Porkellis
A street in Porkellis
Porkellis is located in Cornwall
Porkellis
Porkellis
Location within Cornwall
OS grid referenceSW695335
Shire county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
PoliceDevon and Cornwall
FireCornwall
AmbulanceSouth Western
List of places
UK
England
Cornwall
50°09′21″N 5°13′51″W / 50.15573°N 5.23097°W / 50.15573; -5.23097

Porkellis (Cornish: Porthkellys)[1] is a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is approximately three and a half miles north-east of Helston, and is in the heart of the old Wendron mining district.

The village has a pub (The Star Inn), Methodist chapel, village hall and primary school.

The name Porkellis comes from the Cornish language words porth, meaning 'cove' or 'gate', and kellys, meaning 'lost'.[2]

Chapels

The old church - now the village hall

Porkellis has two chapels, both of which are Grade II listed. The original chapel was built in 1814, whereas the later Wesleyan chapel was bigger and built in 1866 alongside the older one. When the latter chapel was built the original was converted into a schoolroom.[3] Services now take place in the earlier 1814 Chapel, sympathetically refurbished as the 1866 building has been sold and is currently under renovation.

The building of a church (dedicated to St Christopher) and intended to seat 120 people started in January 1882, at an estimated cost of £700 and was completed by the end of the year.[4][5] It was a chapel of ease in the parish of Carnmenellis, closing in the 1970s and is now used as the village hall.[6]

Porkellis Moor

Porkellis Moor is an extensive area of marsh near the village, which was once used for mining, mainly for tin, and engine houses and other industrial buildings remain.[3] The Porkellis China Clay Works attempted to extract china clay, over a period of three years, spending approximately £3,000. The High Sheriff of Cornwall issued a Fi fa and the goods of the company was sold, by auction for a small amount on 28 April 1879.[7]

The moor forms part of West Cornwall Bryophytes Site of Special Scientific Interest.[8]

Cornish wrestling

Cornish wrestling tournaments, for prizes, were held in Porkellis in the 1800s[9] and 1900s.[10]

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 15 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Cornish Language Partnership.
  2. ^ Akademi Kernewek place names - Porthkellys
  3. ^ a b "Wendron mines and sites". Cornwall & Scilly Historic Environment Service. Archived from the original on 4 May 2007. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  4. ^ "Commencement of Porkellis Church". The Cornishman. No. 182. 5 January 1882. p. 4.
  5. ^ "The new Church at Porkellis". The Cornishman. No. 226. 9 November 1882. p. 7.
  6. ^ "Wendron Parish Council". Wendron Parish Council. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  7. ^ "Porkellis China Clay Works". The Cornishman. No. 42. 1 May 1879. p. 5.
  8. ^ "West Cornwall Bryophytes" (PDF). Natural England. 1999. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  9. ^ Royal Cornwall Gazette, 14 August 1885.
  10. ^ Lake's Falmouth Packet and Cornwall Advertiser, 3 October 1903.
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