Charlestown Conservation Area Character Appraisal & Management Plan

December 2012

Telephone: 0300 1234 100 www.cornwall.gov.uk

Charlestown Conservation Area Character Appraisal & Management Plan

Historic Environment Service Cornwall Council December 2012

Contents 8.4 Built environment 23 8.4.1 Building types 23 1 Introduction 3 8.4.2 Architectural styles 30 8.4.3 Key buildings 32 8.4.4 Local and traditional building materials 32 2 Planning Policy Context 4 8.4.5 Local details 35 8.4.6 Public realm 40 3 Summary of Special Interest 5 8.4.7 Greenscape 45 8.4.8 Activity 47 8.5 Loss and intrusion 47 4 Location and Setting 6 8.5.1 Loss 47 8.5.2 Intrusion 48 4.1 Landscape setting 6 8.5.3 Neutral areas 49 4.2 Setting of the conservation area 6 8.6 General condition and Buildings at Risk 49 4.3 Historic landscape characterisation 7 4.4 Geology 7 9 Problems and Pressures 51 5 Historic Environment Designations 9 5.1 Significance of the World Heritage Site 9 10 Opportunities 53

6 Historic Development 10 Sources 55 6.1 Prehistoric 10 6.2 Medieval Polmear 10 Appendix 1: Charlestown Conservation Area – 57 6.3 Eighteenth Century Polmear 10 Article 4(2) Direction 6.4 Industrial Revolution – late 18 th Century 11 6.5 The creation of Rashleigh’s Charlestown – 1784-1800 11 6.6 Early Nineteenth century copper boom 14 Charlestown Conservation Area Management Plan 58 6.7 Nineteenth Century Charlestown under the Crowders 14 6.8 Early Twentieth century 16 Figure 1 Historical Development Map 73 6.9 Later Twentieth century to the present 18 6.10 Historic associations 18 Figure 2 Townscape Analysis Map 74

7 Archaeological Potential 19 Figure 3 1842 Tithe Map 75 8 Settlement Character 20 Figure 4 1880 Historic Map 76 8.1 Understanding character 20 8.2 Topography and settlement form 20 Figure 5 1907 Historic Map 77 8.3 Key views, vistas and landmarks 22

Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

Acknowledgements This report was produced by Cornwall Council

Aerial Photograph © Historic Environment, Cornwall Council, 2004; ACS6277

Maps The maps are based on Ordnance Survey material with the permission of the Ordnance Survey on behalf of the Controller of Her Majesty's Stationery Office (c) Crown copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution and/or civil proceedings. The map data, derived from Ordnance Survey mapping, included within this publication is provided by Cornwall Council under licence from the Ordnance Survey in order to fulfil its public function to publicise local public services. Cornwall Council Licence No. 100049047.

© Cornwall Council 2012 No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of the publisher.

2 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal 1 Introduction Date of designation

The Charlestown conservation area was first designated in The purpose of a Conservation Area Appraisal 1967 and subsequently extended in 1990.

The purpose of this Conservation Area Appraisal is to The Conservation Area within the wider settlement. clearly define the special interest, character and appearance of the conservation area, and to suggest any The current designated area covers the majority of the possible amendments to its boundary. The appraisal should residential settlement and two reservoirs to the west of the then inform development control decisions and policies and village that form part of the harbour flushing system. act as a foundation for further work on design guidance and enhancement schemes. Previous studies

Scope and structure The Charlestown Historic and Archaeological Assessment of 1998 undertaken by Cornwall

Archaeological Unit (CAU now the Historic Environment The appraisal will look at the historic and topographical Service of Cornwall Council) has been used to inform this development of the settlement, analyse its present Conservation Area Appraisal. The work of Richard and character, identify problems and pressures and make Bridget Larn has also been an important source. These and recommendations for its future management. More other sources of information are fully referenced in the detailed advice on the management of the conservation ‘Sources’ section of this document. area can be found in the Charlestown Conservation Area Management Plan, which is designed to stand alongside The appraisal was first drafted in 2008, but has been this appraisal. subsequently revised and updated. This appraisal follows the current guidance set out by English Heritage in the General identity and character 2011 publication Understanding Place: Conservation Area Designation, Appraisal and Management . Charlestown is an attractive historic port popular as a Community involvement and adoption tourist destination. It has great historic and cultural significance being one of the finest examples of a late Within the final report this section will set down how the eighteenth/early nineteenth century industrial harbour in community involvement and public consultation has been Britain and the best preserved china-clay and copper ore approached and how contact has been made with key port of its period in the world. Until recently the settlement community groups. The final report will explain how was managed as a single estate and consequently there is information from the community was evaluated and how it a quite exceptional survival of late eighteenth and was taken into account in defining the special interest and nineteenth century domestic and industrial architecture making recommendations for the area. and infrastructure. 3 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal 2 Planning Policy Context National Policy • Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act What is a conservation area? 1990

• A conservation area is ‘an area of special architectural or National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) March 2012 historic interest the character or appearance of which it is • PPS5: Planning for the Historic Environment: Historic desirable to preserve or enhance ’. Environment Planning Practice Guide March 2010 Section 69 of the Planning (Listed Buildings and Regional Policy Conservation Areas) Act 1990. • Cornwall Structure Plan 2004, particularly Policy 2 What does Conservation Area status mean? Character Areas, Design and Environmental Protection • Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, World Conservation Area status provides the opportunity to Heritage Site Management Plan 2005-2010 promote the protection and enhancement of the special Local Policy character of the defined area. Designation confers a general control over development that could damage the • Restormel Borough Council’s Local Plan 2001-2011, area’s character with strengthened controls covering the particularly Chapter 5 Environment and Conservation demolition of buildings, minor development and the and Chapter 20 Charlestown including Policies SA36- protection of trees. SA42 Change is inevitable in most conservation areas and it is • Cornwall Council Emerging Local Plan not the intention of the designation to prevent the continued evolution of places. The challenge within • Charlestown Conservation Area Article 4(2) Direction – conservation areas is to manage change in a way that see Appendix 1 for details maintains, reinforces and enhances the special qualities of • Charlestown Village Design Statement. Restormel the area. Borough Council, 1996 Under the current Act local planning authorities are • Design Statement for Cornwall 2009, soon to be required to designate conservation areas, to keep them superseded by the emerging Council Design Guide under review and if appropriate to designate further areas. Designation remains the principal means by which local authorities can apply conservation policies to a particular area.

This appraisal should be read in conjunction with the wider national, regional and local planning policy and guidance. Relevant documents include: 4 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal 3 Summary of Special Interest the public realm, domestic and industrial buildings. In addition there are a number of charming local features such as the design of the porches, railings • The village lies in an exceptionally picturesque and gates, which are particular to the village. shallow valley surrounded by woodland and fields running down to the sea at Polmear. Due to • Charlestown is notable as a planned late eighteenth Charlestown’s land ownership very little century/early nineteenth century industrial development took place after the mid nineteenth settlement and is unique not only as a purpose built century and consequently the historic fabric abuts defended port, but also as the oldest and best- the surrounding fields - an unusual phenomena in preserved china-clay port in the world. This global Cornwall and particularly notable in this area where significance was reflected in its inclusion in the the cliffs along the coast on either side of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site. settlement have been intensively developed. There • Charlestown has an unusual history as a single are a significant number of mature trees both estate in the ownership of only two families from surrounding the settlement and lining the roads 1784–1986. Other notable aspects of its history within. include its role in all the main historic industries of • So many aspects of the built environment single out Cornwall: mining, fishing, agriculture, engineering Charlestown as a special case: its port, significant and china clay. Today it is a key player in tourism, for its early date, form, use and survival; the leat Cornwall’s major industry and is a popular film system and ponds used since the late 18 th century to location. sluice the harbour, the substantially unaltered late eighteenth and early nineteenth century cottages and houses; the unusual survival of ancillary domestic structures such as earth closets and washhouses; the rich variety of industrial structures and the architectural quality of the public buildings. • In addition to the exceptional survival of buildings in Charlestown there are preserved open ore and coal yards, alleyways, lanes, historic surfaces,

boundaries and street furniture. As a consequence nowhere else in Cornwall is it possible to step so immediately into the ambience of an early

nineteenth century working port.

