In short... Polperro is a beautiful picturesque village in SE Cornwall and is well-worth a visit. It is popular with tourists and locals for its fine location, its shops and pubs & restaurants
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Polperro, history and present-day details...
Polperro has its origins as a pilchard fishing village dating back to the 13th century, but during the 18th century, Britain at war fuelled the smuggling trade that Polperro is now renowned for.
Quite a trade it was too. This was a professional industry priding itself on being able to smuggle such things as tea, coffee, brandy and tobacco from Guernsey to Talland Bay in the foulest of weather conditions and often at night. Zephaniah Job is a name that goes down in history with the smuggling trade in Polperro. He made sure that operations went smoothly and acted as banker and sometimes lawyer to locals who supported his wealth.
Smuggling was gradually stopped just before the 19th century, but Zephaniah used his wealth to build a new harbour in Polperro after the original was wiped out during a heavy storm. He died during the 1820s.
In recent years Polperro has become a major tourist attraction. It is a pretty Cornish village with meandering roads and lanes adorned with shops, restaurants, cafes and pubs. The harbour wall is worth a walk to look out to sea, as is the coastal walk up the cliff to the East of the harbour entrance.
