St Ives, Cornwall
Dear Ephraim
Is St Ives too posh?
This is a question exercising many people who dearly love our town. I recently met an acquaintance who has lived for many years in St Ives and is now leaving - to live in Honduras - exactly for that reason. "It's too posh," she says with feeling.
In the early 90's a rather eccentric guide to secondhand bookshops, drif's guide declared that, "Most of the people in St Ives are working class tourists" and that "the best view of St Ives is from the train as you leave".
This view was shared by Martin Gayford in a Spectator article in 2003. Gayford argued that a battle between the locals and the artists in the town led by Patrick Heron had been won by the latter. Locals had wanted a swimming pool; the artists wanted the Tate. (Of course, St Ives got both).
Well, we know what happened in St Ives. A new Tate was built, and it more or less transformed the image and economy of the town and even the whole area of West Cornwall. When I went to the opening of the gallery in 1993, St Ives was a run-down and depressing resort. A miasma of elderly chip-fat hung over the place; fewer and fewer holidaymakers came. Now, there is a choice of smart restaurants. Numbers of visitors to the new Tate started off by exceeding expectations, and have carried on doing so. It is improbable that a local swimming pool, however useful, could have had this effect.
So the transformation of St Ives from a playground for working class tourists and a miasma of elderly chip-fat to one of smart restaurants began with the Tate and has continued - now we have the Bernard Leach Museum to cater for the Japanese posh.
I'm thinking of moving to Honduras.
Thank you for contacting The St Ivean.
