History
The village of Halsetown, situated off the A30, on the B3311, one mile from St. Ives, was built in 1832 by James Halse a solicitor and mine owner, ostensibly to house his employees who worked in the nearby tin mines of Consols, Rosewall and Ransom United, the remnants of which can still be seen from the village today.
However, there was an ulterior motive in that Halse aspired to represent St. Ives as its Member of Parliament at Westminster and St. Ives was very much in the pocket of a rival family, the Preads, at the time. Hence by providing his workers with homes and a half acre of land, they became land owners and thus qualified to vote and of course in a time of public voting it would be a very brave man indeed who would not vote for his employer and landlord.
As a result Halse achieved his ambition and did indeed become Member of Parliament for St. Ives. None the less he didn’t skimp on the village itself for as well as a house and half acre of land, he also provided a Chapel for worship and school for the children and of course a Public House, as well as several wells dotted about the village for fresh drinking water.
As a result, laid out on a trellis design facing South to aid in the production of crops for the inhabitants to live off, Halsetown is one of the first planned villages in the country. Although Halsetown is very close in proximity to St. Ives its surroundings are truly rural with high hills, Carnes and moorland. Remnants of the old mine workings still dot the landscape often set in remote isolated spots, serving as a reminder of Cornwall’s industrial past.
There are many walks in and around the village and the North Coast footpath is but a short distance away, where the full majesty of Cornwall’s Atlantic coast line can be seen, rising in places to over 300 feet of sheer rock face interrupted only by the occasional sandy cove at low tide. The area is renowned for its abundance of wild life with birds migrating in during the season to breed as well as rare wildflowers along the cliff tops and heathland to the West. Neolithic forts occupy many of the hill tops and there are of course the beaches of St. Ives just a short distance away, giving the traveller a great deal to see and do should they wish.
