Mullion, United Kingdom

In the six years up to 1873 there were nine wrecks along a mile-and-a-half stretch of coastline under Mullion cliffs with the loss of sixty-nine lives. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution stationed a lifeboat at Mullion Cove in 1867 but was withdrawn in 1908. The boat house has since been demolished but its barometer is on display in the village.

Like many other Cornish coastal villages there was a pilchard fishery, controlled by seining companies which started in the 18th century out of Mullion Cove. Caught by a seine net, the pilchards were cured at Newlyn and exported to Mediterranean countries. The companies posted a huer (a lookout) on Mullion Island to watch for the dark patch of a nearby shoal of pilchards. There are still a few boats operating a small shellfish industry.

There were a few short-lived copper mines in Mullion parish; first mentioned in a deed of 1741 and the mine(s) had a number of names; Ghost Croft, Goosecroft, Predannack Wartha, South Wheal Unity, Trenance and Wheal Providence. Wheal Unity (or Goosecroft), to the south of Churchtown, opened in 1847, and to the south-east of Pollurian Cove was a mid-19th-century copper mine called Wheal Fenwick. A native copper sheet, found in 1847, and with the dimensions of 9 metres (29'6") x 1.4 metres (4'8") x 15 cm (6") and weighing over 700 kg (14 cwt), from Wheal Unity was exhibited at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London. Compared with the rest of Cornwall, copper mining in Mullion was insignificant and ceased by the end of the 19th century. The mine buildings have disappeared but an adit can still be seen in Mullion Cove.

Talc was quarried in Soapy Cove in the south of the parish during the 18th century. The talc occurs locally as veins in the serpentinite, often known just as 'serpentine' (serpentinite is rich in serpentine minerals). The old quarries form an irregular scar heading from the shore inland. It was used for early porcelain production by Benjamin Lund in Bristol and taken over by the Worcester Porcelain Manufacturers in 1752.

Poldhu is the site of one of the main technological advances of the early twentieth century when in 1901, a Wireless signal was sent to St John's, Newfoundland, by Marconi. The technology was a precursor to radio, television, satellites and the internet, with Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station a nearby example.

Predannack Airfield was established by the RAF during World War II, and since 1958 has been used by the Royal Navy.