Page 8 - Captain William Strike of Porthleven

Harveys of Hayle

Despite widespread criticisms of the harbour building project, the storm damage of 1824
and the economic uncertainties just described , there were forty six registered fishing
vessels operating out of Porthleven by 1850. The local economy clearly benefited to a
certain extent because fishing then provided employment for nearly three hundred
fishermen and fish packers. Nevertheless, the economics of the port left a lot to be
desired and further improvements were needed if trade in and out of the port was to be
sustained. In 1855 Harveys of Hayle decided to invest in the port through a purchase of
the Porthleven Harbour Co. though it seems highly unlikely that the company based
nearby in Hayle was influenced by the promoters’ prospectus dating back to 1831.
Harvey’s investment took the form of the construction of a new breakwater and of what
would become a wet dock, or inner harbour, where vessels could remain afloat at all
states of the tide.

Towards the 1870s it was clear to Harveys that the local port economy was not at all
healthy, if only because of a growing depression in the mining industry locally.
Furthermore, Porthleven was never going to be a significant port in its own right. Indeed,
local shipping records, for example, in relation to Customs and Excise, show that
Porthleven was only ever a minor port under the influence of Penzance on the other side
of Mounts Bay. In terms of port registration it was ‘Penzance’ that appeared on the stern
of trading vessels rather than ‘Porthleven’ even though they may often have been owned
and manned from the latter port.

By 1878 the Royal County Directory for Cornwall describes a pier 465 feet long together
with a basin – the inner harbour, presumably – capable of holding vessels of 200 tons
burthen and enclosed by granite jetties with wharfage on either side. The entrance is
said to be easy to access, being 100 feet wide at the mouth or narrowest point. The
Directory goes on to describe the principal exports as china clay, china stone, iron ore,

3