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Port Isaac () is a small fishing village on the Atlantic coast of north
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
,
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
, in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. The nearest towns are
Wadebridge Wadebridge (; ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel upstream from Padstow.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The pe ...
and
Camelford Camelford () is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council. The ward pop ...
, each away. A nearby hamlet, Port Gaverne, is sometimes considered to be part of Port Isaac. The meaning of the village's Cornish name, ''Porthysek'', is "corn port", indicating a trade in corn from the arable inland district. From 2004 to 2022, the village served as the backdrop to the ITV television series ''
Doc Martin ''Doc Martin'' is a British medical comedy-drama television series starring Martin Clunes as Doctor Martin Ellingham. It was created by Dominic Minghella developing the character of Dr Martin Bamford from the Nigel Cole comedy film '' Saving ...
''. It also is home to the sea-shanty singing group Fisherman's Friends.


History

The origins of Port Isaac are likely Celtic and the development of the village can be roughly divided into three phases. Through the Middle Ages and up to the coming of the railways, Port Isaac was a thriving port serving the area inland. During the Tudor period the harbour was dredged, a good illustration of its importance. Once goods from locations further inland were better served by the North Cornwall Railway, the economy of the port relied on
pilchard Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it comes ...
fishing, probably a centuries-old industry. However, the pilchard shoals began to decline, and after
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
tourism became the mainstay of the economy.


Port

Port Isaac's pier was constructed during the reign of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
. A 1937 history said, "...Tudor pier and breakwater have now yielded to a strong new sea-wall balanced by an arm on the opposite side of the cove, and we do not doubt that the fishermen sleep more soundly in their beds on stormy nights." The village centre dates from the 18th and 19th centuries, from a time when its prosperity was tied to local coastal freight and fishing. Apart from the corn that gave the town its name, the port handled cargoes of coal, wood, stone, ores, limestone, salt, pottery and heavy goods which were conveyed along its narrow streets. Small coastal sailing vessels were built below Roscarrock Hill. The
pilchard Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it comes ...
fishery began here before the 16th century and in 1850 there were 49 registered fishing boats and four fish cellars. Fishermen still work from the Platt, landing their catches of fish, crab and lobsters. The historic core of the village was designated a
Conservation Area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...
in 1971 and North Cornwall District Council reviewed this in 2008 with the endorsement of a detailed Port Isaac Conservation Area Appraisal document and a related Conservation Area Management Plan. The village has around 90
listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...
s (all Grade II).


Lifeboat

A
Royal National Lifeboat Institution The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat (rescue), lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on s ...
(RNLI) lifeboat station was opened at Port Isaac in 1869. The ''Richard and Sarah'' was kept in a boat house on Fore Street, from where it had to be taken through the narrow streets of the village on a carriage to be launched. A new lifeboat station was built in 1927 next to the beach but this closed in 1933. An Inshore Lifeboat has been stationed at Port Isaac from 1967. Since 1993 it has been kept in the lifeboat station built in 1927; the original lifeboat station is now a shop. Port Isaac's lifeboat has been the D-class ''Copeland Bell'' since 2009.


Transport

The first link from Port Isaac to the railways was started by John Prout, who ran a service to Bodmin Road station, more than distant, from 1861. The railways came much closer when the North Cornwall Railway opened the section from
Delabole Delabole () is a large village and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, which lies approximately two miles (3 km) west of Camelford. The village of Delabole came into existence in the early 20th century; it is named af ...
to
Wadebridge Wadebridge (; ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel upstream from Padstow.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The pe ...
in 1895, which included a station at Port Isaac Road from the village. Produce from the area, including fish, flowers and fruit, was transported through the steep and narrow lanes to the station, with 150 tons of fish being transported by cart for onward shipment in 1897. The horse-drawn connection to the railway was replaced by a motor bus in 1920, and when this service was taken over by the Southern National Omnibus Company in 1930, Prouts merged the passenger service into the freight cartage service that they ran for the Southern Railway. The Okehampton to Wadebridge railway line closed in 1966. Due to the sparsely populated area, ticket sales were always low: 4,500 annually in 1928, dropping to less than 2,000 in 1936; freight dropped in a similar way over the same period. The village was served by
Western Greyhound Western Greyhound was a bus operator based in Summercourt, near Newquay, which operated services in Cornwall and Devon from January 1998 until March 2015. History Western Greyhound was established in January 1998 to take over the three veh ...
's 584 bus service from
Wadebridge Wadebridge (; ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel upstream from Padstow.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The pe ...
to
Camelford Camelford () is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council. The ward pop ...
, which ran five times daily in each direction, except for Sundays. A summer Sunday service provided up to four return journeys. In 1997,
FirstGroup FirstGroup plc is a British multi-national transport group, based in Aberdeen, Scotland.Wadebridge Wadebridge (; ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel upstream from Padstow.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' The pe ...
and
Bude Bude (, locally or ; Cornish language, Cornish ) is a seaside town in north Cornwall, England, in the civil parish of Bude-Stratton and at the mouth of the River Neet (also known locally as the River Strat). It was sometimes formerly known as ...
. Newquay Cornwall Airport, located in Newquay, is the closest airport to the village. In 2016, a local taxi service – Port Isaac Shuttle Service – was asked to change the way that it displayed its name after
Cornwall Council Cornwall Council ( ), known between 1889 and 2009 as Cornwall County Council (), is the local authority which governs the non-metropolitan county of Cornwall in South West England. Since 2009 it has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary ...
deemed it offended good taste.


