Polperro: A port for all seasons PDF Print E-mail

Peter Stephens discovers why Polperro might well be the prettiest village in Britain.

Lying a few miles down the coast from Looe, the historic fishing village of Polperro is a time capsule of old Cornwall at its romantic best.

The collection of ancient fishermen’s cottages and narrow streets and lanes, that have somehow been shoe-horned into the steep, narrow valley running down to the sea, all add up to give Polperro its deserved accolade of one of the prettiest villages in Britain.

However, the ancient infrastructure that makes Polperro so inviting means that, today, vehicle access is strictly controlled and, with one or two exceptions, cars normally have to be left in the car-park on the outskirts of the village at Crumplehorn.

Yet fear not, the walk down to the heart of Polperro is a positive joy, with its exciting anticipation of what is waiting at the bottom of the hill, while for the less energetic among us, a couple of colourful horse-drawn carriages offer an alternative and more relaxing form of transport. One of my fondest memories is of making this journey on foot, late on a winter’s afternoon, and being greeted by the welcoming aroma of log fires that drifted up from the village below. It encapsulates everything that I love about Polperro and reminds me that places still do exist where life can be lived at a sensible pace.

Anyone visiting the village for the first time soon becomes aware of the River Pol chuckling mischievously beside them, as they walk down the hill from Crumplehorn. Normally well behaved and little more than a fast flowing stream, in 1976 and 1993 extreme weather conditions turned the Pol into a raging torrent that cascaded through the centre of Polperro, as happened in Boscastle in the catastrophic flood of August 2004. Many of the village’s homes and businesses were severely damaged and, as a result, a flood relief tunnel was subsequently constructed to channel excess storm water safely to the sea and, hopefully, prevent the village ever being flooded again.

Polperro’s history can be traced back to the time of the Doomsday Book and, over the centuries, it rapidly established itself as a thriving fishing port, harvesting the huge shoals of pilchards that once abounded around the Cornish coast. This part of Polperro’s economy peaked during the 19th century, when three factories existed in the harbour to process and pack the immense catches of pilchards that were landed there. Today, one of them, situated on the Warren, houses The Polperro Heritage Museum of Smuggling and Fishing and, as well as displaying many exhibits to do with fishing, it also gives a fascinating insight into another lucrative ‘business’ in which the village was once involved.

During the 18th and early 19th centuries, the Government was forced to raise duties on imported luxury goods like brandy, tobacco and silk to punishing levels, in order to finance the many foreign wars it was involved in. Before long smugglers, or ‘free traders’ as they preferred to be known, were cashing-in on the situation and, in isolated locations like Polperro, foreign luxuries were finding their way into the country, duty-free. Customs officers, or ‘revenue men’, did their best to control the situation but with limited success and, by the late 18th century, smuggling had become so profitable in Polperro that one resident, by the name of Zephania Job, actually set up a bank to handle the revenue earned and organised lawyers for any of the locals ‘caught in the act’. Job became so wealthy that when the harbour was destroyed by a violent storm in 1817, he personally paid for it to be rebuilt. He died in 1822 and is remembered as one of Polperro’s greatest benefactors.

Smuggling is often portrayed as a romantic activity carried out by loveable rogues, but the truth was, because of the penalties that they faced, smugglers would stop at nothing to avoid capture by the authorities. In 1798 a Polperro ship, the Lottery, was stopped by a Revenue Cruiser and, during the ensuing skirmish, one of the Customs Officers was killed. A member of the Lottery’s crew, by the name of Tom Potter, was later tried and hanged for the Customs Officer’s murder and the whole story is graphically told in one of the many displays in the Polperro Heritage Museum of Smuggling and Fishing.

Many of the properties in the old part of Polperro, at the bottom of the hill, are now given over to accommodating visitors. Yet while tourism plays an important part in the village economy, Polperro still operates as a busy fishing port - EEC regulations and weather permitting!

Martin ‘Beaver’ Thomas became a Polperro fisherman as a youngster and, as he put it: “soon got hooked!”

 “There are about nine or 10 boats operating out of Polperro at the moment,” he told me.
“We’re lucky enough to have fuel and cold-storage facilities on the quayside and when the catches are landed they’re usually taken by road to the markets at Looe and Plymouth.”

Talking to Martin, it quickly became clear that, despite all the obvious hardships of his chosen career, he enjoys life as a fisherman. 

“My parents owned a shop in the village but I didn’t want to work there,” he said with a chuckle.
“So I started fishing with an open boat my Gran bought me. I love it and I can’t ever see myself doing anything else, because I don’t know any other way of life.”

Like other Cornish fishing communities, Polperro has a thriving Fishermen’s Choir that was formed in 1923. When they’re not braving the elements in pursuit of fish, its members are often to be seen and heard performing in and around the village.

Fishing is a dangerous activity and, over the years, Polperro has lost many of its sons to the sea. Perched on the rocky promontory just outside the harbour wall known as Peak Rock, is an old, stone net-drying shed. It stands empty today, like a monument to the generations of Polperro fishermen who have braved the elements and, in some cases, given their lives in the pursuit of this important and dangerous activity. 

