Portreath(Cornish:PorthtrethorPorth Treth)[2]is acivil parish,village and fishing port on the north coast ofCornwall,England, United Kingdom. The village is about three miles (5 km) west-north-west ofRedruth.[3]The village extends along both sides of a stream valley and is centred on the harbour and beach. West of the harbour entrance and breakwater are two sandy beaches that are popular with holidaymakers,surfersandnaturists.[4]
Portreath
| |
|---|---|
 Portreath harbour at low tide | |
  Portreath Location withinCornwall | |
| Population | 1,336 (2011 census including Bridge andCambrose)[1] |
| OS grid reference | SW655455 |
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | REDRUTH |
| Postcode district | TR16 |
| Dialling code | 01209 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
Portreath lies within theCornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty(AONB). Almost a third of Cornwall has AONB designation, with the same status and protection as a National Park. Separately, in early 2017, the village was looking to be ahedgehog-friendly village.[5]It would joinBurton Flemingin theEast Riding of Yorkshireas one of a handful of hedgehog-friendly villages in the UK.[6]
History
editThe name Portreath (meaning "sandy cove" ) was first recorded in 1485, andtin streamingin the valley was recorded from 1602. Devon contractor Samuel Nott was engaged to build the first mole (or quay) in 1713 on the western side of the beach, near Amy's Point.[7]The quay was destroyed by the sea before 1749, and the foundations are occasionally seen when the sea washes away the sand.[8][9]The village also had a fishing fleet, mainly forpilchards.[7]The harbour we see today was started in 1760 to service the expanding ore industry in theCamborneandRedrutharea. The quay was extended and the inner basin constructed in 1846; New Dock, now known as Little Beach, was constructed in the 1860s.[9]
In the late 1770s, during theAmerican Revolutionary War,Francis Basset,lieutenant-colonel of the North Devon militia, 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. Some of the foritifications are still standing to this day.
By 1827, Portreath was described asCornwall's most important port and was, withDevoranon the south coast, one of the main ports for sending the copper ore mined in theGwennap areatoSwanseaforsmelting.The ships returned with Welsh coal to fire the steam engines used on the mines. The peak of this enterprise was around 1840, when some 100,000 tons of copper ore were shipped out each year.[10]
With the population growing, a church was built in 1827; the Portreath Hotel (1856), Methodist Chapel (1858), Basset Arms (1878) and the School (1880) all followed.[11]Acholeraoutbreak in 1878 caused the death of almost half the population.[11]The schoonerRingleaderwas launched in 1884 at Mr William Davies's ″building yard″. Carrying 350 tons, she was built for the coast trade between Cardiff and Plymouth.[12]The copper trade collapsed by 1886 and the port was almost bankrupt, although trade of domestic coal, cement, slate and potatoes continued until after theSecond World War.[9]The owner, Beynon Shipping Company, donated the harbour toKerrierDistrict Council in June 1980; it is now leased to the Portreath Harbour Association by the present owner,Cornwall Council.[9]
Tramroads and railways
editThePortreath Tramroad,the first railway in Cornwall, was started in 1809 to link the harbour with the copper mines atScorrierandSt Day.By 1812 the tramroad reachedScorrier House,one of the financiers' houses, and was completed by 1819. It was horse-drawn with wagons on an approximately 4 ft (1.2 m) gauge using L-shaped cast iron plates on squaregraniteblocks. The line was little-used after thePoldice mineclosed in the 1860s, and the tramroad was closed in 1865.[13]
The Portreath branch of theHayle Railwaywas opened in 1838. To the south of the harbour, and on the west side of the valley, are the remains of the old cable-workedinclinethat linked the harbour to the mainline atCarn Brea.[14]The Portreath incline was one of four on the Hayle Railway; it was 1,716 ft (523 m) long with a rise of about 240 ft (73 m). It was worked by a stationary steam engine, used as the winding engine.[14]Part of the main line of the Hayle Railway was incorporated into the route of theWest Cornwall Railwayin 1852; the branch line finally closed in 1936.
The railways and Portreath Tramroad associated with the minerals trade today form theMineral Tramways Coast to Coast,a long-distance cycleway and footpath extending 15 miles (24 km) from Portreath to the south coast.[10][15]
Nancekuke
editRRH Portreath,on Nancekuke Common to the north of the village, is now a radar station operated by theRAF,but was originally built in 1940 to be the RAF's main fighter airfield in Cornwall during WWII.[citation needed]
Cornish wrestling
editThere wereCornish wrestlingtournaments, for prizes, held at the Basset Arms[16]during the 1800s.[17][18]
Nance Wood
editNance Wood, 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south east of the village, is a narrow strip of semi-natural woodland on a steep north-facing slope which was designated as aSite of Special Scientific Interestfor itsbiologicalcharacteristics.
Most of the woodland is a 4–6 metres (13–20 ft) high, wind-pruned, sessile oak (Quercus petraea) lastcoppicedin the first half of the 20th century. The woods are one of only two sites inBritainto contain Irish spurge (Euphorbia hyberna), which is listed in theRed Data Bookof rare and endangered plant species.[19][20]
Gallery
edit-
The beach and Gull Rock at sunset -
Portreath harbour mole -
Portreath inner harbour
References
edit- ^"Parish population 2011".Retrieved8 April2015.
- ^Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF)Archived15 May 2013 at theWayback Machine:List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage PanelArchived15 May 2013 at theWayback Machine.Cornish Language Partnership.
- ^Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203Land's EndISBN978-0-319-23148-7
- ^"Bassetts Cove (Spratting Cove)".Cornwall Beach Guide.Retrieved31 July2018.
- ^"Portreath school children encouraged to help Portreath go hedgehog friendly - Cornwall Council".Archived fromthe originalon 23 April 2017.Retrieved22 April2017.
- ^"The hedgehog friendly village".BBC News.
- ^ab"Cornwall Industrial Settlements Initiative – Portreath"(PDF).Cornwall County Council, Historic Environment Service. March 2002.Retrieved2 July2009.
- ^"Cornwall Online's Portreath pages".Cornwall Online. Archived fromthe originalon 13 December 2009.Retrieved2 July2009.
- ^abcd"Harbour History".Portreath Harbour Association.Retrieved22 April2014.
- ^abHancock, Peter (2008).The Mining Heritage of Cornwall and West Devon.Wellington, Somerset: Halsgrove. pp. 66–68.ISBN978-1-84114-753-6.
- ^ab"About Portreath".Archived fromthe originalon 28 January 2012.Retrieved1 September2012.
- ^"Launch at Portreath".The Cornishman.No. 308. 12 June 1884. p. 6.
- ^Historic England."Poldice Tramroad (426063)".Research records (formerly PastScape).Retrieved22 April2014.
- ^abHistoric England."Hayle Railway (Portreath Branch) (426145)".Research records (formerly PastScape).Retrieved22 April2014.
- ^Sustrans websiteRetrieved May 2010
- ^Royal Cornwall Gazette, 19 July 1878.
- ^Royal Cornwall Gazette, 9 July 1808.
- ^West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 4 September 1857.
- ^"Nance Woods SSSI".Natural England.Retrieved2 April2020.
- ^"Nance Wood"(PDF).Natural England.1984. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 24 October 2012.Retrieved3 November2011.
