PK Porthcurno
Museum of global communications
The tiny village of Porthcurno played a massive part in global communications. Cables running under the beach and out to sea, connected Cornwall with the world. PK Porthcurno tells the remarkable story.
The museum occupies the old Porthcurno Telegraph Station. The first cable was laid under Porthcurno Beach in 1870. It meant messages could be passed from Britain to India in nine minutes – rather than six weeks.
Dubbed the Victorian internet, the telegraph network was critical for trade, administration and defence. Over the coming years a mass of different cables ran into Porthcurno and it became the most important telegraph station in the world.