Recreation and tourism

Port Isaac is located on the
South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked Long-distance footpaths in the UK, long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harb ...
, and apart from people walking the long
National Trail National Trails are long distance footpaths and bridleways in England and Wales. They are administered by Natural England, an agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, UK government, and Natural Resources Wales, a Welsh Government, Welsh ...
there are shorter walks in the area using this path as part of their route. There is an alley in Port Isaac, known as Temple Bar, that is particularly narrow.All About Cornwall Website
– Port Isaac entry
In the 1978 edition of ''
Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
'', it was dubbed the world's narrowest thoroughfare. Locals refer to it as Squeeze-belly Alley.


Places of worship

The church of St Peter was built as a
chapel-of-ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...
in the parish of
St Endellion St Endellion () is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and hamlet in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The hamlet and parish church are situated four miles (6.5 km) north of Wadebridge. The parish takes its name from Saint Ende ...
in 1882–84; Port Isaac became a separate parish in 1913, though more recently it has returned to St Endellion parish. The church is built of granite and stone and the style adopted was Early English. The village has had three Nonconformist places of worship: the oldest was a
Quaker meeting house A Friends meeting house is a meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), where meeting for worship is usually held. Typically, Friends meeting houses are simple and resemble local residential buildings. Ornamentation, spires, a ...
, 1806; from 1832 it was used by the
Baptists Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
but was converted to a dwelling house in 1871. The
United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
chapel (1846) and the Wesleyan Methodist chapel are both now closed. The nearest
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
church is in
Tintagel Tintagel () or Trevena (, meaning ''Village on a Mountain'') is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle ...
.


Cornish wrestling

Cornish wrestling Cornish wrestling () is a form of wrestling that has been established in Cornwall for many centuries and possibly longer. It is similar to the Breton people, Breton Gouren wrestling style. It is colloquially known as "wrasslin’"Phillipps, K C: ...
tournaments, for prizes, were held in Port Isaac at the football field.Cornish Guardian, 10 August 1923.Western Morning News, 14 August 1906.


Notable people

* Edmund Henry Hambly (1914 in Port Isaac – 1985) a British orthopaedic surgeon, politician and promoter of the
Cornish language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or , ) is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. Along with Welsh language, Welsh and Breton language, Breton, Cornish descends from Common Brittonic, ...
* Fisherman's Friends (active 1995–present), a male
a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
group who sing
sea shanties A sea shanty, shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large merchant sailing vessels. The term ''shanty'' most accurately refers to a sp ...


Film location

Locations in and around the village have been used for a number of films and television series, including: * ''
Poldark ''Poldark'' is a series of historical novels by Winston Graham, initially published from 1945 to 1953 and continuing from 1973 to 2002. The first novel, '' Ross Poldark'', was named for the protagonist of the series. The novel series was ada ...
'' (1975–77), a
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
television series, used locations in the area. * ''Tarry-Dan Tarry-Dan Scarey Old Spooky Man'' (1978), BBC supernatural play. * '' The Nightmare Man'' (1981), BBC drama serial, filmed in and around the village – which doubled for a Scottish island. * ''
Oscar and Lucinda ''Oscar and Lucinda'' is a novel by Australian author Peter Carey. It won the 1988 Booker Prize the year it was released, and the 1989 Miles Franklin Award. It was shortlisted in 2008 for The Best of the Booker, in celebration of the prize's ...
'' (1997), film. * '' Saving Grace'' (2000), a comedy film, was filmed in and around the village. * '' DIY SOS'' (2001), featured the village hall being decorated. * ''
Doc Martin ''Doc Martin'' is a British medical comedy-drama television series starring Martin Clunes as Doctor Martin Ellingham. It was created by Dominic Minghella developing the character of Dr Martin Bamford from the Nigel Cole comedy film '' Saving ...
'' (2004–2022), ITV series, ten series filmed in the port (using the fictional name of "Portwenn"; also used in the Sky Pictures movies ''
Doc Martin ''Doc Martin'' is a British medical comedy-drama television series starring Martin Clunes as Doctor Martin Ellingham. It was created by Dominic Minghella developing the character of Dr Martin Bamford from the Nigel Cole comedy film '' Saving ...
'' and '' Doc Martin and the Legend of the Cloutie'' under its true name "Port Isaac"). * '' The Shell Seekers'' (2006), a television production with
Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress. In her career spanning over six decades, she has garnered List of awards and nominations received by Vanessa Redgrave, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony A ...
, where the village was used as the backdrop and many scenes were shot in the main street. * '' Fisherman’s Friends'' (2019), a film about the shanty-singing band of the same name and its sequel '' Fisherman's Friends: One and All'' (2022).


References


External links


Port Isaac websiteInformation on Port Isaac lifeboat stationParish Council website
{{authority control Fishing communities in England Populated coastal places in Cornwall Villages in Cornwall St Endellion