The following is from the "Irish Loop" website: The settlement [of Renews] is situated around a long inlet, with homes concentrated on the harbour's northeast side. Despite the length of the inlet, shelter from storms is limited. Erosion of the slate and shale coastline has created sharp cliffs, increasing the inlet's fiord-like appearance. Rocks in the harbour appear above water at low tide, and may be responsible for the settlement's name the Brief Recit of Cartier's 1536 voyage calls it Hable Rougnose, which E.R. Seary connects with the French rogneux, meaning scabby or mangy, "as of rock covered with weed, slime and shells."

By the late 1500s it was being used a fishing station and, later, in 1623 it became a part of Lord Falkland's grant to establish a colony on the Avalon Peninsula.

By 1869 Renews was one of the largest settlements in Newfoundland with a population of 854. This figure probably is a cumulation of the settlers of Renews, with the smaller communities of Bear Cove, to the north, and Broad Cove, Seal Cove and Freshwater to the South.

The towns name was anglicized to Renews in 1813; As some as the larger ports, such as Fermeuse and St. John's, grew, by the turn of the century business was taken away from the smaller ports, slowly one by one declined so that by the 1950s few men were engaged in the traditional inshore fishery.

In the mid 1960s, the independent villages of Renews and Cappahayden were amalgamated to form Renews-Cappahayden. The population of the combined community was 301 in 2016 (a 2.9% decrease from 2011 when 310 folk were enumerated). Cappahayden, once called Broad Cove, was "settled" in the late 18th century, even though it was reported as being a settlement as far back as 1626 when the cove was called Vaughan's Cove. Around 1870, the local parish priest, Father John Walsh, decided to name it after his birthplace, Cappahayden, Kilkenny, Ireland.

CHANCE COVE PROVINCIAL PARK:

Located on the south east corner of the Avalon peninsula along Route 10, also known as the Irish Loop, just a few minutes east of Trepassey, Chance Cove Provincial Park has 2068 hectares (5,110.1 acres) of parkland that stretch from the highways edge to the coast.

There are no designated campsites, however there is access to pit toilets for day users. A trail leads down to the cove where you can see whales, seabirds, and seals along this spectacular coast.

As mentioned previously, the origin of the name of the cove, Chance Cove is questionable, either it is named after a family or possibly a number of shipwrecks that occurred in the area, making the cove site of a variety of "mischances".

Used with permission from "Uncovering the Origin of 1001 Unique Place Names in Newfoundland and Labrador" 2021 Jennifer Leigh Hill

Address of this page: http://nl.ruralroutes.com/RenewsCappahayden