• There is a striking sense of place in the village fostered by the widespread use of local materials for

5 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

4 Location and Setting 4.2 Setting of the conservation area Charlestown is located on the south coast of mid Cornwall The conservation area is bounded by fields and woodland on St Austell Bay, it lies immediately to the south east of to the east and west, and the sea to the south. To the St Austell, two kilometres from the town centre. The South north lies the site of the former Charlestown Foundry now West Coastal Path runs through the village. redeveloped for housing and live-work. This scheme incorporates elements of the historic foundry including the 4.1 Landscape setting distinctive road-fronting façade, the historic range of the former pattern store (still to be developed) and a The village lies within a wide, shallow dry valley running waterwheel. Further to the north lie Penrice Community down to the sea at Polmear, terminated by the harbour at College and the suburban residential development of St the lower end. The extent of the built environment is quite Austell that has grown to subsume the formerly distinct modest, and is contained by farmland and fields on the roadside settlements of Mount Charles and Holmbush. eastern side, and by the ponds, woods and fields to the The NPPF defines setting as “the surroundings in which a west. These ‘green lungs’ allow the village to retain its heritage asset is experienced”. This includes the discrete identity despite the close proximity of St Austell experience of Charlestown from outside the Conservation and nearby developments. This rural setting is an Area, both from the sea and from surrounding land; from important feature in many of the views within the within it, especially where views of its rural and maritime settlement and links Charlestown to the wider rural setting are obtained; and when passing in or out of the landscape to the north east. To the south lies the attractive Conservation Area along paths, roads and the sea coastal scenery of seascape, beaches and cliff sides. connecting it with the outside world. ‘Experience’ goes beyond views and should be taken to include in particular the tranquillity of the aural environment and the degree to which the coastal ambience can be appreciated. The extent of setting is not fixed to a defined area, and may be affected by distant developments intruding into skyline views obtained from within and without Charlestown.

Crucial attributes of the setting of Charlestown include, but are not limited to, the undeveloped character of the coast when viewed from the sea and coast path, and the degree to which it can be appreciated as a settlement distinct and with separate but related origins to St Austell. This is accentuated by the unusual lack of development on its The fields to the east of Charlestown are part of its semi-rural character and separates the village from the development at Carlyon Bay allowing fringes postdating the mid-nineteenth century. Charlestown to retain its own historic identity

6 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Assessments of the impact of proposals on the significance 4.4 Geology of Charlestown should take account of English Heritage guidance ‘The Setting of Heritage Assets’ and relevant The underlying geology is of Lower Devonian slates, available evidence contained within the Cornwall and Scilly siltstones and sandstones, locally referred to as ‘killas’. Historic Environment Record. Just to the north lies the Hensbarrow granite massif, surrounded by the decayed granite forming the china clay 4.3 Historic landscape characterisation deposits of the area. The green fields surrounding the village are defined as ‘Recently Enclosed Land’ by the Cornwall Historic Activity and use Landscape Characterisation of 1994. ‘Recreational’ land The harbour remains the focus of the settlement, but the character is defined further along the coastline, at Duporth village is no longer defined by the trading of the port and and Carlyon Bay. The wider landscape setting is defined as its associated industries. Charlestown is now ‘Anciently Enclosed Land’. predominantly a residential seaside settlement and holiday Charlestown Road, the spine road of the village, runs down centre. the gently sloping valley floor to the harbour and beach. A successful business housing a fleet of historic ships, The sandy beach is defined by two rocky outcrops with the including a number of square riggers, operates from the harbour entrance set to the western end. harbour. The fleet and the harbour have both featured in film and television productions. The village retained some industrial activity until recently, but now the majority of businesses within the settlement are connected with tourism. Changing economics coupled with rising house prices and the desirability of the village as a holiday or second home destination are fuelling pressure for the conversion of industrial buildings to residential uses which inevitably impacts on the character of the village. The number of second homes has increased over recent years affecting community vitality.

Fishing paraphernalia on the harbour walls is an important reminder that the harbour still retains links to working past

7 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

The magnificent square rig ships in the harbour greatly enhance the character of the area

The growing leisure use of the settlement has resulted in a significant seasonal variation in the character of the village, with a marked increase in visitor numbers during the summer months. However, out of season there is a constant visitor presence, albeit on a smaller scale. Tourist attractions include the historic settlement and beach, the Shipwreck Centre and guided tours of the harbour and its ships. The village offers a growing number of gift shops, cafes, bars and restaurants.

Although the noise and bustle of industrial activity is gone the village is never silent. In addition to the tourists, the soundscape includes ongoing maintenance of the ships in the harbour, the breaking of waves and the trickle of water passing along the leats.

8 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal 5 Historic Environment Designations It was considered that the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, created principally during the period

1700-1914, made a key contribution to the evolution of an The current historic environment designations within the industrialised economy and society in the United Kingdom Conservation Area are: and throughout the world and has survived in a coherent • Forms part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site series of highly distinctive cultural landscapes. - Area A8: Luxulyan and Charlestown. World Heritage Sites have policy guidance on protection • No scheduled monuments – The scheduled and management under circular 07/2009 and were added monument the Long Stone, a ceremonial or ritual to land described as Article 1(5) land in the Town and feature, stands to the north of the conservation Country Planning (General Permitted Development) Order boundary in the grounds of Penrice School. 1995 on 1 st Oct 2008. The effect of such as designation is to restrict permitted development rights for some types of • 46 Listed building designations - Some of these minor development on the land. The area within its listings include more than one principal structure boundary is subject to a number of strategic policies and may also include curtilage structures. The detailed in its Management Plan guided by the site’s harbour piers and quays and the Methodist chapel mission and aims. and schoolrooms are Grade II* listed, the remainder are Grade II. • 1 building listed on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk register - Methodist chapel and schoolrooms,

Charlestown Road.

• An Article 4(2) Direction removes certain permitted development rights in unlisted dwelling houses in the village. • There are a number of Tree Preservation Orders. 5.1 Significance of World Heritage Site Status

Charlestown forms part of the Cornwall & West Devon Mining World Heritage Site that was designated by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in 2006. World Heritage Sites are inscribed for their ‘Outstanding Universal Value’ under the 1972 Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

9 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal 6 Historic Development 6.3 Eighteenth Century Polmear

See Figure 1 Historical Development Map Little further information about the settlement exists until the eighteenth century. Thomas Martyn’s map published in 6.1 Prehistoric 1748 shows the two small hamlets: Lower Polmear at the head of the beach and Higher Polmear further inland. A

reconstruction of the pre-Charlestown landscape, based on Charlestown lies in an area rich in prehistoric monuments map analysis and fieldwork, was devised by the Cornwall but no discoveries have been recorded within the Archaeological Unit (CAU) as part of its Historic and Conservation Area. An extensive Bronze Age cemetery Archaeological Assessment of Charlestown in 1998. landscape of up to twenty burial barrows is recorded to the north-west of the village, in the area of Gwallon Downs. It depicts Lower Polmear as a group of buildings close to This former downland is now developed with Penrice the shore, either side of a water channel which empties School and surrounding residential estates and no above onto the beach (possibly an adit portal, draining the linear ground remains of the barrows are visible. Antiquarians series of mine shafts which entered the village to the north excavated a number of the barrows in the eighteenth from an extension of the mines at Holmbush and century and cremation urns containing human remains Boscoppa). There was no harbour at this point, but vessels were recorded. A scheduled Bronze Age menhir or standing would have been dragged onto the shore to offload fish stone, known as The Longstone, survives within the and to export ore from the mines. grounds of the school. On the eastern side of the water channel lie a fish cellar (1 Quay Road thought to date to c.1740 and still partially 6.2 Medieval Polmear extant) and a row of cottages, which presumably housed fishermen. On the western side lie a scattering of buildings Charlestown as we know it today dates largely from a including the cottage and adjacent business premises at 21 planned development of the late eighteenth century. Charlestown Road, which may have been a former inn. However, this development overlies two medieval hamlet These buildings, set at an angle to the current road, settlements: Higher and Lower Polmear. First recorded as appear to relate to an earlier road alignment. Porthmeur in 1403, the place name derives from the Higher Polmear, further inland, survives as Polmear Farm, Cornish elements of Porth meaning ‘cove’ and meur with further indications of an agricultural complex to the meaning ‘big or great’ and contrasts with Porthpean to the north west, now 91-109 Charlestown Road. The CAU west meaning ‘small cove’. reconstruction suggests these buildings predate the A surviving pattern of medieval fields can be traced around development of Charlestown Road and were originally the former hamlets, particularly to the east of the village. aligned to a road running to the west. In 1790, just prior to the development of Charlestown, the population was recorded as 9.

