In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Mevagissey like this:
MEVAGISSEY, a village, a parish, and a sub-district, in St. Austell district, Cornwall. The village stands on a beautiful bay of its own name, 5½ miles S of St. Austell r. station; took its name from two saints, St. Mevan and St. Issey; is a sub-port to Fowey, with a pier and a capacious harbour; conducts so extensiVe a in one year in its bay,-though the quantity of late has very greatly declined; carries on also an import trade in coal, timber, salt, and other things; has long had a bad name for dirt and fishy malodour; was so fearfully scourged by cholera in 1849 that its inhabitants moved into tents till it was cleansed; and has a post office‡ under St. ...
Austell, a good inn, a coast-guard station, a market on Saturdays, and a fair on St. Peter's day. The parish contains also the hamlets of Penwarne, Tregiskey, and Trelaven. Acres, 1,344. Real property, £4,829. Pop. in 1851,2,022; in 1861,1,914. Houses, 450. Penwarne and Pentuan belong to the Tremaynes; Tregiskey and Trelaven belonged formerly to the Grenvilles, but belong now also to the Tremaynes; and Porthhilly belongs to the Hoblyns. The surface is hilly. The bay measures 3 miles across the entrance, and 1¼ mile thence to the head; is bounded on the N by Black Head, 153 feet high,-on the S by Chapel Point, commanding a fine view of the coast eastward to the entrance of Plymouth sound; and has a depth of 18 feet within the village-pier at high water of spring tides. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter. Value, £200.* Patrons, the Representatives of J. Benbow, Esq. The church is ancient, and has lost its tower. There are chapels for Independents, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists, and a national school.—The sub-district contains also three other parishes. Acres, 12,874. Pop., 4,575. Houses, 1,003.
Mevagissey through time
Mevagissey is now part of Restormel district. Click here for graphs and data of how Restormel has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Mevagissey itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Mevagissey, in Restormel and Cornwall | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/3413
Date accessed: 18th April 2024
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