Page 6 - Captain William Strike of Porthleven

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1: William Strike and 19 century Porthleven

Beginnings

William Carter Strike was born at Porthleven in 1814, the third son of Hannibal Strike
and Jenifer Carter. Jenifer was a member of the Carter family of nearby Prussia Cove, a
family well known for smuggling and their exploits in attempting to outwit the Revenue
cutters. Hannibal and Jenifer had six children. That William went to sea is hardly
surprising, bearing in mind that Porthleven was a busy fishing and trading port.

Porthleven: a new port

Porthleven is the most southerly port in England whose entrance faces south westerly
and is therefore vulnerable to the prevailing wind, and sea. An artificial harbour was
authorised by an Act of Parliament in 1811 though there was little confidence that this
construction would aid sea borne access. Indeed, the seemingly surprising object of the
new enterprise was to provide a place of refuge for shipping though this has to be seen
in the context of events at nearby Loe Bar following the wreck of HMS Anson in 1807,
which resulted in an appalling loss of life. With the need to provide a refuge in mind, the
legislation authorised the imposition of a levy on passing shipping as a means of funding
the project. Quite how this financial arrangement was intended to work – or to be
enforced – is unclear. Until the coming of the new artificial harbour fishing boats were
winched out of the water and up the cliff at what was known as Johnson’s Cove.

An artificial harbour

The Act of 1811 was promoted by a group of London merchants who designated their
new corporate venture, the Porthleven Harbour Company although the rather more
popular name was to be the ‘Prince of Wales’s Harbour’. The preparatory measures
prior to construction gave rise to enormous difficulty, primarily because it became clear
that a lot of mud and gravel had to be removed. Eventually the new harbour was

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