Porthgain means 'Chisel Port' in English with the chisel representing the quarrying that once took place here.
From around 1850 slate, then brick, and then granite were shipped from the harbour. The crushed granite road stone was dispensed from the massive brick built hoppers, built at the beginning of the twentieth century, directly into small ships alongside Porthgain harbour.
These and earlier slate quarrying related structures including the lime kiln, harbour and pilots house can still be seen.
