Mullion, Cornwall

Historical Description

Mullion, a village and a parish in Cornwall. The village stands near the coast, 5½ miles NNW of the Lizard, and 7 SSE of Helston station on the G.W.R. It has a post, money order, and telegraph office under Cury Cross Lanes (R.S.O.) Acreage of paiish, 5015; population, 666. Pradannack belonged to the Serjeaux and the De Vere families. Pradannack Cross is an ancient monument about 5 feet high. A valley descends from the village to the coast, and terminates in a rocky shore. Mullion Cove or Porthmellin, a very fine serpentine cavern, is accessible from the land at low water through a chink in the cliff. "It is a striking object, when seen externally; yet the view from within it is yet more so; impenetrable gloom above; brilliant light streaming in through the fissures, but revealing nothing behind; the smoothest of all possible sands; little pools of crystal water, so still that not even a sunbeam is seen to dance on them; richly dark rocks, so polished as to reflect the light with a splendour scarcely to be endured; the blue sea with its curled edging of snow-white lace; and, in the distance, St Michael's Mount, the fabled tower in the bay." Mullion Island lies in the vicinity, is separated from the mainland by a passage called the Gap, measures about a mile in circumference, and presents an outline resembling that of a huge animal crouching in the sea. A pinnacled group of rocks, on the cliffs opposite the island, is called the Cathedral, and commands a splendid view over Mounts Bay. Mullion Gull Rock, Pradannack Head, and Vellan Point also are interesting features. Gue Graze, or the Soap Rock, occurs in a ravine near the shore, and consists of serpentine traversed by large veins of steatite. A sheer cliff, 250 feet high, occurs immediately S of Gne Graze, and is pierced in the base by a cavern called Pigeon Hugo. Two features a little farther S are a narrow ridge slanting to the sea, and called the Horse, and a bold small headland, commanding a magnificent view over Mounts Bay, and called the Rill. Another most interesting feature, Kinance Cove, occurs further S, at the parochial boundary, and has been noticed in its own alphabetical place. There are coastguard and lifeboat stations. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Truro; value, £140 with residence. Patron, the Bishop. The church was built in 1500 upon the site of an older one, has a pinnacled tower, and contains a curiously inscribed monument of 1682 to a Flavell. The building has been well restored, the chief feature, now almost unique, being the ancient seats and bench ends, preserved intact throughout. There are Wesleyan and United Free Methodist chapels. Viscount Falmouth and Lord Robartes are the chief landowners.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Mullion from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Mullion (St. Melan))

Maps

Online maps of Mullion are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Cornwall papers online:

• Royal Cornwall Gazette
• Cornishman
• West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser
• Lake's Falmouth Packet and Cornwall Advertiser

Visitations Heraldic

We have a copy of The Visitations of Cornwall, by Lieut.-Col. J.L. Vivian online.