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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2010}}
{{Infobox UK place
|type = Port
|official_name = Porthleven
|cornish_name = Porthlynn
|country = England
|region = South West England
|static_image_name = Porthleven Harbour 2017.jpg
|static_image_width =
|static_image_caption = Porthleven Harbour
| population = 3,117
| population_ref = (Parish, 2021)<ref name=2021census>{{cite web |title=2021 Census Parish Profiles |url=https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021_pp |website=NOMIS |publisher=Office for National Statistics |access-date=31 March 2025}} (To get individual parish data, use the query function on table PP002.)</ref>|os_grid_reference = SW6225
|coordinates = {{coord|50.084|-5.315|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|post_town = HELSTON
|postcode_area = TR
|postcode_district = TR13
|dial_code = 01326
|constituency_westminster = [[St Ives (UK Parliament constituency)|St Ives]]
|civil_parish =  Porthleven
|unitary_england = [[Cornwall]]
|lieutenancy_england = [[Cornwall]]
}}
'''Porthleven''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|p|ɔ:|θ|ˈ|l|ɛ|v|ən}}; {{langx|kw|Porthlynn}}) is a town, [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] and fishing port in [[Cornwall]], England. The most southerly port in Great Britain, it was a [[harbour]] of refuge when this part of the Cornish coastline was infamous for [[shipwreck|wrecks]] in the days of sail.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.lizard-peninsula.co.uk/Welcome.html |title=Cornwall Online – The Lizard Peninsula Guide |website=Lizard-peninsula.co.uk |access-date=19 October 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502001051/http://www.lizard-peninsula.co.uk:80/Welcome.html |archive-date=2 May 2016 |df=dmy}}</ref> The [[South West Coast Path]] from [[Somerset]] to [[Dorset]] passes through the town.<ref>{{Cite map |title=The Lizard |date=2015 |publisher=Ordnance Survey |location=Southampton |isbn=978 0 319 24305 3}}</ref> At the [[2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses|2021 census]], the population of the parish was 3,117.

==History==
[[Methleigh]] was the site of a fair and annual market from the year 1066.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=40409 |title=Cornwall &#124; British History Online |website=British-history.ac.uk |access-date=2016-10-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50631#s3 |title=Parishes: Botus-Fleming – St Burian &#124; British History Online |website=British-history.ac.uk |date=2016-10-14 |access-date=2016-10-19}}</ref> 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 {{convert|15|acre|ha}} of arable land, {{convert|40|acre|ha}} of pasture and {{convert|60|acre|ha}} of [[understory|underbrush]]. The population consisted of 15 villeins, 4 smallholders and 3 serfs.<ref>C. Thorn, et al., eds., ''Cornwall''. (Domesday Book; 10.) Chichester: Phillimore, 1979; entry 2,2.</ref>

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.<ref>''Cornish Church Guide'', Truro: Blackford, 1925, p. 185.</ref> 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 (divine)|John Rogers]] of Penrose, Rector of Mawnan and a canon of Exeter.<ref>H. Miles Brown, ''The Catholic Revival in Cornish Anglicanism''. St Winnow: H. M. Brown, 1980, pp. 40–41.</ref>

Porthleven's most recognisable building is the Bickford-Smith Institute next to the pier and harbour entrance. It was built on the site of the old Fisherman's Arms and was opened on 16 December 1884. The [[clock tower]] on the west corner is {{Convert|70|feet}} high. The building originally had a reading room, a committee room, a curator's living room and two bedrooms.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Opening Of The Porthleven Institute |work=The Cornishman |issue=335 |date=18 December 1884 |page=5}}</ref> The Institute was [[Listed building|grade II listed]] on 18 March 1991 and currently houses the town council and a snooker club.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Bickford Smith Institute and attached wall |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1297626 |website=Historic England |access-date=4 August 2020}}</ref> It featured (along with various other scenes from the town) as the incident room in an episode of the TV detective series [[Wycliffe (TV series)|''Wycliffe'']]. A picture of the building against a large breaking wave sometimes appears in the background of BBC UK weather forecasts, particularly when windy conditions and rough seas are expected. The Institute has a plaque to [[Guy Gibson]] [[Victoria Cross|VC]], leader of the [[Operation Chastise|Dambuster Raid]], on the wall facing the harbour. Gibson was born in India, but saw Porthleven – his mother's home town, where his parents were married – as a home town as well. He visited there while on leave during the war, sometimes attending the Porthleven Methodist Church. His name is marked on the community's war memorial (he was killed in 1944) and a street (Gibson Way) is named after him.<ref>[https://www.rocassoc.org.uk/open/items/gr10/guy_gibson.htm, December 2004. Lawrence Holmes, ''Guy Gibson and the Cornish Connection''].</ref>

