with new members and in 1946 numbers were consolidated when most of its pre-war members returned from active service. The band enjoyed steady progress at this time, which culminated in 1951 when it reached the National 3rd Section Finals at Belle Vue, Manchester.

In 1967, the band came under the direction of Edward Ashton, with whom the band gained much success and a reputation for consistently playing music to a high standard. Edward led the band to numerous successes in both local and regional contests, until his retirement in November 2002 after an incredible 35 years.

Following his retirement, the band appointed John Hitchens as their new Musical Director . The band has continued to flourish under John’s direction: in 2003, they were crowned Cornish First Section Champions, and in 2004 they gained promotion to the National First Section.

In 2006, the band were crowned West of England First Section Champions, and received an invitation to compete in the National First Section Finals in Harrogate, where they achieved a commendable 7th place. The band went on to achieve third place at the West of England First Section Championships in 2007, and were delighted to become West of England First Section Champions once again in 2008.

These excellent results mean that Helston Town Band earned promotion and is competing in the Championship Section in 2009 for this first time in its entire history.

Churches and places of interest

St. Michael's churchyard

Birthplace of Bob Fitzsimmons

There are several churches including St. Michael's Church, a humble church with stained-glass windows and a tall bell tower which can be heard throughout the town. In the surrounding graveyard there is a monument to Henry Trengrouse, the inventor of the rocket fired safety line - a device for aiding in the saving of lives in a shipwreck.

Helston is also the birthplace of Bob "Ruby Robert" Fitzsimmons, the first triple world boxing champion. The house where he was born and lived in Helston is still standing and is indicated by a plaque above the door.

The Helston folk museum, founded in 1949, occupies the building originally designed as the town's Market House in 1837, with two separate buildings—one for butter and eggs, the other the meat market. The exhibits are mostly concerned with Helston's agricultural and market town history. The museum also hosts art exhibitions and has a shop selling all things Cornish.

The Grylls Monument, at the end of Coinagehall Street was built by public subscription in 1834 to thank Humphry Millet Grylls, a local banker, who stopped the closure of Wheal Vor, a local mine that at the time employed over a thousand people.^[6]

Helston also hosts The Flambards Experience, formerly the Helston Aero Park, which is a theme park with a selection of rides together with a few remaining aviation exhibits. Nearby Wendron is home to the Poldark Mine theme park, where visitors can go underground into the old workings.

Sport

The town also boasts an active sporting scene, with Helston RFC, Helston Athletic FC and Helston Cricket Club all having prominent roles within the community. The Swallows Gymnastics Club is also extremely popular within the area.

The town has a King George V Playing Field. At the bottom of the town is Coronation Park which has a man made lake as its centrepiece where rowing boats can be hired in summer. A skate park is also situated close by the lake. The Penrose Amenity Area lies across the road from Coronation Park. National Trust-owned, this area, once part of the Penrose Estate, offers dog-friendly walks alongside the River Cober which leads down to Loe Pool and the sea beyond Loe Bar. Several yards off the main path is a bird-watching hide offering views over Loe Pool.

Administration

Bowlingclub and the Grylls Monument

The Helston parliamentary constituency elected two members to the Unreformed House of Commons. The Reform Act 1832 reduced this to one. Helston is now part of the St. Ives constituency, which covers the south-westernmost part of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and whose current member is the Liberal Democrat Andrew George, former pupil of Helston School.

Schools

Helston Community College, previously Gwealhellis Secondary Modern School, has the most pupils in Cornwall. Its South Site building has a long and distinguished history as a grammar school and boasts Derwent Coleridge as a headmaster, his pupils including Charles Kingsley^[7], John Duke Coleridge, Richard Edmonds, Thomas Rowe Edmonds, John Rogers, Henry Trengrouse and James Trevenen.^[8][9].

The School Houses in grammar school days were Coleridge, Kingsley and Tennyson. Alfred Tennyson's local connection was through his writing. Much of the Arthurian Legend was set in this area.

Helston has three primary schools. These are St. Michael's, Parc Eglos and Nansloe. The catchment area of Helston Community College includes these and many other schools from the surrounding villages.

Local newspapers

Helston is served by two local paid-for newspapers, The West Briton and The Packet: both offer a selection of news and local pictures. The West Briton, featuring the columnist Scrutineer, is understood to be the more popular of the two, despite costing almost twice the price of the Packet, which features the Skipper's column. The Helston News & Advertiser is a free weekly tabloid sized publication also available in the area and carries the generally accepted most popular column of all local newspapers, the infamous "Hines Sight" column which is penned by the Advertiser editor Toby Hines. The area is also covered by a small advertising only publication called the Helston & District Free Gazette.

Twinning

The town twinning link with Sasso Marconi goes back many successful years, and is based on a historical link, namely the first transatlantic radio signals sent by Marconi at nearby Poldhu cove.

• Pleuveur-Bodoù, Brittany
• Sasso Marconi, Italy

References

• Henderson, Charles G. (1935) Helston [and] The rules of a cobblers' guild at Helston in 1517. In: Essays in Cornish History. Oxford University Press; pp. 67-79

External links

• Helston Town Band
• Helston Town Council
• Helston History
• Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Helston
• Helston Railway Preservation Company Website
• Postcards of Helston

v • d • e Civil Parishes of the former Kerrier District Cornwall Breage • Budock • Camborne • Carharrack • Carn Brea • Constantine • Crowan • Cury • Germoe • Grade-Ruan • Gunwalloe • Gweek • Helston • Illogan • Landewednack • Lanner • Mabe • Manaccan • Mawgan-in-Meneage • Mawnan • Mullion • Porthleven • Portreath • Redruth •St Anthony-in-Meneage • St Day • St Gluvias • St Keverne •St Martin-in-Meneage • Sithney • Stithians • Wendron