Carbis Bay

History

Carbis Bay is perhaps best known as the location of the 47th G7 summit in 2021.

Geography

Carbis Bay is almost contiguous with the town of St Ives and is in St Ives civil parish (part of the area served by St Ives Town Council), which encompasses St Ives, Carbis Bay, Lelant and Halsetown. The 2001 census gave the combined population of Carbis Bay and Lelant as 3,482. Lelant, an older settlement which is one mile to the south-east, Carbis Bay and St Ives are linked by the A3074 road which joins the A30 at Rose-an-Grouse. Carbis Bay railway station, above the beach, is one of five railway stations on the St Ives Bay Line which joins the mainline at St Erth railway station, which is also at Rose-an-Grouse. St Erth station is the junction for the main line to London Paddington.

Carbis Bay overlooks the small bay of the same name (Cornish: Porth reb Tor, meaning "cove beside the eminence", part of St Ives Bay) which is bounded to the north by Porthminster Point and to the east by Hawk's Point and contains a popular family beach. Hawk's Point is within the Hayle Estuary and Carrack Gladden Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and in the Victorian era was known locally for its pleasure grounds. The garden had a tea house and grotto; it was a venue for Sunday School outings and Band of Hope galas. By 1880, the proprietor William Payne claimed in an advertisement that it was "the largest establishment of the kind in the West ...".

Mining

Wheal Providence mine in Carbis Bay is the type locality of the rare mineral Connellite.

Local facilities

Notable structures

The parish church, which is dedicated to St Anta and All Saints, contains a ring of ten bells. This was the largest peal in a Cornish parish church until St Keverne's bells were increased to ten in 2001. The Carbis Bay Hotel, on the seafront, was built in 1894 by Silvanus Trevail. Behind the village stands the Knill Monument, known locally as "The Steeple", a 50 ft high monument to John Knill, a mayor of nearby St Ives during the 18th century.

Transport

Carbis Bay is connected to the national railway network by the St Erth to St Ives branch line. St Erth is on the Cornish main line linking London Paddington to Penzance. Road coaches also operate to and from London and St Erth on the National Express (London–Penzance) service. There are local buses to and from St Ives / St Erth / Hayle / Penzance / Helston and other areas. Overnight travel services include the Night Riviera sleeper train between Paddington and Penzance via St Erth. A night coach via London Heathrow (arriving 05.30am) and London Victoria (arriving 06.30am), calls at Carbis Bay and West Cornwall.

Schools

St Uny Primary School, a Church of England School voluntarily controlled by the Diocese of Truro, is situated in Carbis Bay.

G7 Summit

In June 2021, Carbis Bay hosted the 47th G7 summit.

Cornish wrestling

Cornish wrestling tournaments were held on Longstone Down, Longstone, which is now part of Carbis Bay.

References

References

1. [[United Kingdom Census 2001. Census 2001]]
2. "Carbis Bay (EN) - Henwyn Tyller".
3. (2015). "Land's End 102 Explorer". Ordnance Survey.
4. [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/Cornwall/CarbisBay/index.html#Population Cornwall Population]
5. (4 September 1879). "The Future (And Some Of The Present) Men And Women Of St Ives And Their Pastime". The Cornishman.
6. (13 May 1880). "Carbis Bay". The Cornishman.
7. "Wheal Providence, Providence Mines, Carbis Bay, Lelant, St Ives District, Cornwall, England, UK". [[Mindat.org]].
8. Dove, R. H. (2012) ''A Bellringer's Guide to the Church Bells of Britain and Ringing Peals of the World'', 10th ed. Guildford: Viggers
9. "Night Riviera Sleeper {{!}} Great Western Railway".
10. "St Uny School".
11. (18 January 2021). "World leaders to meet in Cornwall for G7 Summit". ITV News.
12. (2021-01-16). "Carbis Bay in Cornwall to host G7 summit in June".
13. West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 14 July 1820.