Portreath
Coordinates: 50°15′40″N 5°17′17″W / 50.261°N 5.288°W
| Portreath | |
 Portreath harbour at low tide |
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 Portreath
Portreath shown within Cornwall |
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| Population | 1,337 (2001) |
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| OS grid reference | SW655455 |
| Unitary authority | Cornwall |
| Ceremonial county | Cornwall |
| Region | South West |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | REDRUTH |
| Postcode district | TR16 |
| Dialling code | 01209 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| EU Parliament | South West England |
| UK Parliament | Camborne and Redruth |
| List of places: UK • England • Cornwall | |
Portreath is a civil parish, village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated approximately three miles (5 km) northwest of Redruth.[1]
The village extends along both sides of a stream valley and is centred around the harbour. West of the harbour entrance and breakwater is a sandy beach which is popular with holidaymakers and surfers.
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[edit] History
The name Portreath (meaning "sandy cove") was first recorded in 1485. Tin streaming in the valley was recorded from 1602, and the first quay was built in 1713 near Amy's Point,[2] though it was destroyed by the sea before 1749.[3] The village also had a fishing fleet, mainly for pilchards.[2]
In the late 1770s, during the American Revolutionary War, lieutenant-colonel of the North Devon militia, Francis Basset, commanded local miners to fortify the port, which helped counter a Franco-Spanish invasion fleet gathered as part of the European theatre of the war.[citation needed]
In the 19th century, Portreath was, with Devoran on the south coast, one of the main ports for sending the copper ore mined in the Gwennap area to Swansea for smelting. The ships returned with Welsh coal to fire the steam engines used on the mines. The two rectangular basins that today make up the harbour and the long breakwater just below the cliffs were all built for this trade. The peak of this enterprise was around 1840, when some 100,000 tons of copper ore were shipped out each year.[4]
To the south of the harbour are the significant remains of the old cable-worked incline used by the Hayle Railway in the 19th and early 20th centuries to descend to the quayside.
The railways and tramways associated with the minerals trade today for the Mineral Tramways Coast to Coast, a long distance cycleway and footpath extending 15 miles from Portreath to the south coast[4][5]
RRH Portreath, on Nancekuke Common to the north of the village, is now a radar station operated by the RAF, but was originally built in 1940 to be the RAF's main fighter airfield in Cornwall during WW2.
[edit] Geography
Nance Wood, 1 mile to the south east of the village is, is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest for its biological interest. The woods are one of only 2 sites in Britain to contain Irish spurge (Euphorbia hyberna), a Red Data Book of rare and endangered plant species.[6]
[edit] Gallery
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The beach and Gull Rock at sunset
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Portreath harbour mole
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Portreath inner harbour
[edit] References
- ^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 Land's End ISBN 9780319231487
- ^ a b "Cornwall Industrial Settlements Initiative - Portreath". Cornwall County Council, Historic Environment Service. March 2002. http://www.historic-cornwall.org.uk/cisi/portreath/CISI_Portreath_report.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ "Cornwall Online's Portreath pages". Cornwall Online. http://www.heartofcornwall.com/pages/portreath.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-02.
- ^ a b Hancock, Peter (2008). The Mining Heritage of Cornwall and West Devon. Wellington, Somerset: Halsgrove. pp. 66–68. ISBN 978 1 84114 733 6.
- ^ Sustrans website Retrieved May 2010
- ^ "Nance Wood". Natural England. 1984. http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1004126.pdf. Retrieved 3 November 2011.
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Portreath |
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