10 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal 6.4 Industrial Revolution – late 18 th a considerable wet dock which at high water has a depth of 15 feet, with rope walk, store houses and fish cellars century including the improved lands about, has been done upon the sole plan and at the sole expense of Mr C Rashleigh The late eighteenth century saw an economic boom in the upon his own estate – a wonderful work for a private

St Austell area with an intensification of mineral extraction Gentleman’. and the rapid development of the china clay industry. The The new development began with the construction of a transport infrastructure of the area was put under great harbour, designed by John Smeaton, the foremost pressure. The small size of the existing medieval harbours engineer of the day. In 1790 the outer breakwater was and their distance from the main mining areas caused constructed and by 1792 the excavation of an inner basin difficulties and beaching the ever-larger vessels required or wet dock began. Originally the basin was substantially for the bulky cargoes was problematic and hazardous with smaller than the existing arrangement, but its excavation a number of craft lost during bad weather. was nevertheless a major engineering undertaking, The proximity of the sheltered cove at Lower Polmear to St requiring quarrying of the hillside. In 1793 the eastern Austell led to the increased use of the beach for servicing breakwater was built forming an outer basin, and a gun the mines and the nascent china clay industry. By the battery built on Crinnis Head to defend the harbour. In 1780s there are indications that a coal yard had been order to keep the wet dock topped up and the harbour established here. scoured of silt deposits an extensive flushing system was devised. As the valley contained no suitable water source a seven mile leat system brought water from the Luxulyan 6.5 The creation of Rashleigh’s Valley into two large reservoir ponds located on the hillside above the harbour. These ponds were then used to power Charlestown – 1784-1800 other industrial activities including a waterwheel for In 1784 Charles Rashleigh acquired Polmear as part of a Charlestown Mill to the north. The leat and the reservoirs larger land deal and recognised the commercial are still extant. opportunities of the site. Work began in 1790/1 and within a decade his plans for an efficient industrial port were substantially complete. Polmear became known as ‘ Charles Town ’ very soon after works commenced, in recognition of the ambition of Rashleigh’s scheme. Charles Hatchett travelling through the county by horse in 1796 as part of a tour of England and Scotland’s mining districts, recorded in his diary: ‘Went with Mr C and Mr Jonathan Rashleigh to see Charles Town built by the former. The town, the pier of granite and 11 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

The gun battery at Crinnis Head has crenellated walls on its landward The mill to the north of the settlement was built in the late eighteenth side which were constructed for decorative purposes to be viewed from century Charles Rashleigh’s estate at Duporth

A new wide route into the settlement was created to From the new harbour copper ore was exported to the accommodate the continuous stream of horses and carts smelters in South Wales with a return import cargo of coal that connected the harbour to the extraction sites inland. to power the engines of the local mines. China clay and Known as the Great Charlestown Road it remains one of china stone were exported to the potteries in the Midlands the widest approaches to any settlement in Cornwall. and timber and limestone were imported. Rashleigh developed further the existing pilchard fishing In addition to the harbour the new development included industry and Charlestown became one of the most numerous ore floors, china stone yards, and coal and timber significant fishing stations along this area of the coastline. yards. These large, open, cobbled areas were essentially Four seining companies operated from the settlement: the holding bays for the storage of goods in transit. The Rashleigh Content, the Rashleigh, the Friend’s Endeavour and the Arms car park is a good survival of an ore floor, with its Union. Each company had their own cellar premises for the cobbled surface containing a varied range of geological types processing of the catches and storage of equipment. around the world imported as ballast through the harbour. Former cellars survive at 1 Quay Road (Content), Barkhouse Lane (Union and Friend’s Endeavour) and West 12 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Porthmear Cottages, Duporth Road. Other structures were Charlestown Road). A number of high prestige structures used as fish cellars at various times. The remains of survive from the West Polmear complex including the large pressing holes often provide evidence of this former use. brick and stone granary and the granite ashlar barn. The scale of the granary and the use of expensive and high Ancillary works necessary for the export and fishing status materials for the structures has led to suggestions industries formed part of the new industrial settlement. that this complex was the home farm of the Duporth Shipbuilding and repairs were carried out at the north end estate. of the inner basin with a shipwrights yard and smithy During the pre-industrial years the small number of depicted on an 1825 survey. A ropewalk, used for the irregular fields around Higher Polmear were surrounded by manufacture of ropes, was laid out to the north of the downland. Part of Rashleigh’s plan for the new settlement harbour in 1792 and survives in a clearly recognisable form included the enclosure and improvement of this land. His (a rare survival, as the majority of ropewalks have been late eighteenth century enclosures can be easily redeveloped). A barkhouse is remembered in Barkhouse distinguished by the use of straight hedge boundaries Lane, where ropes, sails and nets were soaked with bark contrasting with the earlier substantial Cornish hedges of chippings to tanninise them to aid preservation. A number the Anciently Enclosed Land. of cooperages operated from the village producing wooden casks for a variety of uses including the exportation of In 1791 at the beginning of Rashleigh’s enterprise the pilchards, beer, high quality china clay and vinegar. population of the settlement was 26 and by the following Limestone imported through the harbour was burnt in year this had risen dramatically to 97. A more gradual limekilns to create lime for the building trade and pattern of expansion continued, and in 1801 the population agricultural fertiliser. A large kiln was located on the of the settlement stood at 300. A nautical chart drawn in quayside, now the site of the octagonal harbourmaster’s 1795 records the considerable development of the former hut. Other kilns were located at what is now Charlestown Polmear settlements including the extension of the line of Pottery, and survive in an altered form. cottages to the north east of the new harbour, further dwellings constructed along the north western side Mining activity continued in the immediate vicinity of the stretching further inland to include 11, 51, 55-65, 47, 49 village and the numerous shafts, tips and dumps are well Charlestown Road and Charlestown Hotel (now known as documented in historic maps. As well as extraction and Pier House Hotel) above the western side of the harbour, export, Charlestown also had two Blowing Houses, later which was built in 1793. Its three-storey form known as Smelting Houses, where metal was extracted demonstrates the ambitions Rashleigh had for his new from the raw ores through exposure to high temperatures. industrial community. The site of one Blowing House was located to the north of the village, adjacent to Charlestown mill. In common with many other industrial communities in Cornwall the new settlement had a Methodist meeting Agriculture continued to form part of the economy of the house, built in 1799 on Charlestown Road on the site now settlement as evidenced by the survival of the agricultural occupied by a later chapel. complexes of the earlier hamlet of Higher Polmear; Polmear Farm and West Polmear Farm (now 91-93 13 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal 6.6 Early Nineteenth century copper nautical chart in 1795 – see the historical development map. Charlestown now extended as far as 107 Charlestown boom Road where a row of houses lined the western side of the new wide road. Behind these houses lay the extended At the turn of the century the port, as initially conceived by West Polmear farm complex. On the opposite side of the Rashleigh, was substantially finished with some 80% of road was an extensive copper ore floor. The rest of the today’s settlement established by this time. Charlestown settlement lay to the south: an intensive development of was now the principal port exporting china clay in Britain. housing, industrial buildings and yards, with Polmear farm At this point Rashleigh refocused his efforts and finances to the east, which was also extended during this period. on landscaping the grounds of his private house at Despite the ongoing limitations of the harbour, Duporth, which lay half a mile to the east of Charlestown. Charlestown continued to be very busy with extensive However, subsequent financial difficulties and personal trade from the surrounding mining industry. One of the legal battles were to leave him unable to take advantage of leading tin mines during the eighteenth and early the opportunities created by the mid Cornwall copper boom nineteenth century lay to the west at Polgooth and by 1864 in the early years of the nineteenth century. the local mine Charlestown United Ltd. employed over 500 Whilst the harbours at Pentewan to the south and Par to people. Mining activity in the immediate vicinity of the the north were expanded, the limitations of the harbour at village took place in the surrounding woodland and fields. Charlestown became more apparent: the narrow entrance By the 1870s, however, copper mining in this area of and dog-leg turn into the basin constrained the size of Cornwall had collapsed and the notoriously elusive pilchard vessels that could be accommodated, and the outer shoals had disappeared. Fortunately the china clay industry harbour ran dry at low tide restricting its use considerably. continued to expand and, following the silting up of the In 1823 Rashleigh died leaving sizeable debts. His family neighbouring Pentewan harbour, most of the clay from the were forced from Duporth and the estate was put up for St Stephens area was transported through Charlestown. sale. In 1870, after decades of calls to improve the harbour 6.7 Nineteenth Century Charlestown facilities, the inner dock was dramatically expanded: the basin almost doubled in length with the excavation of the under the Crowders area formerly used as a shipwrights yard. However, the entrance remained a limiting feature, as did the lack of mineral tramway link to the inland extraction sites. In 1825 Charlestown became the property of the Crowder Further plans for expansion were proposed in 1874 but family, Rashleigh’s chief creditors who were to continue in never executed. ownership of the port for the next 161 years, finally selling up in 1986. A survey was drawn up in order to settle General industrial development continued to take place Rashleigh’s Will and shows the village that the Crowders during the period with the Charlestown Foundry inherited. This 1825 survey records the further established in 1827 on a site opposite the earlier blowing development of the settlement since the drawing of the house and mill to the north of the village. Initially the 14 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal foundry produced specialist equipment for the mines, then As the settlement matured and the population increased, later for the china clay industry. The site continued in the infrastructure servicing the community developed. The commercial operation with a range of light industrial uses early meeting house on Charlestown Road was demolished until the beginning of the twenty-first century. and a new larger Methodist Chapel built in 1827. By the mid nineteenth century the Anglican church recognised the A Naptha Works was established to the north of the significance of the growing community at Charlestown and settlement some time between the drawing of the 1825 in 1851 St Paul’s church was consecrated; built opposite estate survey and the tithe map of 1842, producing an the new cottages and houses on Church Road. In 1833 a inflammable liquid that was used in crystal form to kill warm seawater bath was constructed on the outer harbour moths and in ‘naptha-flares’ to provide artificial light. In adjacent to the limekiln, which heated the water. In 1834 a second, less successful smelting house was addition to the many industrial workers Charlestown had a established in the village by John Taylor and Sons to the steady stream of visiting sailors whose requirements led to north-east of the harbour. the building of a further public house, the Rashleigh Arms The increased scale and range of industrial activity led to a in c.1840 on the junction between Charlestown Road and steep rise in the workforce and in 1847 Charlestown was Quay Road and reputedly a brothel at ‘Eleven Doors’; a established as a parish in its own right, rather than part of court development to the rear of 111/113 Charlestown the parish of St Austell. The Census records of 1841 Road. describe the varied trades being plied from the settlement including mariners, shipwrights, merchants, carpenters, blacksmiths, coopers, wheelwrights, foundrymen, various general labourers and miners. There were also seven milliners, three shoemakers and a tailor suggesting a certain level of disposable income amongst the inhabitants. By 1851 the Census records a population of 2,871. The tithe map of 1842 illustrates how the settlement had expanded since the 1825 survey. The most notable area of development during this period was the number of residential properties: with further houses built along Quay Road and to the west along Duporth Road. The boundary of the village extended to the north with a row of cottages and houses on the eastern side of Charlestown Road (nos. 60-82) and on the western side opposite the junction with Church Road. Church Road already existed as a route to Holmbush but was undeveloped until this period when a mixture of cottages and houses were built on the northern Early nineteenth century cottage row development along Church Road side. 15 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal the site of a former ore floor behind nos. 79-85 Charlestown Road. Further development at the end of the century included the terrace of coastguard houses constructed in 1892 overlooking the harbour and beach.

