The writer Virginia Woolf was born in London, the daughter of Leslie and Julia Stephens. Although the family lived in London, during the 1880s and 1890s, for three months of every year, they would decamp to St Ives, staying at Talland House. Anyone who has been to St Ives will be well aware of the magnificent views along the coastline. One notable feature on the horizon is Godrevy Lighthouse, just offshore a few miles up the coast from St Ives at the eastern end of St Ives Bay. The lighthouse was clearly visible from the family’s holiday home, which sat above Porthminster Beach.
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| Talland House, St Ives, Cornwall - May 2022. Photo by Mutney, via Wikimedia Commons. |
The lighthouse formed the inspiration for the story Virginia considered her best, ‘To The Lighthouse’, which was actually set on Skye in a location visited by the Ramsay family, for whom the lighthouse was an ever-present draw. Virginia describes the lighthouse as ‘hoary’ and ‘austere’, and she refers to the ‘green sand dunes with the wild flowing grasses on them’. This is a good description of the coast surrounding Godrevy Lighthouse, which is dominated by the sand dunes of Gwithian, and which is managed by the National Trust..
Talland House is on Albert Road, above the railway station which forms the terminus of a delightful short branch line from St Erth. The house is not open to visitors, but there is a blue plaque commemorating its association with Woolf and her family.
Godrevy Lighthouse has an octagonal tower 26 metres high, designed by architect James Walker and opened on 1st March 1859. It was built on Godrevy Island,which lies 300 metres off Godrevy Head. The lighthouse is well placed for protecting shipping from the hazardous Stones Reef. The light was deactivated in 2012 and replaced with an LED light mounted on the rocks on a platform, but the lighthouse tower is still retained by Trinity House as a daymark. There are boat trips out to the lighthouse from St Ives.
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| Godrevy Lighthouse by Barbara Ashley. |
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