The Casebook

Case file

The Harbor Master's Ledger

Solved by readers · sealed file available

Porthgrey, Cornwall.

Case file

Cold Case No. 2

In preparation

"There is another box on my desk.

Case file

The Wychley Fire

Unsolved

Wychley, Kent.

Town

Porthgrey

A fishing town on the far western coast of Cornwall, all slate roofs, steep lanes and salt wind.

District

Harborside

Register rows 1–714

Net lofts, fish cellars and the Customs House. The smell of tar never quite leaves your coat.

District

Old Town

Register rows 715–1428

Crooked cottages and narrower gossip. Everybody here knew Silas Penhallow, and most had an opinion.

District

Lamplight Hill

Register rows 1429–2142

Villas with a view of the bay, and residents who prefer the view to the neighbors.

District

Mill End

Register rows 2143–2856

The old tide mill, the brewery and the terraces of the men who work them.

District

The Narrows

Register rows 2857–3570

Alleys so tight two people cannot pass without one of them stepping into a doorway.

District

St. Brannoc's

Register rows 3571–4284

The church, the school and the only tea room in Porthgrey that stays open past six.

District

Westcut

Register rows 4285–4998

Newer houses beyond the railway cutting. Newcomers, mostly, and newcomers notice things.

District

Kingsgate

Register rows 4999–5712

The market square, the bank and the Anchor Hotel, where the visitors sleep.

District

The Saltings

Register rows 5713–6426

Marsh cottages at the edge of town, reached by a causeway that floods at high tide.

District

Quay Row

Register rows 6427–7140

Boatyards and chandlers. Anyone who owns a boat has business here sooner or later.

Landmark

The Anchor Hotel

The only proper hotel in Porthgrey, on the market square in Kingsgate, run in 1953 by Mrs.

Landmark

The Customs House

A Georgian building of grey granite on the Harborside quay, with an outside stair of fourteen stone steps rising to the upper door.

Landmark

The harbor ferry

A handful of small boats working across the estuary between six landings: Mill End Slip, Kingsgate Pier and Saltings Hard on the far side; Customs Stairs, Quay Steps and Quay Row Jetty on the town side.

Landmark

The Man Overboard

A public house on Fore Street in the Old Town, low-beamed and loud, where Agnes Pollard pulled the pints in 1953.

Tradition

Lantern Night

Once a year, Porthgrey lights every window and every boat.

Timeline

A timeline

Spoiler-free.