Row of coastguard cottages built in 1892 to replace the large building at St Paul’s church was built by the architect Christopher Eales in the Early the head of the harbour English Gothic style The Crowder family chose to live to the north of the By the drawing of the First Edition of the Ordnance Survey settlement where they built The Grove, a country house in 1882 the extent of Charlestown was barely altered from complete with stables and coach house, which lies outside that recorded on the 1842 tithe map. However, there were the present Conservation Area boundary. Although away some significant areas of infill including two rows of from the bustle and industry of the quay, initially the cottages, 73- 85 (odd) Charlestown Road built on the site house was adjacent to the smelting works and corn mill of a former ore floor and some buildings and outbuildings and due south of the naphtha works. By the drawing of the no longer extant on the western side of Charlestown Road 1907 Ordnance Survey map, however, the industrial south of the junction with Church Road. As the population buildings were no longer in use. did not rise between the drawing of the two maps, the further development suggests the workers were living in 6.8 Early Twentieth century more salubrious conditions. Education for the adults and children in the village was not neglected - in 1869 a During the first half of the twentieth century the export of reading room and library opened, whilst the local children china clay continued to be the dominate industry in attended classes in the chapel. Following the 1870 Charlestown. By this period clay was piped in a slurry form Education Act a purpose-built school was constructed on to the port through a system powered by gravity. It was 16 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal then processed: dried, cut into blocks and shipped. Two large yards to dry and store the clay (dries) were constructed in the village: Carbean Clay Dry in 1906/7, sited to the rear of the Foundry, and Lovering Dry in 1908, still extant, located to the east of Polmear Farm. The Great War caused a temporary hiatus in china clay production, but the industry was soon back at full stretch once peace was declared. However, the size constraints of the harbour entrance, the capacity of the basins and the inconvenience of road links from the clay district to the port through St Austell town centre, ultimately led to Charlestown losing trade to the larger, deepwater port of Fowey and tidal port of Par, both of which had rail links to the extraction sites. By 1945 it was no longer commercially viable for china clay to be shipped by the small vessels that the harbour could accommodate and consequently Carbean dry was demolished shortly after the Second World War. The lower dry continued in use until 1968 as the harbour continued a low level of trade. In 1971 the harbour entrance was finally enlarged and new electric lock gates installed. The Second Edition Ordnance Survey map of 1907 shows the settlement little developed since the First Edition map Charlestown Road part of the late nineteenth/early twentieth century was drawn in 1882: the notable additions being the two development of the village china clay dries and a china clay works on the western side Considerable changes took place in Charlestown during the of the village to the north of Lower Pond. In addition, a Second World War: The Foundry was requisitioned as were scattering of houses and outbuildings were built and a Duporth, Charles Rashleigh’s former home used by the Sunday school to the east of St Paul’s church, in the Indian Army Services Corp and subsequently American building formerly used as the Reading Room. troops, and The Grove which housed evacuee children. The The Great War had little direct impact on the village and by harbour trade was restricted to allow use by the Admiralty to fit-out minesweepers and the beach was defended by the drawing of the 1936 Ordnance Survey Revision the th only apparent development in the settlement was a range two pill boxes and tank traps. On 5 July 1940 the first of china clay cellars (now converted into the Charlestown bomb that fell on Cornwall fell at Charlestown exploding in Shipwreck and Heritage Centre) and a weighbridge to the a field in front of The Grove. north of the inner harbour. 17 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal 6.9 Later Twentieth century to the attracted to the village and other businesses such as Partech electronics and the Cornish Smoked Fish Company present successfully operated from historic buildings. The majority of the houses and cottages were sold off By the end of the century the years of benign neglect by incrementally on a freehold basis and the buildings were the Charlestown Estate were becoming an issue and it was brought up to modern living standards. The new church clear that serious amounts of money would have to be hall was constructed in the 1970’s and is an important invested to bring many of the residences up to suitable focus of village life. living standards – many still had no bathroom facilities. Reduced port revenues led to the estate finally being put up for sale in 1984. The next decade marked a period of 6.10 Historic associations considerable instability for residents, with the estate passing through the hands of a number of asset stripping Charlestown has strong historic associations with its companies. Peppercorn rents that had been kept artificially founder Charles Rashleigh (1747-1823), who gives his low were raised to market levels and houses where name to the settlement. The Rashleighs were merchants in tenancies became free were left empty as ambitious plans Fowey from the sixteenth century, building their country for future redevelopment of the harbour and village were house at Menabilly in the early seventeenth century. proposed, but ultimately came to nothing. The built Charles, one of the younger sons, made his own fortune environment of the village was in a poor state of repair and through practising law in St Austell and London, land there was a great deal of anxiety and uncertainty. purchases, mining interests and establishing the first St Austell bank in 1774. In 1781 he moved from his Finally, in 1993 Square Sail a Bristol-based company townhouse in St Austell, now the White Hart Hotel, to bought the harbour and various surrounding buildings and Duporth, a country house set in landscaped grounds that land to house and operate their fleet of square sail tall he built overlooking the sea on the cliff top above the cove ships. In addition to sailing and corporate entertaining the that would later become Charlestown. Square Sail fleet specialises in film and television productions attracting visitors to the village keen to visit However, in later life he was forced into bankruptcy recognisable locations. The general unspoilt character of following a series of legal disputes and was consequently the village itself attracts film makers and tourists, in 1976 forced to sell Duporth and Charlestown to pay off his the former china clay cellars on Quay Road were converted creditors. into the Shipwreck and Heritage Centre. Charlestown is acknowledged as appearing in more films and television series than any other location in Cornwall. Following its comprehensive refit during the Second World War The Foundry remained in operation until 2003. New light industrial and engineering businesses were also

