Pomery's Garage, Kings Road, St Mawes

Image: © Jo and Steve Turner Taken: 2 Jul 2019

St. Just and St. Mawes Heritage Group are working to renovate this building as a permanent Heritage Centre. It had various uses from a pilchard shed to a WW2 reading room to an artist’s studio to a garage to a gig club. The gig is an active racing boat based on pilot boats of the 17th century. They dispatched from shore to lead or rescue ships through the rocky Cornish shores to safe harbour, often racing to collect their fees. The boats are 32 feet long, 5 feet wide and propelled by six oarsmen. On the wall is a village sign. Although the 1903 legislation required local authorities to erect some traffic management signage, the AA started erecting village signs in 1906 and had erected more than 30,000 when the local authorities took responsibility for all signage in 1939. Most were removed during the war when a Nazi invasion seemed likely so by 1945 only about 600 remained and today only about 65 are still in situ. This looks to be an original post 1923 sign.

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