Port Isaac
Encyclopedia
Port Isaac is a small and picturesque fishing village
on the Atlantic Coast of North Cornwall
, United Kingdom
. The nearest towns are Wadebridge
and Camelford
, both ten miles away in opposite directions. Port Gaverne
, commonly mistaken to be part of Port Isaac, is a hamlet that has its own individual history. Since the 1980s the village has served as backdrop to various TV productions, and most recently the ITV series Doc Martin
. The meaning of the name Porth Izzick (modified in English spelling) is the "corn port," indicating a trade in wheat from the arable inland district.
The Port Isaac lifeboat
station was established in 1869 following the delivery of two lifeboats called Richard and Sarah. The former boathouse is now the building called the Post Office. In the early 1960s the Royal National Lifeboat Institution introduced the Inshore Lifeboat, and in 1967 the Port Isaac Station reopened with a new class D inshore lifeboat
. Since that time, the lifeboat has responded to more than 550 calls, in the process saving more than 140 lives. Today, Port Isaac's crew and shore helpers man the station twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, providing full coverage of Cornwall's north coast.
in 1882-84; Port Isaac became a separate parish in 1913 though more recently it has returned to St. Endellion parish. The building materials were granite and stone and the style adopted was Early English.
There have been three Nonconformist places of worship in the village: the oldest was a Quaker meeting house, 1806; from 1832 it was in use by the Baptists but was converted to a dwelling house in 1871. The United Methodist chapel (1946) and the Wesleyan Methodist chapel remain in use.
, sea shanty singers who perform every Friday evening in summer from around 8 PM on The Platt in the old harbour. The group signed an album deal in March 2010 for £1 million with Universal
.
The singers are made up of ten local residents, including the postmaster and author of the Gully books, Jon Cleave, and the crab and lobstermen of the village. The Fisherman's Friends have performed all over the UK including the Royal Albert Hall
and have appeared on the popular television quiz show Eggheads. The Master of Ceremonies is usually either Jon Cleave or Jeremy Brown.
Despite its isolation the village has had several visits from celebrities. The BBC series Poldark
(1975-77) used locations in the area; the BBC
drama serial The Nightmare Man
(1981) was filmed in and around the village, which doubled for a Scottish island and it was a location for the film of Oscar and Lucinda
(1997). The local village hall has been decorated by the team of DIY SOS
, and to date, five series of ITV's Doc Martin
have been filmed there although the village has a fictional name of "Port Wenn." Saving Grace
, a successful comedy film, was filmed in and around the village.
In October 2005, the village was again used for the backdrop to the television production of Rosamunde Pilcher's
The Shell Seekers
. Filming took place in the village for a week with the production's star, Vanessa Redgrave
, filming many of her scenes in the main street. The filming of the third series is currently taking place.
railway line in 1966 the village was served by a station at Port Isaac Road. The station, some three miles (five kilometers) from Port Isaac itself, opened on 1 June 1895, and had a passing loop and a single siding with headshunt
that served a goods shed and loading dock. All buildings were of local stone; station building and signal box locking room on the up platform, the small waiting shelter on the down platform, and the goods shed. Ticket sales were low, with nearly 4,500 annually in 1928, dropping to under 2,000 in 1936; freight dropped in a similar way over the same period. The station layout never changed until the station siding was taken out of use in December 1965. The station was unmanned from 6 December 1965 and closed on 3 October 1966. The station buildings and goods shed survive largely unchanged.
There is a large car park on the outskirts of the village.
, actress Julie Peasgood
, and TV presenter Lorne Spicer
.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
on the Atlantic Coast of North Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The nearest towns are Wadebridge
Wadebridge
Wadebridge is a civil parish and town in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel five miles upstream from Padstow....
and Camelford
Camelford
Camelford is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council....