18 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal 7 Archaeological Potential • Other industrial archaeology – for example evidence of Charlestown Mill, the Naptha Works and

the Foundry. Charlestown has potential for standing and buried archaeological remains relating to its historic development. • Evidence relating to agricultural activity – based Evidence of the pre-Charlestown landscape, origins of the around the two farm complexes of Polmear and planned industrial settlement, development and evolution West Polmear – the possible ‘Home Farm’ of the may be present in its below-ground archaeological record wider Duporth Estate. and in the standing fabric of its buildings. • Building archaeology has the potential to give In particular there is archaeological potential for: further evidence for how the village expanded. Surveys undertaken to date have revealed a • Remains relating to the medieval hamlets of complex pattern of changing uses and adaptation. Higher and Lower Polmear – evidence for early commercial activity, agriculture, road network and • There is also potential for evidence of further mining activity. prehistoric activity. • The identification of surviving buildings pre- • Intertidal Archaeology - Generically around the dating Charlestown . There is potential for earlier Cornish coast there is a potential for submerged and fabric to be masked behind later refronting and buried paleo-landscapes dating between c.7000BC remodelling. and c.4000BC between the 30m and 9.5m contours beneath MSL. We have little current evidence for • Remains relating to the harbour, maritime trade, how this background potential may have been associated industries and activities including modified at Charlestown, however, its further earlier phases of the harbour, the leat system and assessment and evaluation should form a part of any reservoirs, evidence of fish cellars, boatyard, the inshore development proposals. rope walk, ore floors, china clay floors, coal yards

and timber stores.

• Evidence relating to mining and the china-clay industries and processing – evidence of mining, china clay dries and associated features such as pipes, china stone processing and the two blowing houses in the village (later smelting houses). • Evidence of the standing stone that once stood th near the battery until the early 19 century, know as the ‘Tregeagles Hat’.

19 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal 8 Settlement Character development of the farming hamlet of Higher Polmear in the medieval period. Spatial Analysis See Figure 2 Townscape Analysis Map Although the greater part of Charlestown is a late 8.1 Understanding character eighteenth/early nineteenth century industrial settlement the village is in fact a palimpsest including surviving features from the earlier landscapes of Higher and Lower The following analysis is intended to give an understanding Polmear. This has resulted in a more complex and multi- of the different features that contribute towards the layered plan than other purely industrial Cornish village’s character, and make it of special interest. It is settlements. hoped that by identifying and highlighting these separate elements they will form the basis for maintaining and Rather than following and addressing the existing roads, enhancing the village in the future – to ensure that its which date from the industrial period, some buildings such special character is sustained and enhanced. as 91-99 Charlestown Road, 2-7 Quay Road and 21 Charlestown Road are set at distinctive angles illustrating 8.2 Topography and settlement form the course of earlier routes (see the CAU reconstruction of late 18 th century Charlestown). Charlestown’s distinctive topography and settlement Other visual reminders that Charleston’s development was pattern form an important part of its unique character and many layered include two small areas of fairly random strong sense of place. development (including former outhouses, stables, barns and a granary) indicating the smallholdings of Higher Influence of geomorphology Polmear (the earliest part of which predates the industrial The nature of the physical landscape of Charlestown development) and the group of agricultural buildings which greatly influenced the development of the settlement. Its may have been the home farm for Duporth. sheltered natural cove initially attracted early fishermen However, undoubtedly the dominant character of the and then presented an ideal location for a harbour during settlement form is its regularity: reflecting its development the early industrial period. The presence of minerals in the as a planned industrial settlement. The road pattern is surrounding countryside was also a determining factor in based on the main spinal route running along the floor of the further expansion of the port. Although there was no the valley to the harbour. It is typical of a coastal river, early springs and wells would have provided a water settlement to have such a road leading to the shore, but supply before the complicated series of ponds and leats the unusual width of the carriageway indicates the were constructed in the late eighteenth century. The industrial nature of the traffic it accommodated. Due to the wooded valley would have provided shelter for the early topography, settlement pattern and built form the settlers and this along with the fertile soil encouraged the roofscape is often highly visible and is an important

20 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal characteristic, particularly in long views from the elevated suits the needs of the village for the continued commercial coastal path. activity and for car parking areas. The harbour was and remains the focal point of the settlement: strongly enclosed by high walls surrounding the sunken, excavated basin, with quaysides well below road level. The open space is strongly defined by former industrial buildings fronting the roadside to the west and cottage rows overlooking the basin to the east.

The main car park in Charlestown was originally a coal yard. Parts of its originally cobblestone floor are still extant

The harbour is the focal point of Charlestown and the surrounding historic fabric addresses its form It is notable that all the open spaces within the settlement originally had an industrial use and there are no civic-type squares. The former ore floors and yards are a particularly characteristic feature: some have been redeveloped, but a significant number survive. The open nature of these sites

21 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal The former industrial complexes have larger footprints than the domestic buildings and often incorporate enclosed yards with buildings set gable end to the road frontage.

In common with many other industrial settlements in Cornwall the dominant form of housing is the linear cottage row and terrace. In Charlestown these rows are interspersed with detached, higher status houses reflecting the prosperity of the community. The rows of cottages are variously set behind long front gardens or hard against the pavement edge, with gardens to the rear. The detached, higher status buildings set within gardens have a more varied siting although many conform to the build lines of neighbouring rows and terraces .

8.3 Key views, vistas and landmarks Glimpses of the sea from the upper part of the village • The 1971 spire of St Paul’s church is the principal landmark of the northern part of the village, and Charlestown’s key views, vistas and landmarks include: dominates views set amidst mature trees. • Views from the upper part of the village down the valley and out to sea. The green landscape setting of pasture fields, low hedges and mature trees are important elements of these wide ranging views. In the distance, to the east the Gribben Head daymark is a distinctive landmark. • Views of the settlement when approached from both directions from the South West Coast Path, and also views when approached by and viewed from marine craft.

