and 29 St Ives Archive

St Ives Archive: Sir Edward Hain, shipping magnate, mayor and benefactor

St Ives has many things for which we should be grateful to the Hain family, in particular Sir Edward Hain. Born in 1851, he was fourth in a long line of Edward Hains.

The Hains were a well-established shipping family, and I imagine it was a disappointment to Edward’s father and grandfather that he was more interested in management and banking than going to sea. He was educated in various private schools in St Ives and then sent to the Bolitho Bank to train in accountancy and bookkeeping.

The shipping business was flourishing, but at the turn of the 20th century, Edward persuaded his father to update from sail to steam. As a result, the steamship Trewidden was built for the Hain family by John Readheads Co Ltd of South Shields. This proved to be a brilliant investment, and Readheads went on to build 73 steamships for the Hain family. The Hain Steamship Co Ltd was registered in 1901.

Edward Hain was just as interested in politics as the management of the family business, and in 1883, he was elected to St Ives Town Council. He became mayor the following year –and again in 1885, 1886, 1889, 1895 and 1899. He was a councillor and alderman for 20 years and also served on Cornwall County Council. In 1910 he was elected President of the Chamber of Shipping and in 1912, was knighted and appointed to the position of High Sheriff of Cornwall.

Edward Hain married Catherine Seward and they had three children. Over the years they had several grand granite buildings built in and around the town, primarily Treloyhan Manor, a house on Hain Walk (this has ‘EH’ inscribed high up

on the frontage) and also houses at Trevalgan Farm.

The Hain Steamship Company had three of its ships commandeered at the onset of the First World War, as they were berthed abroad when war was declared. However, a further 18 ships were lost at sea as the war went on, with the loss of approximately 100 lives. St Ives Museum has many photographs of the ships and their logbooks.

Sadly, Edward Hain’s only son, Captain Edward Hain V, was killed in action at Gallipoli in 1915. He had been serving with the Cornish Squadron of the Royal 1st Devon Yeomanry. Edward Hain never fully got over this loss, and he subsequently suffered a breakdown, from which he did not recover. He died in September 1917 at his home at Treloyhan. News of his death stunned the shipping world – but the P&O Steam Navigation Company took the opportunity to acquire the Hain Steamship Company, recognising its worth.

Not only did Edward Hain leave St Ives some beautiful granite buildings, he also organised and paid for the granite war memorial and memorial gardens in Market Place, as a tribute to his son. Similarly, the building in Albany Terrace, until recently used as a local hospital, was named after the son he lost.

In 1911, Edward Hain also very kindly provided the money for the rebuilding of St Nicholas Chapel on the Island. Townsfolk had been left devastated when the War Office decided it no longer had any use for the building and decided to demolish it. The Archive has several photographs of the Island without its famous landmark, taken between 1904 and 1911, when the old chapel had gone, and the new one had yet to be built.

Jan Harris

St Ives Archive’s Research Centre is based at Wesley Methodist Church, St Ives Road, Carbis Bay, St Ives, TR26 2SF. For information about current opening hours, phone 01736 796408, email admin@stivesarchive.org, or visit www.stivesarchive.org.

The Archive opened in 1996 and is staffed by volunteers. We are always looking for people to join our enthusiastic team – there are opportunities to learn new skills, carry out research, assist visitors and take part in fundraising events. We offer a valuable service for anyone wishing to obtain historic information about the town, free of charge. The Archive holds over 20,000 photographs and numerous documents covering fascinating subjects such as art, maritime heritage, tourism and traditional customs, and we also have extensive resources relating to the history of St Ives families. Why not come and visit us?

Registered charity number 1136882