Porthcurno is well known because of its history as a major international submarine communications cable station. In the late nineteenth century, the remote beach at Porthcurno became internationally famous as the British end of early submarine telegraph cables, the first of which was installed in 1870, part of an early international link stretching all the way from the UK to India. Porthcurno was chosen in preference to the busy port of Falmouth because of the reduced risk of damage to the cables caused by ships’ anchors. (Wikipedia)

Porthcurno is also well known for the Minack Theatre, an open air theatre built into the cliff face, the brainchild of Rowena Cade (1893-1983). She built a house there after the first World War, and offered her garden by the sea to a local amateur dramatic club to perform The Tempest in 1932, and the site was progressively developed to become The Minack Theatre as it is today.