, both ten miles away in opposite directions. Port Gaverne
Port Gaverne
Port Gaverne is a hamlet on the north coast of Cornwall, in England, about half a mile east of Port Isaac. Although recognised as an independent hamlet by the Cornish, many tourists consider it as part of the larger village of Port Isaac, partially due to the reason it is home to only four...
, commonly mistaken to be part of Port Isaac, is a hamlet that has its own individual history. Since the 1980s the village has served as backdrop to various TV productions, and most recently the ITV series Doc Martin
Doc Martin
Doc Martin is a British television comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes in the title role. It was created by Mark Crowdy, Craig Ferguson and Dominic Minghella. The show is filmed on location in the fishing village of Port Isaac, Cornwall, United Kingdom, with filming of most interior scenes...
. The meaning of the name Porth Izzick (modified in English spelling) is the "corn port," indicating a trade in wheat from the arable inland district.
History
The Port Isaac pier was constructed during the reign of Henry VIII. The village's central precinct dates from the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries, from a time when its prosperity was tied to local coastal freight and fishing. The port handled cargoes such as coal, wood, stone, ores, limestone, salt, pottery and heavy goods which were conveyed down its narrow streets. Fishermen still work from the Platt, landing their daily catch of fish, crab and lobsters.The Port Isaac lifeboat
Lifeboat (rescue)
A rescue lifeboat is a boat rescue craft which is used to attend a vessel in distress, or its survivors, to rescue crewmen and passengers. It can be hand pulled, sail powered or powered by an engine...
station was established in 1869 following the delivery of two lifeboats called Richard and Sarah. The former boathouse is now the building called the Post Office. In the early 1960s the Royal National Lifeboat Institution introduced the Inshore Lifeboat, and in 1967 the Port Isaac Station reopened with a new class D inshore lifeboat
D class lifeboat
The D class lifeboat EA16 is a class of inflatable boat formally operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It has been replace by the D class lifeboat -Utilization:...
. Since that time, the lifeboat has responded to more than 550 calls, in the process saving more than 140 lives. Today, Port Isaac's crew and shore helpers man the station twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, providing full coverage of Cornwall's north coast.
Places of worship
The church of St. Peter was built as a chapel-of-ease in the parish of St EndellionSt Endellion
St Endellion is a civil parish and village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village and parish church are situated four miles north of Wadebridge....
in 1882-84; Port Isaac became a separate parish in 1913 though more recently it has returned to St. Endellion parish. The building materials were granite and stone and the style adopted was Early English.
There have been three Nonconformist places of worship in the village: the oldest was a Quaker meeting house, 1806; from 1832 it was in use by the Baptists but was converted to a dwelling house in 1871. The United Methodist chapel (1946) and the Wesleyan Methodist chapel remain in use.
Local culture
The village is also home to the group Fisherman's FriendsFisherman's Friends
Fisherman's Friends are a 10-strong singing group from Port Isaac, Cornwall, who sing sea shanties a cappella. They have been performing locally since 1995, and signed a record deal with Universal Music in March 2010.-Biography:...
, sea shanty singers who perform every Friday evening in summer from around 8 PM on The Platt in the old harbour. The group signed an album deal in March 2010 for £1 million with Universal
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
.
The singers are made up of ten local residents, including the postmaster and author of the Gully books, Jon Cleave, and the crab and lobstermen of the village. The Fisherman's Friends have performed all over the UK including the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
and have appeared on the popular television quiz show Eggheads. The Master of Ceremonies is usually either Jon Cleave or Jeremy Brown.
Film locations
Poldark
Poldark is a BBC television series based on the novels written by Winston Graham which was first transmitted in the UK between 1975 and 1977.-Outline:...
(1975-77) used locations in the area; the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
drama serial The Nightmare Man
The Nightmare Man
The Nightmare Man is a science fiction and horror television serial, produced by the BBC in 1981.An adaptation of the novel Child of Vodyanoi by David Wiltshire, The Nightmare Man is set on a small Scottish island with the population gripped by fear following a series of savage murders and the...
