MULLION, a village and a parish in Helston district, Cornwall. The village stands near the coast, 5 ½ miles NNW of the Lizard, 6 ½ SSE of Helston, and 17 SSW of Penryn r. station; and has a post-office under Helston, Cornwall, and fairs on 4 May and 20 Sept. The parish comprises 4,786 acres. Real property, £3,220. Pop. in 1851, 795; in 1861, 679. Houses, 142. The property is divided among a few. Pradannack belonged to the Serjeauxs and the De Veres. Pradannack Cross is an ancient monument, about 5 feet high. A valley descends from the village, about a mile, to the coast, and terminates there in a picturesquely rocky shore. Mullion Cove or Porthmellin, a very fine serpentine cavern, occurs there; and is accessible from the land, at low water, through a chink in the cliff. “It is,” says Mr. Johns, ” 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 Gue-graze; and is pierced in the base, by a cavern called Pigeon Hugo. Two features a little further south 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 is a coastguard station. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter. Value, £178. Patron, the Bishop of Exeter. The church was built in 1500; has a pinnacled tower; and contains some carving in wood, ancient paintings in the windows, and a curiously inscribed monument of 1682 to a Flavell. There are chapels for Wesleyans and Association Methodists, and an endowed school.
Source: The Imperial Gazetteer of England & Wales [Wilson, John M]. A. Fullarton & Co. N. d. c. [1870-72].