===The harbour===
[[File:2. 1880 Thomas Bowden born 1853 working on a half model.jpg|thumb|Part of Porthleven's boat building history]]
[[William Cookworthy]] acquired leases on the [[Tregonning Hill]] quarries and shipped [[Kaolinite|china clay]] to his [[porcelain]] factory in Plymouth.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Tregonning Hill|url=http://www.germoeparishcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/tregonning-hill.pdf |website=Germoe Parish Council |access-date=26 April 2018}}</ref> In 1826, 150 tons of china stone and 30 tons of china clay were exported, and in 1838, 500 tons of china stone. By 1876, 970 tons were exported and in 1883, 1002 tons.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The china-clay and china-stone industries |work=The Cornishman |issue=243 |date=8 March 1883 |page=7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Editorial |work=The Cornishman |issue=316 |date=7 August 1884 |page=4}}</ref> Granite was also exported, from the quarries at [[Coverack Bridges]] and Sithney.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Editorial |work=The Cornishman |issue=178 |date=8 December 1881 |page=4}}</ref>

Fifty-two fishing boats were built between 1877 and 1883, employing at times up to twenty people. They ranged in length from {{convert|22|feet}} to {{convert|55|feet}} and were built not only for Mount's Bay ports, but for others in the UK and in South Africa.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Boat Building At Porthleven |work=The Cornishman |issue=258 |date=28 June 1883 |page=4}}</ref>

Overnight on 12–13 December 1978, Police Constables Joseph James Childs and Martin Ross Reid of [[Devon and Cornwall Police]] were killed when their patrol car was swept into the harbour during a heavy storm. A stone memorial was erected on the south-facing harbour wall.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Alpha 42 No Response |last=Moran |first=Mike |year=2013 |location=Cornwall }}</ref>

===Lifeboat===
Due to the [[westerlies|prevailing westerly winds]], it was easy for a ship under sail to be trapped in [[Mount's Bay]] and wrecked nearby. The [[Royal National Lifeboat Institution]] opened [[Porthleven Lifeboat Station]] in 1863. A boat house was built at Breageside, from where the boat was taken to the water on a carriage. The ''Agar Robartes'' was replaced by the ''Charles Henry Wright'' (named after the donor) in November 1882.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Porthleven |work=The Cornishman |issue=229 |date=30 November 1882 |page=4}}</ref> A boat house on the west side of the harbour entrance was opened in 1894, with a slipway to ease launching. The station was closed in 1929, as the neighbouring stations at {{Lbs|The Lizard}} and {{Lbs|Penlee}} had been equipped with motor lifeboats that could cover the whole bay. The slipway was dismantled and the boat house used as a store for a while. It has since become the Shipwreck Centre museum.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Leach |first=Nicholas |title=Cornwall's Lifeboat Heritage |orig-year=2000 |year=2006 |publisher=Twelveheads Press |location=Chacewater |isbn=0-906294-43-6 |pages=37–38}}</ref>

