Porthleven Cannon
by Terri Waters
Title
Porthleven Cannon
Artist
Terri Waters
Medium
Photograph
Description
The 44 gun frigate, HMS Anson was shipwrecked near Porthleven at Loe Bar Cornwall in 1807 and reportedly 130 people were drowned.
Due to this tradgedy the Henry Trengrouse life saving apparatus, rocket fired rope line which was an early form of the Breeches buoy and cork filled life jackets were invented by the local cabinet maker Henry Trengrouse.
Another result of the shipwreck was The Thomas Grylls Act of 1808. Thomas was a local solicitor who drafted the act which sets out the procedures regarding burial of bodies cast up by the sea.
Also The Act Of Parliament signed by King George III in 1811 "for constructing a harbour, in Mounts Bay in the county of Cornwall". Porthleven was chosen because of its central location in Mounts Bay. The Act established the Porthleven Harbour Company that was responsible for building, maintaining and operating the the harbour.
The granite pier and quays were constructed by 1825 but it was still an open harbour. The harbour was purchased in 1855 by Harvey and Co of Hayle in Cornwall, who built the inner harbour which was completed in 1858. The huge timbers (baulk) that seal the inner harbour in storms are still in use today and held until the January storm of 2014.
There are relics of shipwrecks to be found around the harbour today including the two cannon recovered from the HMS Anson standing on either side of the outer harbour. One has sadly been washed back into the sea. Hopefully it will be recovered and replaced once the harbour has been repaired.
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Uploaded
February 7th, 2014
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