(1981) was filmed in and around the village, which doubled for a Scottish island and it was a location for the film of Oscar and Lucinda
Oscar and Lucinda (film)
Oscar and Lucinda is a 1997 romantic drama film directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Cate Blanchett, Ralph Fiennes, Ciarán Hinds and Tom Wilkinson. It is based on the 1988 Booker Prize-winning novel Oscar and Lucinda by Peter Carey.-Plot:...
(1997). The local village hall has been decorated by the team of DIY SOS
DIY SOS
DIY SOS is a British DIY television series made for the BBC, presented by Nick Knowles. The first episode was broadcast on 7 October 1999 and the show is still aired today...
, and to date, five series of ITV's Doc Martin
Doc Martin
Doc Martin is a British television comedy drama series starring Martin Clunes in the title role. It was created by Mark Crowdy, Craig Ferguson and Dominic Minghella. The show is filmed on location in the fishing village of Port Isaac, Cornwall, United Kingdom, with filming of most interior scenes...
have been filmed there although the village has a fictional name of "Port Wenn." Saving Grace
Saving Grace (2000 film)
Track Listing# "Introduction" – 1:02# "Grace's Theme" – 2:42# "Take a Picture" – 5:55# "Make Me Smile " – 4:07# "Spirit in the Sky" – 3:56...
, a successful comedy film, was filmed in and around the village.
In October 2005, the village was again used for the backdrop to the television production of Rosamunde Pilcher's
Rosamunde Pilcher
Rosamunde Pilcher OBE is a British author of romance novels and mainstream women's fiction. Early in her career she was also published under the pen name Jane Fraser. Pilcher retired from writing in 2000.-Early years:...
The Shell Seekers
The Shell Seekers
The Shell Seekers is a 1987 novel by Rosamunde Pilcher. It became one of her most famous best-sellers. It was nominated by the British public in 2003 as one of the top 100 novels in the BBC's Big Read...
. Filming took place in the village for a week with the production's star, Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
, filming many of her scenes in the main street. The filming of the third series is currently taking place.
Transport
Until the closure of the Okehampton to WadebridgeNorth Cornwall Railway
The North Cornwall Railway was a railway line running from Halwill in Devon to Padstow in Cornwall via Launceston, Camelford and Wadebridge, a distance of 49 miles 67 chains. Opened in the last decade of the nineteenth century, it was part of a drive by the London and South Western Railway to...
railway line in 1966 the village was served by a station at Port Isaac Road. The station, some three miles (five kilometers) from Port Isaac itself, opened on 1 June 1895, and had a passing loop and a single siding with headshunt
Headshunt
A headshunt is a short length of track, provided to release locomotives at terminal platforms, or to allow shunting to take place clear of main lines.- Terminal Headshunts :...
that served a goods shed and loading dock. All buildings were of local stone; station building and signal box locking room on the up platform, the small waiting shelter on the down platform, and the goods shed. Ticket sales were low, with nearly 4,500 annually in 1928, dropping to under 2,000 in 1936; freight dropped in a similar way over the same period. The station layout never changed until the station siding was taken out of use in December 1965. The station was unmanned from 6 December 1965 and closed on 3 October 1966. The station buildings and goods shed survive largely unchanged.
There is a large car park on the outskirts of the village.
Well-known people
In recent years, the village has become home, for part of the year, to such well-known people as designer Laurence Llewelyn-BowenLaurence Llewelyn-Bowen
Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen is a successful homestyle consultant best known for his appearances on the BBC television programme Changing Rooms...
, actress Julie Peasgood
Julie Peasgood
Julie May Peasgood is an English actress, television presenter, author and voice over artist known for her distinctive voice. She attended Grimsby's Wintringham School as a student. She is best known for her role as Fran Pearson in the television soap Brookside...
, and TV presenter Lorne Spicer
Lorne Spicer
Lorne Spicer is an English television presenter best known for presenting reality shows on the BBC's current daytime output....
.