Portreath, Cornwall - Atlantic Breakers - Overland Views real photo postcard 50s

Postcard
• Picture / Image:  Atlantic Breakers, Portreath, Cornwall - real photo
• Publisher:  Overland Views
• Postally used:  no
• Stamp:  n/a
• Postmark(s):  n/a
• Sent to:  n/a
• Notes / condition: 

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Image may be low res for illustrative purposes - if you need a higher definition image then please contact me and I may be able to send one. No cards have been trimmed (unless stated).

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NOTE: All postcards are sent in brand new stiffened envelopes which I have bought for the task. These are specially made to protect postcards and you may be able to re-use them. In addition there are other costs to sending so the above charge is not just for the stamp!

I will give a full refund if you are not fully satisfied with the postcard.

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Text from the free encyclopedia WIKIPEDIA may appear below to give a little background information (internal links may not  work) :

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Portreath (Cornish: Porthtreth or Porth Treth)^[1] is a civil parish, village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is about three miles (5 km) northwest of Redruth.^[2]

The village extends along both sides of a stream valley and is centred around the harbour and beach. West of the harbour entrance and breakwater are two sandy beaches which are popular with holidaymakers and surfers.

Portreath lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Almost a third of Cornwall has AONB designation, with the same status and protection as a National Park.

The name Portreath (meaning ""sandy cove"") was first recorded in 1485. Tin streaming in the valley was recorded from 1602, and the first quay was built in 1713 near Amy's Point,^[3] though it was destroyed by the sea before 1749.^[4] The village also had a fishing fleet, mainly for pilchards.^[3]

In the late 1770s, during the American Revolutionary War, lieutenant-colonel of the North Devon militia, Francis Basset, commanded local miners to fortify the port, which helped counter a Franco-Spanish invasion fleet gathered as part of the European theatre of the war, some of them still standing to this day. In 1786 he built a pier to serve the local tin mines.^[5]

In the 19th century, Portreath was, with Devoran on the south coast, one of the main ports for sending the copper ore mined in the Gwennap area to Swansea for smelting. The ships returned with Welsh coal to fire the steam engines used on the mines. The two rectangular basins that today make up the harbour and the long breakwater just below the cliffs were all built for this trade. The peak of this enterprise was around 1840, when some 100,000 tons of copper ore were shipped out each year.^[6]

In 1827 Portreath was described as Cornwall's most important port. By 1841 Portreath had become more urban with more middle class inhabitants with the local church being built in 1827, Portreath Hotel (1856), Methodist Chapel (1858), Basset Arms (1878) and the School (1880).^[7]

In 1878 there was a cholera breakout in the village causing the death of almost half the population.^[7]

To the south of the harbour are the significant remains of the old cable-worked incline used by the Hayle Railway in the 19th and early 20th centuries to descend to the quayside.

The railways and tramways associated with the minerals trade today form the Mineral Tramways Coast to Coast, a long distance cycleway and footpath extending 15 miles from Portreath to the south coast.^[6][8]

RRH Portreath, on Nancekuke Common to the north of the village, is now a radar station operated by the RAF, but was originally built in 1940 to be the RAF's main fighter airfield in Cornwall during WW2.

type=real photographic (rp)

city/ region=cornwall

period=post-war (1945-present)

postage condition=unposted

number of items=single

size=standard (140x89 mm)