Carbis Bay Old Postcards

Discover Cornwall -> Carbis Bay -> Slideshow of Historic Postcards

The history of Carbis Bay is a fascinating one, some of the postcards below illustrate how this beautiful place has developed over the years. Further pages will be added shortly covering the mining history and the effect of the St Ives rail link on tourism. Carbis Bay's popularity as a seaside resort increased over the years and saw the increase in the number of hotels and guest houses to cater for the visitor demand. Progress has seen them replaced by luxury apartments making Carbis Bay one of the most desirable holiday destinations in Cornwall. Visit  St Ives Archive Trust for more Carbis Bay and St Ives history

A selection of old postcards dating back over 100 years.

Click here for a larger Slideshow

Carbis Bay inherited its name when the Great Western Railway opened its St. Erth - St. Ives branch line in 1877. The valley was known as Carbis Valley and Carbis Water was further up at the main road, so the railway decided upon the name Carbis Bay for their station. The Cornish Telegraph of 19th September 1878 noted that the Great Western Railway had coined the name Carbis Bay for their station in Carbis Valley, and stated that the name was henceforward to apply to the whole valley. Until 1948 Carbis Bay was in the parish of Lelant, as St. Ives had been five centuries earlier. It was not until the port of Lelant, in the Hayle estuary silted, that St. Ives came into its own. 

Carbis means "cart bridge" and there was a stone bridge over the stream at Carbis Bay in olden days. Legend has it that when plague was raging in St. Ives in 1640 the country folk brought food for St. Ives, leaving it on or under the bridge, and the money to pay was left in the water - to be purified.

The beach was called Barripper or Porthrepta, or Carrack Gladden Cove and was only used by fishermen. Carbis river splashed out of the valley and wound its way across the sand to the sea, dividing the beach. On the St. Ives side, towards Porthminster Point was the old Providence mine. Its tumbledown engine house was demolished as it threatened to collapse on people on the beach below. Providence galleries ran far out under the sea.

The road to the beach was just a steep sandy track. Carbis Beach Apartments was developed by Holmans of Cambome after 1891. There were houses and hotels on the site which were knocked down in the early 70's, by a developer who then went bankrupt and the site stood empty and undeveloped until it was purchased it in 1999. The house on the end of the site was called Trencrom Villa, next door was the Carrack Gladden Hotel and next to that was the Porthrepta Hotel. Trencrom Villa was the Officers Mess during the Second World War.

The first boarding or lodging house was built in 1877. A Mr & Mrs Hendra, from the mining district, built Maria Villa which became Hendra's hotel.  This has subsequently been developed into the Sands Apartments. A donkey cart used to bring the luggage up from the station.

The Carbis Bay Hotel was also early on the scene after the Railway had cut its way along the coastline. The hotel was built over mine workings at the very edge of the foreshore. The train at Carbis Bay stopped just below the house of Mr Harold Begbie who was an author, his house was called Bosahan, which later became the St. Uny Hotel. The hotel was knocked down about six years ago and Compass Point now stands on the site.

There are three wrecks on Carbis Bay Beach which you can see at low tide the wreck in the centre of the beach is the "Cintra" a collier of about 400 tons. The other two are at the far end of the beach, Lelant side, they are the "Vulture" 350 tons and the "Bessie", nearly 300 tons. The boilers of the "Vulture" were an adventure playground for children until they went for scrap in World War Two. The gale that claimed these three boats was in November 1893, the Bessie was first, fifteen minutes later the Vulture was dashed ashore on the beach. Half an hour after the Bessie was wrecked the Cintra, too, was aground. The Cintra's anchor was recovered in 1959.

 

More Information :

Click the links below to see more information.

• Restaurants in Carbis Bay
• Rail link to St Ives
• Car Parks in Carbis Bay
• Shuttle bus to Carbis Bay Beach
• Carbis Bay to St Ives Walk
• Carbis Bay to Hayle Walk
• Carbis Bay to Trencrom Hill Drive/Walk
• St Ives Bay Biathlon
• Slideshow of Historic Postcards
• Ocean Sports Adventure
• Knill Steeple and Nature Reserve
• History of Carbis Bay