Gorran Haven

Gorran Haven (Cornish: Porthust)[1] is a fishing village, in the civil parish of St Goran, on the south coast of Cornwall, England, UK. It is about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Mevagissey and lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).[2]

Gorran Haven
Gorran Haven
Gorran Haven is located in Cornwall
Gorran Haven
Gorran Haven
Location within Cornwall
Population1,271 (Parish, 2001)
OS grid referenceSX009414
Civil parish
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townST. AUSTELL
Postcode districtPL26
Dialling code01726
PoliceDevon and Cornwall
FireCornwall
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament

Overview
Gorran Haven seaweed
Gorran Haven, Cornwall at low tide on a summer afternoon.

The village lies in a cove between two sandy beaches.[2] Vault Beach (also known as Bow beach) is south of Gorran Haven and Great Perhaver Beach is to the north, both beaches are naturist beaches.[3][4]

Gorran Haven was an ancient fishing harbour; its first pier was built in the 15th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries it became a port handling merchandise brought from Fowey by barges and lighters. The pier was rebuilt in the 1820s and reconstructed in 1888.[5] There are two churches in the village, Haven Church (previously Mount Zion), and St Just Church. St Just Church had been used as a fish cellar for over a century. In 1812 the Congregationalists of Mevagissey moved into the Haven using St Just as their Meeting House and referring to it as the old Chapel Cellar. Haven Church is a non-denominational church.[6]

The Cinema Museum in London holds home movies of the village in the 1950's.

Notable residents
  • Sir Richard Dearlove (1945– ), civil servant, was born in and spent his early childhood in the village.
  • Charles William Peach (1800–1886), naturalist and geologist, lived in the village and worked in the surrounding landscape,[7] there is a plaque to his memory in the village.
  • Ben Peach (1842–1926), son of Charles, geologist, was born in the village.[8]
  • Colin Wilson (1931–2013), author, lived in the village for over 50 years.[9][10]

See also

References
  1. Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF) Archived 15 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine : List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel Archived 2013-05-15 at the Wayback Machine. Cornish Language Partnership.
  2. Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 Truro & Falmouth (Roseland Peninsula) (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2009. ISBN 978-0-319-23290-3.
  3. "Great Perhaver Beach". Cornwall Beach Guide. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  4. "Vault Beach (Gorran Haven)". Cornwall Beach Guide. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
  5. Todd, Arthur Cecil; Laws, Peter (1972). The industrial archaeology of Cornwall. David and Charles. p. 226. ISBN 9780715355909.
  6. "Haven Church - Who we are". www.havenchurch.co. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  7. Oldroyd, David (23 September 2004). "Peach, Charles William". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/21665. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  8. Oldroyd, David. "Peach, Benjamin Neeve (1842–1926)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/37839. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  9. Ezard, John (9 December 2013). "Colin Wilson obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  10. Lachman, Gary (2016). Beyond the Robot. TarcherPerigee. p. XII. ISBN 978-0399173080.
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