The village of Porthcurno is situated on Cornwall’s south coast, approximately 10km from Penzance Town and 4km from Land’s End, and is home to some of Cornwall’s well-known attractions including the Minack Theatre and Telegraph Museum.
The name, Porthcurno derives from 16th century Cornish spelling, ‘Porth Cornowe’ which means ‘cove or landing place of horns or pinnacles’. This is in reference to the granite rock formations found across the cliffs and coastlines, which have been officially designated as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.
For a small village, Porthcurno is widely known for its history as a major international submarine communications cable station. The first submarine telegraph cable was landed on Porthcurno beach in 1870 from Portugal. Sir John Pender, who created the company who laid the first cable, had intended to use Falmouth as the UK’s first landing place, however, in the town’s busy port there was a high risk of damaging the cables on ships anchors so the cable came ashore at Porthcurno. Other early cables stretched to Vigo, Gibraltar and Madeira.
The first telegraph station was built in 1870 and had several extensions over the years, to accommodate the growing numbers of cables and staff. During the inter-war years, the station operated up to 14 cables and, for a time, became the largest submarine station worldwide.
Over the years, the station attracted many telegraphy apprentices before 1950 saw the opening of a Porthcurno engineering college. In 1970, 100 years after the first cable was landed, the telegraph station closed, however, the college continued to flourish until it’s isolation from other towns caused it too to shut its doors in 1993.
The rich history of this remarkable little village, led to the opening of the Telegraph Museum in 1998 which now houses archives from Porthcurno’s communication legacy.
Live Music, Theatre
Mon 29th May, 2023 — Fri 2nd Jun, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
£ — £10
Family, Theatre
Mon 29th May, 2023 — Fri 2nd Jun, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
£5 — £10
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Art, Open Studios
Sat 27th May, 2023 — Sun 4th Jun, 2023
Brooklands, Porthcurno
Art, Open Studios
Sat 27th May, 2023 — Sun 4th Jun, 2023
An Vellan, Porthcurno
Art, Open Studios
Sat 27th May, 2023 — Sun 4th Jun, 2023
Kookaburra, Porthcurno
Art, Open Studios
Sat 27th May, 2023 — Sun 4th Jun, 2023
Treglyn Barn, Porthcurno
Live Music
Fri 9th Jun, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
£ — £10
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Live Music
Fri 16th Jun, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
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Theatre
Wed 7th Jun, 2023 — Thu 22nd Jun, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
£ — £10
Dance, Live Music
Mon 26th Jun, 2023 — Wed 28th Jun, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
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Live Music
Fri 30th Jun, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
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Theatre
Mon 3rd Jul, 2023 — Thu 6th Jul, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
£ — £10
Theatre
Wed 12th Jul, 2023 — Thu 13th Jul, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
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Family, Live Music
Sat 15th Jul, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
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Theatre
Sun 16th Jul, 2023 — Fri 21st Jul, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
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Theatre
Mon 24th Jul, 2023 — Thu 27th Jul, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
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Live Music
Fri 28th Jul, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
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Theatre
Sun 30th Jul, 2023 — Thu 3rd Aug, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
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Theatre
Fri 4th Aug, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
£10 — £10
Family, Theatre
Mon 17th Jul, 2023 — Wed 9th Aug, 2023
Minack Theatre, Porthcurno
£5 — £10
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