Jonty Haywood
Encyclopedia
The Porthemmet Beach hoax occurred in late August 2007, when Jonty Haywood, from Truro
, Cornwall
, United Kingdom
, invented a fictional place in Cornwall
called Porthemmet Beach, the "best beach in Cornwall", to confuse tourists and amuse locals. Emmet
is in fact a Cornish dialect word for ant
, and has come to be used in Cornwall as a derisory nickname
for tourists, or for people who have moved to Cornwall from other parts of the UK. Haywood created the hoax website porthemmet.com as well as erecting signs to the beach around the county that eventually led tourists out of Cornwall on the A30 road
.
Haywood was inspired by a similar hoax about an "Ice Bar" in a Scandinavia
n city. The Porthemmet hoax sparked controversy over Cornwall's perceived hostility towards tourists despite their input into the Cornish economy. VisitCornwall, the Cornwall tourism board, criticised the hoax, while the chief executive of South West Tourism took the view that "any publicity is good publicity".
The website features various words related to Cornwall, such as pasty
or chough
, and encourages tourists to use false pronunciations, causing potential embarrassment for anyone duped by the hoax. On the website, the name 'Porthemmet' is claimed to have been derived from the name "Port of Emmet", where Emmet is a Cornish saint, brother of the patron saint of Cornwall, Saint Piran
.
In July 2008, a second set of signs appeared. News sources turned to Haywood, who jokingly attempted to blame Osama bin Laden
for their appearance, before revealing his involvement by offering a prize to the first to discover all seven signs.
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
, Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, invented a fictional place in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
called Porthemmet Beach, the "best beach in Cornwall", to confuse tourists and amuse locals. Emmet
Emmet (Cornish)
Emmet is a pejorative nickname that some Cornish people use to refer to the many tourists who visit Cornwall.-Etymology:It is commonly thought to be derived from the Cornish-language word for ant, being an analogy to the way in which both tourists and ants are often red in colour and appear to mill...
is in fact a Cornish dialect word for ant
Ant
Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...
, and has come to be used in Cornwall as a derisory nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
for tourists, or for people who have moved to Cornwall from other parts of the UK. Haywood created the hoax website porthemmet.com as well as erecting signs to the beach around the county that eventually led tourists out of Cornwall on the A30 road
A30 road
The 284 miles A30 road from London to Land's End, historically known as the Great South West Road used to provide the most direct route from London to the south west; more recently the M3 motorway and A303 road performs this function for much of the route and only parts of A30 now retain trunk...
.
Haywood was inspired by a similar hoax about an "Ice Bar" in a Scandinavia
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
n city. The Porthemmet hoax sparked controversy over Cornwall's perceived hostility towards tourists despite their input into the Cornish economy. VisitCornwall, the Cornwall tourism board, criticised the hoax, while the chief executive of South West Tourism took the view that "any publicity is good publicity".
The website features various words related to Cornwall, such as pasty
Pasty
A pasty , sometimes known as a pastie or British pasty in the United States, is a filled pastry case, associated in particular with Cornwall in Great Britain. It is made by placing the uncooked filling on a flat pastry circle, and folding it to wrap the filling, crimping the edge at the side or top...
or chough
Chough
The Red-billed Chough or Chough , Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax, is a bird in the crow family; it is one of only two species in the genus Pyrrhocorax...
, and encourages tourists to use false pronunciations, causing potential embarrassment for anyone duped by the hoax. On the website, the name 'Porthemmet' is claimed to have been derived from the name "Port of Emmet", where Emmet is a Cornish saint, brother of the patron saint of Cornwall, Saint Piran
Saint Piran
Saint Piran or Perran is an early 6th century Cornish abbot and saint, supposedly of Irish origin....
.
In July 2008, a second set of signs appeared. News sources turned to Haywood, who jokingly attempted to blame Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
for their appearance, before revealing his involvement by offering a prize to the first to discover all seven signs.
See also
- List of hoaxes
- Pseudo-Cornish locations