This is we what we locals called “The ‘Lectric Works”.
The power company negotiated with Harvey and Co for the land on the seaward end of what we called North Quay and an agreement signed on March 13th 1910. The building work was awarded to a Redruth firm called Carkeeks, who started in May 1910 and completed it in 30 weeks. Power was supplied via wooden poles to the mines out at Carn Brea, Dolcoath and South Crofty. By 1913 there were eight boilers at the station. Lines were also laid across the estuary at Hayle to Lelant via tall pylons.
After the first World War some warships from the grand fleet were brought into Hayle for scrapping by Wards and Co on South Quay and Lelant Quay. In 1921 one such ship the 4800 tons Cruiser, H.M.S. Bristol, being towed into Hayle, managed to get entangled in the overhead electric cables, cutting off the electrical supply to the St Ives area.
The ‘lectric works was powered by coal, which was bought by boat into North Quay. From the start the electric was 25 cycles but in 1933 this was changed to 50 cycles and connected to the National Grid - the only power station in Cornwall to be part of The National Grid.
The power station played a vital role in Britain’s war effort during World War Two through the supply of electricity and warm sea water (the condenser cooling water from the turbines) that was pumped into the Associated Ethyl Works built in 1938, next to the power station to extract bromine from the sea water (bromine could only be extracted from warm sea water, hence being next to the power station and was a key ingredient for producing anti -knock compounds for the aviation industry during the second world war.) A tunnel was built from the power station over to Hayle’s Carnsew pool in 1938 to provide a constant supply of water to feed the power station and on to Associated Ethyl. Of course, being such a busy site and working 24 hrs per day, shift work became the norm, with most of the personnel from the local area.
In the early 1970’s up to sixty ships came into Hayle with coal every month. But the power station became inefficient during that same decade and following the coal strike of 1972, the power station ceased production in 1974.
The power station’s two iconic chimneys were demolished in June 1981 using explosive charges, a major event in Hayle’s historic calendar. The turbine hall and boiler room were demolished in December 1981, after which the site was cleared.
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