Porthleven parish

Methleigh was the site of a fair and annual market from the year 1066.^[5][6] After the Norman Conquest, the Bishop of Exeter held the manor of Methleigh, but the Earl of Cornwall possessed the right to hold the fair. At the time of the Domesday Survey there were 15 acres (6.1 ha) of arable land, 40 acres (16 ha) of pasture and 60 acres (24 ha) of underbrush. The population consisted of 15 villeins, 4 smallholders and 3 serfs.^[7]

Until 1844 Porthleven was within the parish of Sithney. The parish Church of St Bartholomew was built in 1842. The name Porthleven is probably connected with St Elwen or Elwyn, whose chapel existed here before 1270. It was rebuilt about 1510, but destroyed in 1549. There were also chapels at Higher Penrose and Lanner Veor (the latter founded in 1377) and a holy well at Venton-Vedna.^[8] The Vicar of Porthleven in the 1850s was the Rev. Thomas Lockyer Williams, a Tractarian who introduced practices into the parish which provoked dislike in the Rev. Canon John Rogers of Penrose, Rector of Mawnan and a canon of Exeter.^[9]

For local-government purposes, Porthleven was included within the nearby town of Helston, until many years of growth gained it a town council of its own

Porthleven lies in the Hundred and Deanery of Kerrier. The name itself is taken from two Cornish words, Porth, meaning Port, and Elvan, which was the name of the Celtic Saint who came to shore in the 5th century, and along with others began preaching Christianity in the region. There is a village called St Elvan, which lies in the Parish of Sithney, just over a mile from Porthleven on the Sithney road. Indeed, until 1846, Porthleven itself was part of the Parish of Sithney. When Porthleven was formed into a parish in its own right in 1846, it took land from both.

During the Middle Ages, Porthleven was fairly unimportant, as there was no harbour and the River Cober was passable all the way inland to Helston, though today the Cober is little more than a shallow stream in most places

It is highly unusual to find a Cornish Harbour which faces south-west, as the prevailing winds blow straight inland, and as such, Porthleven’s development as a port was always severely hampered. That is probably why it never became a major trading port but remained a fishing and boat building port, industries which still continue today.

It was only because Porthleven offered the only refuge for boats and ships in distress from the storms that regularly lash its shores along this windy coastline, that it ever grew to become its own parish. Otherwise, it is likely it would have remained a very small fishing inlet.

The harbour itself was constructed in 1825, and as explained above, that was extremely problematical, to say the least, to achieve. Even though a large fishing fleet for Mackerel & Pilchards soon started fishing off the coast, Porthelven remained a dangerous and difficult harbour to access. The port was taken over in the 1850’s by Harvey & Co, a Hayle based firm, and they made major improvements to the harbour, leaving the massive sea walls that we can see today.

Porthleven grew a great boat-building and fishing industry, but has never been able to overcome its main problem of facing south-west - you only have to watch the sea as a gale sets in to see why.

Porthleven OPC | Cornwall OPC