'NEWLYN'S OLD QUAY': A NEW POEM...

Newlyn’s Old Quay

The old quay became a stage, a set,

An artists’ studio en plein air,

Where the fisherfolk and local old crones

Were paid as models and actors to share…

The old harbour became a backdrop, or scenery

For painted dramas patiently created,

Where the fisherfolk and local old crones

Were the motionless mannequins, thus celebrated…

The inner harbour, the historic quay remains,

Lichen yellows the granite and grass tufts splay green,

Where the forgotten fisherfolk and local old crones have been replaced

By rotting hulks, which against the steep sea-wall now lean… 

Pete Ray

March 2020

The old quay at Newlyn, where artists painted their often sad, tragic works during the late 19th century.

The wall’s right edge is angled and that apparently was caused by the recycling of stone from the remaining section and the Newlyn School of artists was instrumental in preserving the majority of the quay which can be seen today…

The painting above is Walter Langley's 'Never Morning Wore To Evening But Some Heart Did Break'...