The spire of St Paul’s church is an important element in many views throughout the village 22 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal • The tall round chimney of the 1907 china clay dry 8.4 Built environment forms one of the principal landmarks of the lower village. Of stone construction to the lower levels, the Charlestown’s built environment survives in a remarkably stack rises in brick with decorative mouldings to the complete form, mainly due to the continuity of ownership lip and is ringed by iron reinforcing straps. by two landlords from 1784-1986 and the conservative management regime of the Charlestown Estate. The village was planned as an industrial settlement and its surviving built environment reflects this: still retaining the essential character of a working port despite widespread change of use. The design and construction of the settlement, although determined by functional requirements, has resulted in an extremely picturesque and attractive townscape. The majority of buildings date from the late eighteenth century development of Charlestown and its subsequent early–mid nineteenth century extension. However, a number of structures survive that predate the development of the port and relate to the earlier settlements of Higher and Lower Polmear.

8.4.1 Building types

The chimney at Lovering’s china clay dry rising above the surrounding rooftops defines many views Industrial structures The important group of industrial structures relating to the • Harbour views featuring the robust granite piers and port and its ancillary industries are crucial to the character working quaysides, the masts and rigging of Square of Charlestown. Generally clustered around the harbour Sail’s tall ship fleet and the overlooking pastel basin, these structures are characterised by their plainness painted terrace of Quay Road. of form, utilitarian detailing and relatively large footprint. Many present gable end elevations to the main road with deep plots including yard areas to the rear.

23 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

The former use of this building as a warehouse can be read in its China clay cellars on the eastern side of the inner harbour surviving large doors and gable dormer which probably originally housed a winch China Clay would have been loaded into the cellars from trap doors on Quay Road and collected by tram from the openings at harbour level. The earliest cellars are The principal and dominant industrial feature is the constructed from granite in four bays with three later harbour that survives little altered from its late nineteenth reinforced concrete bays adjoining to the south. In the century form. The construction of the late eighteenth south east corner of the inner basin are two rubble century inner basin includes partially cut bedrock but is masonry walls - all that survives from late nineteenth predominantly granite with later additions and repairs in century ore hutches, built for the temporary storage of concrete. The two bays at its northern end, part of the copper prior to shipping. The early twentieth century wide extension of the basin in 1871, are of granite construction concreted arch in the north eastern corner of the inner finished with curved granite kerbs. Along the eastern side basin connects Loverings china clay dry to the harbour by are china clay cellars rising to road level. means of a tunnel: an unusual survival and important evidence of the evolving nature of the working landscape.

24 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

The arch at the north eastern corner of the harbour connects to The weighbridges, part of the harbour’s story, still survive in Loverings china clay dry recognizable form

The sturdy outer basin walls of the harbour constructed At the entrance to the inner harbour with good views of the according to Smeaton’s plans in 1791 – west wall, and entrance, gates, outer harbour and approaches is the 1793 – the east and west wall is faced with ashlar granite harbour masters hut. Constructed in c.1885 on the site blocks but the sea wall to the east of the harbour is of of the former lime kiln it has an unusual octagonal plan Devonian limestone, almost certainly from the Plymouth and conical roof. area. However, a small section close to the shoreline of the Two former coastguard stations still survive. The earliest earlier wall is constructed from random faced masonry. was at 6 Charlestown Road, an early 19 th century house The quay area of the eastern wall is protected by a tall which was converted some time between 1856 when parapet wall also of granite masonry. Charlestown was not mentioned in the survey of Two good examples of weighbridge buildings form part of coastguard services and 1882 when it was recorded in the the complex. These simple single storey buildings feature Ordnance Survey map. By 1892 coastguard houses were multi-paned windows, single brick chimneystacks and large recorded to the west of the harbour. This row of seven cast iron weighing platforms. granite cottages with long garden plots to front and rear are still extant. 25 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal The single storey count house or accounts house for the The tall chimney of the china clay pan kiln of 1906-7 is a harbour still survives opposite the early coastguard house. prominent landmark in the village, however the long, low Recorded as a count house and weight machine the form of the dry itself is now roofless and relatively hidden. structure sits above the road level indicating the site of the This complex includes a number of technical innovations, former weighbridge. including a pipeline from the Carclaze pit for the movement of clay slurry to the dry and a tunnel and tramway system To the east lie the reservoir ponds, leat and sluice connected to the harbour for the transportation of the houses part of the harbours’ flushing system. The system dried clay blocks. is one of the principal elements of Charlestown’s industrial character. The two large ponds were used to impound Evidence for a number of limekilns survives at the water which was then used to sluice silt out of the harbour harbour entrance and also at the former Charlestown at very low tides. The leats run through the lower part of pottery. These structures were built into the slopes of the the settlement through tunnels and conduits before land to allow for the top loading of lump limestone and discharging into the dock and are fed by a wider system culm. Arched openings at the base gave access to the running seven miles from the Luxulyan Valley. A system of burnt lime, which was then used for fertilizer and mortar. cables and pulleys carried on poles to operate the sluice gate on the lower pond still survives. Despite their industrial origins the ponds have developed an ornamental quality due to the planting of surrounding trees and the creation of an island on Upper Pond. Historically they were used for boating and shooting. The remains of a number of fish cellars survive. Typical diagnostic features include beam sockets relating to the pressing of fish in wooden casks. Known fish cellars are marked on the townscape analysis map.

The early nineteenth century limekiln with attached former cellars and gun shed for the battery A Listed single storey smithy survives to the north at 165 Charlestown Road. Now converted for residential use, its L- shape plan incorporates a former stable for shoeing and wheel-making at the front and a larger forge room behind.

The early nineteenth century former Friend’s Endeavour fish cellar

26 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal To the west of Charlestown Road between the two ponds lie the remnants of an impressive farm complex the scale and prestige of which suggests it may have been the home farm for the Duporth estate . Surviving structures include the substantial three storey granary and the former threshing barn with waterwheel outshut. These agricultural buildings are set behind two rows of houses which front Charlestown Road. The lower range (nos. 91-99 odd) date from the late eighteenth century and originally 91 and 93 were a piggery, granary and stables. As the farm was developed during the early nineteenth century buildings were erected running along the grain of the long land plots and a double yard arrangement was formed: this has now largely been lost through subsequent subdivision into The former mid nineteenth century smithy at 165 Charlestown Road – gardens and additional back plot development. the single storey form and irregular window arrangement are indicative of its former use

Agricultural buildings

Buildings relating to the two farm complexes continue to form part of the distinctive character of the village.

The complex of Polmear Farm, earlier Higher Polmear, includes an ‘L-shaped’ farmhouse, ranges of farm buildings, the remains of a former orchard and yard enclosures.

The barn on the northern side of Eleven Doors is constructed from squared granite blocks

Late eighteenth century former barns adjacent to Polmear farmhouse 27 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal and a late nineteenth century single storey schoolroom to the east, presents its gable end to the road. Charlestown School was built in 1895 to the rear of one of the plots fronting onto Charlestown Road. It shares the same built form of the nearby agricultural buildings with its linear form running along the grain of the long land plot. The large arched windows are typical of school buildings of this period.

Outbuildings off Charlestown Road now converted into domestic buildings and garages were part of a former farm

Ecclesiastical, institutional and commercial structures There is a small group of religious, community and commercial buildings with large footprints and high status materials. Charlestown Wesleyan Chapel like many The former school was built with large windows to provide light for the Nonconformist chapels takes the form of a tall box-like pupils structure attached to a substantial schoolroom extension to the rear with unusual clerestory roofs. It is one of the The Pier House Hotel (originally the Charlestown Hotel) earliest galleried chapels in Cornwall and the later interior an imposing three storey structure, is one of the most (possibly by Cornish architect Silvanus Trevail) has a high dominant buildings in the harbour area and frames views level of completeness. from the outer harbour into the village. St Paul’s Church , Church Road is a substantial structure: The double fronted façade of The Rashleigh Arms stands the apex of the nave roof reaching the top of the west end adjacent to and complements the Wesleyan Chapel. The tower, and forms the principal focus of the northern part of main body of the building lies to the rear and the extent of the village. The unusual glass-reinforced plastic spire was its six bay side elevation is clearly visible from Charlestown added in 1971. A lych gate gives access to the churchyard Road.

