The Salt Cellar
porthleven trail
The Salt Cellar was built in 1816 for the storage of cargoes landed in the Port, including salt from Norway.
Introduction
The Salt Cellar in Porthleven is a historic building, originally constructed in 1816 as a salt warehouse for the local pilchard fishing industry, and has since been repurposed into workshops for Cornish artists and craftspeople.
It overlooks Porthleven’s ancient harbor and has been a significant part of the town’s maritime heritage for nearly two centuries.
The Salt Cellar
Salt was important to Porthleven as a method of preserving millions of pilchards (more commonly known outside Cornwall as sardines) in barrels for home consumption and for export. In 1891 it’s recorded that 700 hogshead of pilchards were exported from Porthleven to Naples (a hogshead held between two and three thousand pilchards). Fish were often shipped to nearby Penzance to be combined with other catches and then sent across the globe.
The Salt Cellar stands in the centre of the photograph. The Salt Cellar was built in 1816 for the storage of cargoes landed in the port here, including salt from Norway. Scandinavian ships also brought giant blocks of ice stored across the harbour in The Ice House (details can be found on the interactive map).
Salt being unloaded from boats and carried into the Salt Cellar. Many local houses had cellars for curing pilchards. A layer of fish was covered in salt and the process was repeated until either the pilchards or the salt ran out. After about six weeks the fish were cured and they’d then last the winter – when the standard local diet was pilchards and potatoes.
Workers lined up outside the Salt Cellar.
Porthleveners “Taking a turn” along the pier. Village gatherings often took place here, even before the wooden benches were put in place. On Sundays everyone would dress in their best, and promenade from The Square to the end of the pier and back. This was known as “taking a turn”.
The benches beside the Salt Cellar have been a gathering place for decades. As late as 1950, people congregated here, telling tales, sharing gossip and singing hymns to the accompaniment of mouth organs or accordions. The upper floors of the Salt Cellar now house craft workshops. Why not pop in and watch local artists, including a hatter and a basket maker at work? You’ll find the entrance just up Salt Cellar Hill.