==Protected areas==
Three of the four [[Sites of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSI) close to Porthleven, and the [[Geological Conservation Review]] (GCR) sites are designated for their geological interest. They are Porthleven Cliffs SSSI, Porthleven Cliffs East SSSI, and Wheal Penrose SSSI. The Giant's Rock, within Porthleven Cliffs SSSI, is a [[glacial erratic]] of unknown origin and unknown means of arrival, is near the entrance of Porthleven harbour. Wheal Penrose SSSI is a disused lead mine {{convert|550|yd|m}} to the south with "examples of typical lead zone [[mineralization (geology) |mineralisation]]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Porthleven Cliff |url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1004228.pdf |publisher=[[Natural England]] |date=27 June 1986 |access-date=27 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024224722/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1004228.pdf |archive-date=24 October 2012 |df=dmy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Porthleven Cliffs East |url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1005924.pdf |publisher=[[Natural England]] |year=1990 |access-date=27 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024224731/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1005924.pdf |archive-date=24 October 2012 |df=dmy}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Wheal Penrose SSSI |url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003664.pdf |publisher=[[Natural England]] |year=1993 |access-date=27 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102192234/http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003664.pdf |archive-date=2 January 2014 |df=dmy}}</ref> The fourth, [[Loe Pool]], is Cornwall's largest natural lake, formed by a [[barrier beach]] known as Loe Bar which dams the [[River Cober]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Loe Pool |url=http://www.sssi.naturalengland.org.uk/citation/citation_photo/1003319.pdf |publisher=[[Natural England]] |access-date=28 October 2011 |year=1986}}</ref>

Porthleven (like almost a third of Cornwall) lies within the [[Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty]] (AONB).

==Governance==
[[File:The Bickford-Smith Institute, Harbour Road, Porthleven - geograph.org.uk - 6370253.jpg|thumb|Bickford-Smith Institute]]
There are two tiers of local government covering Porthleven, at [[Parish council (England)|parish]] (town) and [[Unitary authorities of England|unitary authority]] level: Porthleven Town Council and [[Cornwall Council]]. The town council is based at Institute Cottage on Cliff Road, part of the Bickford-Smith Institute building.<ref>{{cite web |title=Contact |url=https://porthleventc.org.uk/contact/ |website=Porthleven Town Council |access-date=26 September 2025}}</ref>

===Administrative history===
Porthleven historically straddled the parishes of [[Sithney]] and [[Breage, Cornwall|Breage]]. In 1934, Porthleven was absorbed into the [[municipal borough|borough]] of Helston.<ref>{{cite web |title=Helston Municipal Borough |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10002140 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=7 September 2025}}</ref>

The borough of Helston was abolished in 1974 under the [[Local Government Act 1972]], when the area became part of the [[Kerrier]] district.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972|year=1972|number=2039|accessdate=3 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973|year=1973|number=551|accessdate=3 March 2023}}</ref> A [[successor parish]] called Helston was created at the same time, covering the area of the abolished borough.<ref name=successor>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Local Government (Successor Parishes) Order 1973|year=1973|number=1110|access-date=31 August 2025}}</ref>

In 1985, a new parish of Porthleven was created, removing it from Helston parish.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Kerrier (Parishes) Order 1985 |url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20221202003400mp_/https://s3-eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/lgbce/__data/assets/pdf_file/0014/12326/kerrier-parishes-order-1985.pdf |website=Local Government Boundary Commission for England |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=7 September 2025}}</ref> The new parish council adopted the name Porthleven Town Council. Later in 1985, it established its headquarters in a former cottage which formed part of the Bickford-Smith Institute building.<ref>{{cite news |title=New council plan office in cottage |url=https://www.findmypast.co.uk/image-viewer?issue=BL%2F0003586%2F19850718&page=31 |access-date=26 September 2025 |work=West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser |date=18 July 1985 |location=Truro |page=31}}</ref>

Kerrier district was abolished in 2009. Cornwall County Council then took on district-level functions, making it a unitary authority, and was renamed Cornwall Council.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Cornwall (Structural Change) Order 2008|year=2008|number=491|access-date=19 February 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Local Government (Structural Changes) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Other Provision) Order 2009|year=2009|number=837|article=3}}</ref>

==Sport and leisure==
Porthleven has exploited its location and powerful [[swell (ocean)|swells]] to become one of Britain's best-known [[surfing]] spots, described as "Cornwall's best reef break". Waves often exceeding {{convert|6.6|ft|m|0}} break on a shallow [[reef]] that was shaped by blasting the harbour.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://magicseaweed.com/Porthleven-Surf-Guide/1253/ |title=Porthleven Spot Guide – Surf Forecast and Report |website=Magicseaweed.com |access-date=2016-10-19}}</ref> Kayaking is also popular. RNLI lifeguards patrol the beach in the holiday season.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://rnli.org/findmynearest/beach/Pages/Porthleven-Beach.aspx |title=Porthleven Beach |website=Rnli.org |access-date=2016-10-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161014140325/http://rnli.org/findmynear,/beach/Pages/Porthleven-Beach.aspx |archive-date=14 October 2016 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The beach is separated from the harbour by a granite pier in front of the Porthleven Institute and clock tower. When the [[tide]] is out it is possible to walk about three miles east along Porthleven beach. There is also a coastal path with views of the beach below.

