Funds needed for Mousehole Harbour Lights store

Aim

We need your help to fund new stores to secure the future of Cornwall's much loved Mousehole Harbour Lights, nearly in its 60th year!

Help us shine a light for people this Christmas and we'll reward you for it!

We need your help to raise funds for our new store to secure the future of the Mousehole Harbour Lights, but we know times are hard for everyone so we have gathered an array of fantastic rewards in return for all donations received.

What our Lights bring to people

As our video shows, the Lights mean so much to those that visit them whether they are locals, visitors from around the county, the country and across the waters! We have regular visitors from around the world that message us for updates and to show their support.  It really is a community project and just wouldn't happen without our team of volunteers that give their time and energy throughout all weathers, but they do it as they know the difference the light of Christmas can make for people.  People who may be lonely, in need of cheering up or just looking forward to spending time with loved ones at Christmas.  It's a Cornish tradition that has been part of people's hearts for nearly 60 years and that's why it's so important that we get the help needed to make sure it can continue.

The history of Mousehole Harbour Lights

The Lights were started in 1963 by Mousehole-based artist, Joan Gillchrest.  A string of coloured bulbs were put along both quays to make the village a bit brighter at Christmas time. 

From those early days our displays grew very quickly having caught the imagination of a couple of village carpenters who made up and donated items to the displays. Some of their designs, like the sea serpent, are still featured at Christmas although they are not the original pieces.  The sea serpent has been remade several times as the weather in December and January can badly affect the displays. The original serpent was made for the 1973 display, but as this was the year of the power cuts, although the lights were all put up, they were only lit for a short period at the end of the Christmas.

Following  a major storm on 15th December 1989 (the night before switch on) a lot of the items in the harbour were damaged. Some of the 'Baulks' that close off the harbour were smashed out  by the sea and items on the Quays were washed into the harbour. By switch on time on the 16th December, the team had reconstructed most of the items, but as the storm continued the items were not put back up. Switch on that year was held at the bottom of Fore street as the waves crashed over the quays. By the end of that week everything was back up and running including the newest display, the Whale, which fortunately was scheduled to be put into the harbour on switch on day, so missed the storm.

Background to the project

2023 will see the 60th anniversary of Cornwall's Mousehole Harbour Lights, which brings joy to locals and thousands of visitors each year.  Between the festive seasons, the displays are stored in old barns that have seen better days.  Our team of volunteers are extremely grateful for this facility, but the adverse conditions of the barns mean the displays fall into disrepair.  This means our team have to spend months on unnecessary maintenance each year before the displays can be erected, which is costly and obviously uses a lot of time from people who are already time poor.

 We need the final push

Last year, through our fundraising activities and a grant given by Penzance Town Council, we were lucky enough to raise two thirds of the funds needed to build a new custom-built store. But with the costs of building materials rising, we now need to raise the final £10-15,000 needed to make the new store happen. 

We have been granted a lease on the land, have planning consent and now just need the final funds to secure the future of our Lights.  

So please help us to continue to shine a light for people this Christmas.

Thank you to those that have helped

Huge thanks to the following people that have all helped us in some way to pull together the content for this crowdfunder, all of which they did for free Louise Bradley; Kevin Bishop; Chris Yacoubian; Droneman and Katherine Baxter.

This project successfully funded on 29th December 2022