Lamorna harbour was built to export granite from nearby quarries. Lamorna granite was used for the Thames Embankment and for many lighthouses, but the quarries are now closed.
The cove is a small sandy beach, a few cottages and the stone pier. There is a paying car park on the harbour and a small café, but the hamlet is fairly unspoiled by tourism. The small quay is still used for fishing, but it is fairly exposed to the elements and boats must to be dragged up the slipway during storms.
The Wink Pub in the village is said to come from the fact that a wink to the landlord would produce a nip of smuggled liquor. The pub is the subject of a novel by Martha Grimes, entitled "The Lamorna Wink".
The Merry Maidens Stone circle is nearby. This is a Bronze Age circle of 19 stones, said to be a group of young girls who were turned into granite because they were dancing on the Sabbath. The two large standing stones nearby, are called the pipers, after the two pipers who were accompanying the dancers met the same fate.
Lamorna Valley Artists Lamorna is also known for the Post-Impressionist artists who came here in the early part of the twentieth century. One of them, Lamorna Birch, changed his name from Samuel John Birch,and he was followed by other artists, some of whom were associated with the Newlyn School.
Laura Knight, Harold Knight, Alfred Munnings, Dod and Ernest Proctor¸ Charles and Ella Napier, and Robert and Eleanor Hughes were in the group. Augustus John was known to have visited the colony. More recently John le Carré and Derek Tangye hae lived here.
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