The name of the hamlet is believed to come from the
Cornish words "porth" (cove, harbour) and "gwynn" (white). Its earliest mention is when Laurence de Porquin took his name from the village in 1327. During the
medieval period, boats from Port Quin often sailed to Wales, trading
coal,
manure,
antimony,
lead and building
ashlar. The cove was from where granite from
Lundy Island - used to build the tower of the parish church at
St Endellion - was unloaded. The local economy was based primarily upon the
pilchard season that operated from August to December. Fresh catches were pressed in several large sheds in the village before the separated fish oil and flesh were transported for sale. Farming and
small mines were also important sources of revenue. The size of the remaining fish cellars indicates that Port Quin was once a prosperous village. But by 1841 it was entering decline, a
census recorded it had a population of 94 people and 23 houses. The community was slowly moving to neighbouring villages because of poor pilchard and
herring seasons and the closure of local mines. Many emigrated (via
Padstow) to
Canada. As Port Quin dwindled to the size of a hamlet, its demise gave rise to the local legend of disaster at sea. There are several variations on the legend, each focussing on the men being drowned at sea. One version states that one Sunday - breaking the
Sabbath - all the men of village put to sea but were lost in a great storm that destroyed the entire fishing fleet. A different source describes how all of the men were out in a single fishing vessel but omits the storm. In February 1700, the East India ship
Thornton was wrecked at Port Quin. On the south-west side of the inlet is Doyden Point, on which is situated Doyden Castle, a castellated
folly built about 1830 by a Samuel Symons, a late
Regency bon viveur from
Wadebridge. In the 1841 census, there were 23 households reported as living in Port Quin. There are two old mines in the immediate area around Port Quin. Port Quin Mine worked a small
lode of
Antimony with an
adit about 400m upstream from the beach and two shafts further up the slope. Gilson's Cove Mine was located on the cliff tops beyond Doyden and worked a lode producing
lead ore, the far end of which can be seen in the cliffs at Reedy Cliff north-east of Port Quin.
Present day The harbour is surrounded by three local farms Roscarrock, Trevigo and Scarrabine all run by local families. Part of Port Quin and a few small fields around the hamlet are owned by the
National Trust; the Trust rents out several of the stone cottages as self-catering holiday accommodation. The
South West Coast Path closely follows the coastline of the inlet. Port Quin is popular with walkers and kayakers and there is a small car park, which during the Summer season has a small mobile vintage cafe, on the lane which leads from Port Quin to the village of
Trelights. There is a sea kayaking company based in the harbour called Cornish Coast adventures that runs tours between Easter and October and explores the old antimony mines and the local coastline. ==Television==