28 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

The main façade of the early nineteenth century Rashleigh Arms Hotel 51-63 Charlestown Road present single storey elevations to the road where originally there would have been the façades of back-to-back Residential buildings houses The Georgian origin of so many of the domestic buildings is Charlestown has a wide range of residential properties reflected in the symmetry of their facades. More irregular from small cottages to high status country houses. The arrangements are sometimes an indication of alterations, most dominant residential form is the double-fronted incremental extensions, infill developments, amalgamation cottage two and three windows wide with central and subdivision. doorways, many with porches. This building type is notable for being larger than most workers’ housing of the period The high survival level of ancillary outbuildings is a and indicates the high standard of living available to the particularly notable feature of the village and gives a more skilled workers. However, the village did provide completeness to the townscape. Wash houses, privies, more modest accommodation in the form of single fronted earth closets, coal houses and other ancillary buildings cottages, often in rows set away from the main spine road form this unusual group and survive due to the low levels with small enclosed front gardens. Even more basic were of change that have occurred in Charlestown compared to the back-to-back cottages none of which survive in their other Cornish settlements. original form. However, at 51-63 Charlestown Road the front row of cottages still survive in an upgraded form following the demolition of the back row in the 1960s.

29 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal octagonal harbourmaster’s hut; the visual homogeneity of the local killas and granite contrasting with white and colour-washed cottages, wooden plank doors and ironwork all linked by a varied floorscape of granite paviours and cobblestones. All these elements define the essential character of this attractive historic settlement. However, scattered throughout the village (often on the higher status buildings) are references to the more polite architectural canon which add gravitas and contrast to the lively vernacular scene. The influence of Georgian Neoclassical architecture has already been noted in the symmetrical window arrangements found on so many of the domestic buildings. Many houses have centrally positioned doorways and The outbuildings to the rear of 66-80 Charlestown Road are an hipped roofs also influenced by the Neoclassical style. The important record of a former way of life inclusion of Classical niches above the doorways of some double fronted cottages such as 12-17 Quay Road and 67 Larger private residences include 6 Charlestown Road, Charlestown Road adds to the symmetry of the façade the former Coastguard Station: a three storey, three without the expense of an additional window. window wide symmetrically fronted stuccoed property with central door and porch detail. It directly addresses the inner basin and encloses the harbour area to the north. The Beeches, 60 Charlestown Road, formerly The Villa is a large property set in private grounds. The largest house in the village is The Grove, now a nursing home, to the north of the Conservation Area. This was the country house of the Crowder family.

8.4.2 Architectural styles

In many respects the aesthetic high points of Charlestown’s built environment are vernacular: the varied silhouettes of the former cellars, warehouses and limekilns, the emphatic perpendicular of the Lovering clay-dry Classical niche above the doorway on Quay Road chimney, the solid mass of the harbour walls and the 30 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Although it does not display any applied decoration the proportions of the Pier House Hotel and its symmetry are Neoclassical. More overt examples of the style include the Wesleyan Chapel with its pedimented façade, semi- circular headed windows and open Doric porch. The theme is echoed in the adjacent Rashleigh Arms Hotel, which has a Classical style doorcase with pilasters supporting an entablature on its street façade and an open porch with pillars on its southern elevation. No. 6 Charlestown Road , the sometime coastguards station, displays Classical detailing including the rusticated quoins and flat roofed corniced porch with open ironwork piers. The Victorian shopfront on 79 Charlestown Road and the faithful reproduction shopfront on 45 Charlestown Road include Classical features such as cornices, console brackets and pilasters. Classical proportions and detailing on the façade of no. 6 Charlestown Road

The Classical façade of the Wesleyan Chapel The shopfront at 79 Charlestown Road has a classical style fascia and pilasters

31 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal In contrast St Paul’s church was designed by Christopher • Other Listed structures (all Grade II): Eales (architect of St Austell Market House and Truro City Late 18 th century cottages – 2-9 Quay Road, 93, 95, 97, 99 Hall) in the Early English Gothic style with lancet Charlestown Road, 1 Church Road windows and a three stage tower. Late 18 th century houses – 51-65 (odd) Charlestown Road 8.4.3 Key buildings Late 18 th century farmstead – Polmear Farm, 32 Quay Road These buildings are of particular importance due to their Late 18 th century house (possibly inn) – 21 Charlestown prominent positions and the role they play in the Road surrounding townscape. Early 19 th century granary – Charlestown Road • Harbour piers and quays including inner basin th – Grade II*, 1790s Early 19 former barn and stables – 111, 113 Charlestown Road • Charlestown Wesleyan Chapel – Grade II*, 1827, th interior and windows c. 1900 Early 19 century cottages – 38-39 Duporth Road, 62-82 (even) Charlestown Road • St Paul’s church – Grade II, 1851 Early 19 th century gun shed, carpenters’ shop and limekilns • The Pier House Hotel – Grade II, 1792 – Charlestown Road • th The Rashleigh Arms - Grade II, early 19 century Early 19 th century houses – 67, 69, 103, 105, 109 • Coastguard Station – Grade II, early 19 th century Charlestown Road • Chimney at Lovering Clay Dry – 1907 Early 19 th century shop premises – 45 Charlestown Road Mid 19 th century houses – 10, 25 Quay Road Mid 19 th century cottages – 73-85 (odd) Charlestown Road Mid 19 th century terrace – 12-17 Quay Road

8.4.4 Local and traditional building materials

Charlestown is predominantly a stone built settlement. Killas rubble is the most common building material, often concealed behind stucco or a painted surface finish. This catch-all term includes stones ranging in consistency from The early nineteenth century Charlestown Chapel with its later a soft, sandy, honey coloured stone, used in squared Sunday School extension is a key building in the streetscape pieces, to a hard, dark grey slate stone that splits into long

32 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal thin pieces and seems to be used in the earliest surviving buildings, such as the footings of the fish cellar at 1 Quay Street. It is likely that the killas stone used in the earliest building pre-dating the harbour come from a different quarry. Granite and Pentewan stone are used as ashlar or dressed stone in high status buildings and as dressings in rubble-built structures. Pentewan stone was used for the ashlar front façade to Charlestown Chapel. Those parts of the harbour which extend above the excavated bedrock are mainly of granite construction from the Carn Grey quarries, whilst the east sea wall is of Devonian limestone. Granite rubble is also seen in some of the nineteenth century cottages. The quoins, window tracery, doorways and the internal arcade piers of St Paul’s church are constructed from granite from a quarry between Stenalees and Hensbarrow and feature a distinctive occasional turquoise Massive granite blocks face the retaining wall to the west of the harbour fleck. Red brick is also used extensively for dressings in rubble structures and is incorporated into the façades of the Granary and Polmear Farmhouse. Some of the smaller cottages and industrial structures have timber lintels.

