Penlee Point (, meaning ‘stone-slab headland’) is a promontory near the coastal

fishing village A fishing village is a village, usually located near a fishing ground, with an economy based on catching fish and harvesting seafood. The continents and islands around the world have coastlines totalling around 356,000 kilometres (221,000 ...

Mousehole Mousehole () is a village and fishing port in Cornwall, England, UK. It is approximately south of Penzance on the shore of Mount's Bay. The village is in the civil parish of Penzance. An islet called St Clement's Isle lies about offshore fro ...

in west

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, UK. It was the launching point of the Penlee lifeboat, which was lost in the disaster of 1981. In 1883, Mr J Runnalls employed seventy people at the Penlee quarries and stone-mills. The stone was wholly used for road-making and was claimed to be one of the most durable available. On one square inch of stone, it took a pressure of 29.011 lbs to crush the stone and on one square foot, it took 1365 tons. Stone was exported to Welsh ports instead of

ballast Ballast is dense material used as a weight to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within ...

and to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, London and

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

for roads. Stone to London was taken weekly by steamer from Penzance and by sailing vessels from Mousehole. In 1990 Penlee Point was designated a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

for its

geological Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth s ...

interest. The SSSI includes two small disused quarries as well as the cliff and foreshore.

References

Headlands of Cornwall Mousehole Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1990 {{Penwith-geo-stub

See also

References