| Porthleven | |
Porthleven Harbour |
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Porthleven
Porthleven shown within Cornwall |
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| Population | 3,190 (2001) |
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| OS grid reference | SW625255 |
| Unitary authority | Cornwall |
| Ceremonial county | Cornwall |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | HELSTON |
| Postcode district | TR13 |
| Dialling code | 01326 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | St Ives |
| List of places: UK • England • Cornwall | |
Porthleven is a town, civil parish and fishing port near Helston in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the most southerly port on the island of Great Britain,[1] and was originally developed as a harbour of refuge, when this part of the Cornish coastline was recognised as a black spot for wrecks in days of sail. Nearby Loe Bar was particularly infamous, with swimmers and surfers being warned off the area to this day.
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Historically and for local government purposes, Porthleven was included within the town boundaries of nearby Helston. After years of growth, it now has its own town council. Its population recorded by the United Kingdom Census 2001 was 3,190.[2]
Including tourists and surfers would swell that number considerably. Porthleven has exploited its location and exposure to powerful swells to become one of the best-known and highly-regarded surfing spots in Britain. Waves often exceeding 2 metres break on the shallow reef that was shaped by blasting the harbour. Due to the prevailing westerly winds it was very easy for a ship under sail to get trapped in the bay and be cast up on the rocks at the small fishing coves of Mullion, Kynance and the Lizard.
Arguably, Porthleven's most recognisable building is the Bickford-Smith Institute next to the pier and harbour entrance. With a tower about 70 feet (20 metres) high, it looks like a church but currently is used as a snooker club and houses the town council offices. It featured (along with various other scenes from the town) as the incident room in an episode of the TV detective series Wycliffe.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution stationed a lifeboat at Portleven in 1863. A boat house was built at Breageside from where the boat was taken to the water on a carriage. A new boat house on the west side of the harbour entrance was opened in 1894 with a slipway to make launching easier. The station was closed in 1929 as the neighbouring stations at The Lizard and Penlee had been equipped with motor lifeboats that could cover the whole of Mounts Bay. The slipway was dismantled and the boat house was used as a store for a while but has since become the Shipwreck Centre museum.[3]
There are four Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) sites close to Porthleven. Three of them, Porthleven Cliffs SSSI , Porthleven Cliffs East SSSI and Wheal Penrose SSSI are also Geological Conservation Review (GCR) sites. The ″Giant’s Rock″, within Porthleven Cliffs SSSI, is an erratic of unknown origin and unknown mode of transport to its present site near the entrance of Porthleven harbour. The Wheal Penrose SSSI is a disused lead mine 500 metres to the south with "good examples of typical lead zone mineralisation".[4][5][6] The fourth Loe Pool SSSI is Cornwall's largest natural lake formed by a barrier beach, known as Loe Bar, which dams the River Cober.[7]
Porthleven was the birthplace of the Victorian theologian and religious writer Pender Hodge Cudlip.
Porthleven was the home town of the Dambusters' Commanding Officer, Guy Gibson, and there is a road named in his memory. Former motor racing driver Chris Craft - who competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans race for over a decade, including a third-placed finish in 1976, as well as two races in Formula One - was born in Porthleven.
Porthleven is twinned with Guisseny (Gwiseni) in Brittany, France.[8]
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