Prawn Design Inc copyright 2011 -
In the 13th century Porthallow was used as a fishing base by Beaulieu Abbey. In 1317 the abbey acquired a plot at nearby Porthallon with a slipway where the abbot’s men could draw up their boats. A small river ran to the sea there with a narrow beach and steeper slopes flanking a wide valley providing space for settlement. While not being easily accessible by land they must have relied largely on sea borne communications. The Beaulieu abbey fishermen seemed to have used the port as a shore base after extended fishing expeditions. Records of rents levied on fishing ports in the duchy of Cornwall in the early 14th century show that Porthallow was a substantial fishing village paying only slightly less rent than Fowey. The Porthallow Pilchard Curing Company leased the land from the Trelowarren estate from 1914 to 1937 when it was purchased as the Porthallow Institute and Reading Room. In 1971 the beach was also purchased and run by a group of Trustees from the village. From 2008 the Porthallow Village Association became a charity and is currently maintained by a voluntary group of Trustees from the village. The photographs shown are a selection from the village history.