If you have old photos or postcards
that you would like to share with our visitors, please email a copy
to display here.
Many photographs of New Quay and Aberaeron have
survived thanks to the work of local photographers specialising in
post cards. Some of these are Charles H. Dierks and Shirley Brooks.
They had premises at 9 George Street in New Quay and at 19 Alban
Square Aberaeron around 1910. Another local photographer was Tom
Desmond of Priory Street Cardigan.
New Quay postcard 1903
Harbour and Penpolion
Great Western SS Atalanta at New Quay
The
Pier was built after 1834 when Daniel Beynon was invited to submit a
plan which was carried out after the formation of the New Quay Harbour
Company.The small stone lighthouse, 30 feet high, was not
built until 1839 and was placed at the end of the pier. It was known
locally as the 'Pepper Pot' - an item that it
clearly resembled.
Beach and Pier
New Quay Lighthouse
The Beach and Harbour
A severe storm in 1859 damaged the pier and
washed the lighthouse away. It was rebuilt but destroyed a
second time almost 80 years later during another severe storm on
28th February 1937.
The New Quay Regatta was first held in 1874 when the larger
fishing boats raced for a silver cup. There were also many other
events including rowboats, sculling, swimming and climbing a greasy
pole over water.
Regatta Day 1915
Regatta Day
Regatta photo by Dierks
Visitors had been coming to New Quay in
small numbers aboard steamers from Liverpool and Bristol. However, the
increased ease of transportation by land into the area, brought about
the next phase of New Quay's development. Lodging houses started to
appear in New Quay and visitors wrote glowingly of its benefits. One
visitor wrote in the 'Christian World' of 1885: ' ..a little town,
white in the bright sunshine, built along the steep sides of a
shimmering Bay.....this little town was the quaintest most
picturesque one could wish to see.
Bathing Tents
Bathing tents on the Beach 1910
Bathing tents on the Beach 1906
The first printed Guide book to New
Quay was :'Being a short description of New Quay as a watering Place,' printed
in Lampeter by the Welsh Press in 1885.
Hill Street 1917
Church Street 1910
George Street 1910
Horse drawn buses brought visitors from
the stations at Aberystwyth
and Llandysul in the 1890's. It is noted that by 1895 New Quay had
some 10,000 visitors in the year.
GWR Bus 1907
Charabanc in New Quay 1907
GWR Bus
The earliest motorised bus system was set up by Great Western
Railways who established a line from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen in
1860. The buses served to connect various communities to the
railways. In 1911, the station was opened at Aberaeron to connect
with the Aberystwyth to Carmarthen line at Lampeter.
