The Bickford-Smith Institute
porthleven trail
The Bickford-Smith Institute in Porthleven is a prominent landmark, easily recognized by its 70-foot high clock tower at the harbour mouth
Introduction
Follow our Town Trail and peel back the layers of history, celebrating the heritage of Porthleven and sharing her stories.
Explore 13 sites around the harbour to lift the lid on the past. Look for the granite plaques on the buildings to guide you on your way.
Our dedicated smart phone app which is free to download on both Apple and Android devices via The Porthleven Town Trail. Town trail booklet available for £1 in various shops in Porthleven including: Custom House Gallery, Nauti-but-Ice, Stargazey, The Harbour and Dock office, The Brew House and Lindy Lou’s.
The Bickford-Smith Institute
You may recognise the handsome granite building in front of you from television and newspaper coverage of storms battering the UK’s coast. Often mistaken for a church (it has never been a church), owing to its 70ft steeple, the Institute has stood for over 100 years. One of its four clock faces was lit almost three decades before the village had any oil lamps and was a very welcoming beacon to fishermen returning home.
The Institute is a much photographed building that has stood the test of time against fierce winter storms.
On 16 December 1884, the ‘Porthleven Literary Institute’ was formally opened. A public tea was held at 5pm after which the building’s benefactor William Bickford-Smith gave a speech on education before the Porthleven band played up a storm.
DID YOU KNOW?
The poster advertising the opening of the Institute can be seen in the Helston Museum alongside other related memorabilia. Picture courtesy of Porthleven Town Council.
William Bickford-Smith
William, after whom the building is now named, made his fortune with the invention of the safety fuse for mining explosives and was the owner of the nearby Trevarno Estate. in 1885 he was elected to Parliament and tar barrels were burnt on the pier in front of the town clock to celebrate. He must have been a popular fellow as it’s recorded that on one occasion when he returned from London to give an election address, the fishermen met his carriage at the outskirts of Porthleven, unharnessed his horse and pulled him triumphantly into the village! This fine drawing of William Bickford-Smith MP hangs in Helston Museum.
One of the oldest known photographs of Porthleven showing the Fisherman’s Arms and Long Room. Picture courtesy of Tony Treglown
Originally a reading room and library for the furthering of scientific knowledge and literacy, this iconic landmark was built by William for the people of Porthleven. Lectures were held here and the reading room contained hundreds of books as well as the latest newspapers and a telegram news service. It was a much-valued resource at a time when up-to-date information was much harder to come by. The Institute occupies the site of the former Fisherman’s Arms pub and the Long Room, which acted as a sort of community hall for public and religious meetings, housing of shipwreck survivors and salvage and more. The Institute occupies the site of the former Fisherman’s Arms pub