Porthleven Bowling Club is based at Methleigh Parc and affiliated to Bowls Cornwall and [[Bowls England]]. It was founded in 1959 and has lawn bowling and short-mat bowls facilities. The club and its members compete within Cornwall and nationally, and there are in-house competitions.

[[Porthleven F.C.|Porthleven]] has a [[non-league football]] club in the [[South West Peninsula League]], which operates at levels 10 and 11 of the [[English football league system]]. The club's home ground is at Gala Parc.

The traditional place for [[Cornish wrestling]] prize tournaments held in Porthleven in the 19th century was the "Wrestling Field", now marked by a plaque.<ref name="CT28071881">The Cornish Telegraph - Thursday 28 July 1881.</ref> More recently tournaments have been held in the Recreation Ground.<ref>West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 29 July 1948.</ref>

The restaurateur [[Rick Stein]] opened a restaurant in the town, now taken over by fellow chef, Michael Caines.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Smith |first1=Steven |title=Rick Stein Porthleven to be taken over by Michael Caines |url=https://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/18556161.rick-stein-porthleven-taken-michael-caines/ |website=Falmouth Packet |access-date=6 June 2021}}</ref>

==Twinning==
Porthleven is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with [[Guissény]] in [[Brittany]], France.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.porthlevensithneytwinning.co.uk |title=Porthleven Sithney and Guisseny Twinning Association home Page |access-date=2008-05-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111003222635/http://www.porthlevensithneytwinning.co.uk/ |archive-date=3 October 2011 |df=dmy}}</ref>

==Notable residents==
{{Unsourced-section|date=January 2025}}
Porthleven was the birthplace of the Victorian theologian [[Pender Hodge Cudlip]] and of [[David Jewell (headmaster)|David Jewell]], an [[independent school]] headmaster in the late 20th century.<ref name="education.guardian.co.uk">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2006/jul/13/guardianobituaries.highereducation |work=The Guardian |first=Stephen |last=Bates |title=Obituary: David Jewell |date=13 July 2006}}</ref>

Porthleven was the home town of the [[Operation Chastise|Dambusters]]' commanding officer [[Guy Gibson]]. There is a road named in his memory. The Porthleven-born [[motor racing]] driver [[Chris Craft (racing driver)|Chris Craft]] competed in the [[24 Hours of Le Mans]] race for over a decade, including a third-placed finish in [[1976 24 Hours of Le Mans|1976]], as well as two races in [[Formula One]].

==See also==

* [[Ship Inn, Porthleven|Ship Inn]], a Grade II listed public house

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Porthleven-osm.jpg|OpenStreetMap of Porthleven
File:Sunset 6.jpg|Sunset behind Porthleven clock tower and overlooking Mount's Bay
File:Stormy Sea2004.jpg|Waves hitting the Pier
File:Porthleven Harbour2004.jpg|Porthleven Harbour
File:Porthleven_Beach,_Cornwall_UK.jpg

</gallery>

==External links==
{{Portal|Cornwall}}
{{Wikivoyage}}
*[http://crocat.cornwall.gov.uk/dserve/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=Overview.tcl&dsqSearch=((text)='porthleven') Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Porthleven]
*[http://www.porthlevenmuseum.org.uk/yourhistory.php Porthleven Museum] - local archives

{{Cornwall}}
{{St Ives CP navigation box}}
{{SSSIs Cornwall geological}}

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[[Category:Porthleven| ]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Cornwall]]
[[Category:Ports and harbours of Cornwall]]
[[Category:Populated coastal places in Cornwall]]
[[Category:Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall]]
[[Category:Surfing locations in Cornwall]]
[[Category:Towns in Cornwall]]