The new Mariners Memorial, on Smeaton’s Pier, in St Ives, has been officially unveiled by Lord and Lady St Leven, in a ceremony conducted by sculptor Tom Leaper.
The wraps come off: Lord and Lady St Levan reveal the sculpture. Photographs: St Ives Local News
“Four year ago, the Mariners Committee came to me with the idea to create a permanent tribute to the generations of fishermen and mariners who have helped to change St Ives,” said Leaper. “And I’d like to begin by thanking them for having the determination to see the project through.
“I also want to pay a very special tribute to the Penwith Gallery — their hard, determined work and their support for this project has been relentless from the very beginning, helping with the fundraising and the sales of the maquettes, to all the countless things that have happened behind the scenes. Without them, the memorial simply would not have happened.”
The project began around four years ago when members of the St Ives fishing community approached Leaper with the idea of creating a permanent sculpture celebrating the town’s fishermen and maritime heritage.
It developed into an extraordinary community effort, with approximately £70,000 raised without major external grant funding. Much of this came through an edition of 50 small bronze maquettes, sold through the Penwith Gallery, in St Ives. The gallery took no commission, allowing the proceeds to go directly towards creating the full-size memorial.
Cork an Barbor entertained with traditional Cornish songs at the start and completion of the ceremony
Wherever possible, the work remained within Cornwall. Specialist bronze casting was carried out by Fabrication Facility at Longdowns, while LaserMaster produced the precision laser-cut components.
Rather than portraying the fishermen as heroic figures looking out to sea, Leaper wanted to capture something quieter and more familiar. Two working men concentrating on the job in front of them, reflecting the skill, companionship, and repetitive labour that formed part of everyday fishing life in St Ives for generations.
“We managed to keep all the finance you gave us this side of Truro, all of the funds you raised were spent in the county,” Leaper told the assembled crowd on Smeaton’s Pier.
“There’s something rather fitting that the memorial celebrates the industry of Cornwall’s past but it has been made possible by the skills and industry of Cornwall today. Their knowledge, craft and ingenuity have helped us pay tribute to those who came before them.”
James Ryall, chairman of the Mariners Memorial committee
The Mariners Committee was chaired by town councillor James Ryall. “I’m here with a few tears in my eyes today,” he said, paying tribute to the work of fellow committee members in getting this “beautiful piece of work” completed, but particularly Leaper and the Penwith Gallery team.
“All I can say now is ‘Hevva!’. Go get the buggers out there!” he cried, echoing mariners of the past. He quoted the adage “Meat, money, and light, all in one night”, explaining: “Meat: you eat the fish. Money: you sell the fish. Light: you use the pilchard oil to actually illuminate your home.”
Leaper introduced guests of honour James and Mary, Lord and Lady St Leven, who would officially unveil the statue. “While Mary and I were living on St Michael’s Mount, we worked on several projects with Tom,” said Lord St Levan. “And so I do have some idea of how much goes into his work. From the research that defines and refines the concept, the experimentation and creativity that goes into its design, the materials that he chooses, where to source them, the construction process, and then how to finish it.
Lord St Levan, left, with sculptor Tom Leaper
“And then, in this instance, he’s arranged most of the funding as well. It’s a very ingenious way of funding, selling miniature versions of what you’re about to see. What was interesting to me was that the majority of people who bought them were regular visitors to St Ives, who presumably wanted to take a piece of the town back home with them and also to make a contribution to it. There’s a rather special harmony that tourism, which is now the driving economic activity here should pay its respects to the artistic and fishing traditions that preceded them.”
He added: “The final and most significant work that Tom did for us at the Mount was to create a figure of St Michael, an abstract figure of St Michael, as a centrepiece of a garden near the harbour. St Michael was a very busy chap, he has many roles. He was the first patron saint of Cornwall, before the role was handed on to St Petroc and then St Piran, but he was also the patron saint of fishermen, mariners, and coastal communities.
“So Tom has achieved a remarkable trio of the mariners memorial here, the fishermen’s memorial in Newlyn, while their patron saint watches over them from the Mount.”
