Porthoustock

Cornwall Information & Accommodation Guide

Porthoustock is a small village on the east coast of the Lizard peninsula .

The village was originally engaged in the fishing industry but today you see the remains of its more recent industrial activity, quarrying and stone crushing. Analcime, analcite, calcite, diorite, epidote, hornblende, pectolite and prehnite have all been found in the quarry here. The quarries and cliiffs are geologically interesting and the area is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

Porthoustock has been a port for the shipping of stone since the 1890s. An old stone mill dominates the beach area, an interesting feature.

Stone from the quarry here was used in the building of Cornwall's airfields during the Second World War. Aggregates are still quarried in the area. Facilities still exist for large vessels to dock at the wharf near the southern side of the beach. Vessels up to 269 feet (82 metres) can be loaded with stone.

Today, a few fishermen work from Porthoustock Beach, fishing for crab, lobster and some line caught fish.

During World War II, in 1940, Porthoustock was bombed by the German Air Force but escaped without any casualties.

In the past, shipwrecks have been a common sight at Porthoustock as the village is close to the famous Manacles, a very unforgiving reef off Manacle Point.

An RNLI lifeboat was stationed here between 1869 and 1942. The old lifeboat house is used today as Porthoustock's village hall. Divers use Porthoustock Beach as a departure point for dives on The Manacles.

On the cliffs above Porthoustock is a rock formation known as the Giant's Quoits. This natural structure was originally on Manacle Point but in 1967 it was moved to protect it from the expanding quarry.

Famous Porthoustock Characters

Mrs Annie Margaret Hold, a survivor of the Titanic sinking was born at Porthoustock.

Location:
Lizard Peninsula

Road directions to Porthoustock

Books online:
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