One of the essentials of any tourist resort is a good selection of pubs and restaurants and the ones in Polperro should satisfy the needs of the most ardent food and drink enthusiasts. In the heart of the village are a number of first class restaurants, including the long established Neville’s and Nelsons, as well as the Couch’s Great House Restaurant. 

Then there are the many excellent pubs that offer visitors the chance to relax and soak up the village’s friendly atmosphere. The Crumplehorn Inn and Mill by the car park has a long and colourful history. In the late 18th century the mill was the home of the smuggler’s ‘banker’, Zephania Job, and the building that now houses the pub dates back to the 16th century, when it was a counting house for the treasure captured from French and Spanish ships by local privateers. These men operated with the full blessing of Elizabeth l and on a number of occasions her Treasury Officer, Lord Burleigh, was to be seen in Polperro’s counting house, checking that the Crown was receiving the correct percentage of the village’s captured booty.

When The Crumplehorn came on the market in 2004, the temptation to own a pub in the village that for years had been their favourite holiday destination, proved too much for Alan and Sonja Crockford. It meant a complete change to their existing life style, but 18 months ago they moved to Polperro and are now proud to be part of the local community in the village they love. Sonja told me how she and Alan host weekly music at The Crumplehorn and how, over the years, music has become so important to Polperro. She also explained how, for the last 11 years, Polperro has held an annual music festival, which pulls in audiences from far and wide.

One person that knows the Polperro music scene better than most is Martin ‘The Hatter’ Soden. As well performing his unique style of music, he is also involved in the organisation of the village’s annual three-day beer festival that takes place in October, at The Old Mill House Inn.

Unfortunately - or not -  there are too many other fine pubs in Polperro to be able to mention them all individually.  From The Blue Peter and Three Pilchards down by the quay to The Noughts and Crosses on Lansallos Street and The Ship Inn on Fore Street, they all offer a warm welcome to visitors; and lovers of a relaxing drink in traditional surroundings will find themselves spoilt for choice.

Anyone wanting to do more than just relax and watch the world go by will find that there’s a lot to do in and around Polperro. The village does have a beach and, although relatively small, at low tide this is always popular. Then, in addition to numerous local tourist attractions such as The Eden Project and the magnificent National Trust property at Lanhydrock, there are the beautiful walks to be enjoyed in and around the surrounding countryside and coastline, which has been designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. For example, lying between Polperro and Looe is the tiny hamlet of Talland with its charming secluded bay. It can be reached by a coastal footpath and anyone taking this route will be treated to some unforgettable scenery.

In fact, there are numerous picturesque areas to visit around Polperro, all easily accessible on foot but anyone new to the area will find more than enough to explore within the village itself, like the quaint model village, the ancient bridges and the aptly named House on Props.

Up until quite recently, places like Polperro were strictly governed by the seasons and, as summer drew to its inevitable close and the days grew shorter, the tourists would inevitably disappear. The village now offers a whole calendar of regular events that attracts visitors. Among them are the Polperro Festival, which is held in June, and the New Year celebrations, that won third place in a national poll of favourite spots to celebrate the occasion.

In a recent BBC4 television series entitled The Perfect Village Polperro was visited by the architect Ptolemy Dean who waxed lyrical about Polperro and its community.

In an age when everything including the climate is changing, I hope Polperro stays just the way it is, because as far as I, and many others, are concerned, it really is the perfect village.



Useful information and contacts
Polperro website: www.polperro.org
Polperro Heritage Museum of Smuggling and Fishing:
Tel: 01503 272423
Polperro Fishermen’s Choir: www.polperrofishermenschoir.org.uk

Famous historical Polperro residents
Jonathan Couch: 1789-1870.
Surgeon and zoologist and grandfather of the celebrated Cornish writer Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch.
Lewis Harding: 1807-1893.
Grandson of Rev Sir Henry Trelawny. He became interested in photography and took some of the first photographs of Polperro and its inhabitants.
Rev Sir Henry Trelawny: 1756-1834.
Descendant of 17th century Bishop Trelawny and major landowner in and around Polperro.

Polperro Facts
The name Polperro is an old Cornish name. Pol, pronounced Pole, has the meaning pool, pit or cove. According to the Cornish language Polperro literally means Pera’s Cove.
Polperro is an area of outstanding beauty. Much favoured by artists and photographers, it has been a site for many films.
The village is still a working fishing port.
Polperro achieved notoriety in the 18th century and early 19th century because of the large amount of smuggling taking place around the port.
Tourism is now Polperro’s main industry but visitors cannot take their cars into the village.


Directions
By road: Polperro is situated on the River Pol, four miles west of Looe and 25 miles west of Plymouth. The quickest way to the village is to travel down the A374 and after 1.5 miles take the right turning to Looe and Polperro on the A387 and follow the signs to Polperro where vehicles are left in a car park to the north of the village.
By plane: Local airports are situated in Newquay, Plymouth and Exeter.
By Ferry: Ferries from Polruan and Fowey operate in the area but do not run to Polperro.

 
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