The killas stone is used for the main body St Paul’s church with granite The sandy tones of the granite blocks which form the harbour walls are dressings an important aspect of its character

33 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Higher quality materials are often used for front elevations with cheaper materials for side and rear elevations; for example the Pentewan ashlar façade of the Methodist Chapel and the rubble side elevations with Pentewan stone dressings. Mixed rubble and cob construction is a common building type of the earliest surviving buildings, for example 21 and 91-109 Charlestown Road. Ground floors are of irregular rubble with upper floors of cob bulging over the lower masonry. These mixed construction houses are generally white or colourwashed and the distinctive qualities of the material – the sense of mass, thickness of walls, depth of window reveals, softness of the rounded corners and texture of the uneven surface finish all contribute to the

character of the streetscape. Further examples may 151 Charlestown Road has slatestone walls and brick detailing typical of currently be concealed behind more regular renders. many of the later nineteenth century buildings in Charlestown

The striking red brick façade of the Granary with its eight over eight A late eighteenth century cottage, and sometime ale house, of mixed sash windows and hipped roof is obviously a building of some status rubble and cob construction

34 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal The use of brick is relatively limited considering the easy functional detailing, which in turn adds a strong sense of access the port gave for imported materials. This may authenticity and integrity to the townscape. reflect the limited amount of development that took place Industrial - in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century when brick may have been the affordable material of choice. Red Large doorways to ground floor levels, loading doors to brick dressings and chimneystacks to rubble built houses upper floors, irregularly placed window openings, plank are common. More extensive use is seen in the large doors and cast iron fixtures and fittings all add richness granary structure with other brick structures disguised by and interest to the townscape and are important surviving their painted finish, such as 35 Quay Road a double- elements of the industrial character of the settlement. fronted brick cottage laid in Flemish bond. Mixed construction structures of painted brick and rubble are also present. Surface finishes include exposed masonry, painted or colourwashed rubble and brick and stucco. Stucco finishes are generally plain and smoothly applied, colour-washed in neutral and pastel shades and are a defining feature of the village. There is also a small amount of slate hanging such as the full slate hung elevations of 23 & 24 Quay Road and the half hung elevation of 82 Charlestown Road. There is a good survival of historic roofs. Charlestown lies in a boundary area between two important roofing traditions and good examples of both rag slate and scantle slate roofs survive. There are also some dry slate roofs of uniform sized slate that characterise the later period of natural slate roofing. Delabole slate is common, with terracotta ridge tiles. Surviving ephemera from the harbour’s working past add to the richness of its character 8.4.5 Local details Roofs –

Reference has already been made to the polite The roofscape in Charlestown is important, the settlement architectural detailing which lends a sense of decorum and has a varied roofscape including gabled, hipped and half grace to the built environment of Charlestown. However, hipped forms. Many of the domestic buildings have hipped the industrial nature of the majority of the settlement’s roofs whilst a high proportion of the industrial buildings buildings has produced its own vocabulary of robust, present gable ends to the street. Chimneys are universally constructed from brick (red and cream) but come in a 35 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal variety of different forms. Some are notably tall, such as Windows and doors - those on nos. 55-65 (odd) Charlestown Road, added to the one storey extensions when the back-to-back housing was Charlestown’s unusual history of ownership has resulted in demolished. Many chimneys include decorative bands a high survival of historic windows and doors. around the crown and tall ceramic pots. Many of the roofs Sash window fittings are common throughout the have terracotta ridges, most of which are plain, but some settlement. Early and small cottages have small window of the larger, later houses have decorative crested ridge openings of almost square proportions, with later and tiles. Some of the later buildings have terracotta hips, but larger dwellings having larger, more vertically rectangular a significant number have mitred hips formed from slate sashes taking up more of the surface area of the building skilfully cut to achieve a watertight edge resulting in a less facades. Upper storey windows of many of the cottages are heavy appearance which accentuates both the visual flow set directly under the eaves in the Cornish vernacular and beauty of the slate. Dormers and rooflights are not a tradition. Many have their original six over six pane common feature in the village. windows, but a number have later four pane sashes. Some of the glazing bars are arranged with narrower panes to the sides almost giving the effect of margin glass. A few of the later villas such as 60 and 179 Charlestown Road have canted bay windows. There are only a few historic dormers in the village and no historic rooflights.

Hipped roofs of some of Charlestown’s higher status buildings Late nineteenth century horned six pane sash windows on an early nineteenth century cottage

36 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Windowsills are common and are generally of painted stone or slate. Many of the industrial and former working buildings retain their original doors of simple braced plank construction. Domestic door types include solid panel doors with simple oblong lights above and half glazed panel doors. There are also a number of houses at 12-17 Quay Road with fielded panelled doors of a type generally common in the eighteenth century, but here dating from the mid nineteenth century.

Distinctive window bar arrangements can be found on a number of sash windows

Fielded paneled front door on Quay Road

37 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

Porches –

Porches are a distinctive local detail of the village. Gabled timber storm porches are a uniting feature of the exposed properties around the harbour and close to the sea. The shiplap gabled porches of Quay Road with their decorative bargeboards are a particular feature of the iconic harbour views. Inland properties have more architecturally elaborate arrangements including a group of more ornate flat roofed porches supported on delicate wrought iron columns. This distinctive pattern is found on a number of properties throughout the village and was probably manufactured locally, perhaps at the foundry or smithy. Others feature stone and timber columns and pilasters, such as the Doric columns of the Rashleigh Arms’ doorway and the flat porch hood with framing pilasters at 10 Quay Road.

Wrought iron columns supporting porch canopies are distinctive to the village and were probably manufactured in the village Shopfronts

As mentioned above Charlestown has a number of historic shop fronts of interest. An early 19 th century pilastered and transomed shop front survives at 45 Charlestown Road with moulded entablature and fascia. Hanging signs are a distinctive feature of the commercial enterprises, some with ornate brackets and painted wooden panels. Rainwater goods

Other distinctive local details include a high number of cast iron ogee-section gutters many with lion heads embellishing their junctions. This standard fitting reflects Distinctive gabled wooden porches on Quay Road the long-term estate ownership of the village.

38 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Streetscape gardens to the front and back, and the remaining housing takes the form of detached houses set within their own Streets grounds. The southern side of the road is dominated by the Charlestown Road although constructed as a wide church and churchyard, which presents a very open industrial route to the harbour now has more the character aspect. The 1880 Ordnance Survey map shows a of a boulevard due to its combination of wide carriageway significant border of trees between the churchyard and the and tree-lined pavements, particularly at its northern end. street, but now only a low grass bank separates the two. The planned nature of the route is still very evident in its Duporth Road has a very rural feel with green slopes on straight course and radiating subsidiary roads and tracks. either side and tall trees which meet overhead giving a The road has a good sense of enclosure with the streetline strong sense of enclosure. The streetscape opens out in defined by buildings, hedges, trees or garden walls. The front of nos. 31-39 where the building line is set back area in front of 89-109 Charlestown Road has a slightly behind long front gardens. unresolved quality with the line of earlier buildings set back from the street. This is mitigated to a degree by the front Some of the unadopted side roads and tracks leading off gardens of nos. 95, 97 and 107 and a row of trees. Charlestown Road have an informal unmade character that closely integrates the village with its countryside setting.

The wide, former industrial route of Charlestown Road now has a leafy, peaceful character Duporth Road has retained the character of a country lane The overall character of Church Road is that of a leafy suburban street. Although there are two rows of workers’ housing they are set within sizeable plots of land with 39 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal 8.4.6 Public realm

The high survival level of incidental details is one of the defining features of Charlestown. Distinctive historic public realm features are part of this high level of completeness. Boundaries

Boundary treatments are important features of the built environment. The majority are constructed from mortared killas and help define the streetline whilst at the same time contributing to the sense of visual homogeneity. Rubble boundary walls enclose front gardens, former industrial yards and former ore floors. A few domestic walls are constructed from granite blocks and many houses have granite gate piers, some with shaped caps and decorative Boundary walls constructed from local slatestone are an important detailing such as those to 179 Charlestown Road. As element in the character of the village described earlier, the quays and piers of the harbour are predominantly constructed from granite and its grey and sandy tones define the area. Other boundary treatments take the form of Cornish hedges with masonry-retained banks topped with vegetation and interspersed with trees, such as at nos. 72-82 and 60 Charlestown Road and bordering some of the fields.

An unusual cob garden wall with slate coping

Mortared slatestone boundary wall with granite gate piers to the gardens along Charlestown Road

40 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Another feature of the settlement is the use of cast iron railings, reflecting the presence of the local foundry. The railings at the head of the harbour on the west side and on the east side adjacent to the lower part of Quay Road are of an unusual design consisting of iron pintails leaded into split granite posts. Cast iron posts and rails border the leat as it follows the course of the northern side of Duporth Road. In addition to the railings there are a number of distinctive, simple but decorative, wrought iron gates seen throughout the village that are likely to have been locally made.

Cast iron railings along Duporth Road

The granite post and iron rail boundaries of the harbour reflect local materials and techniques

Wrought iron lantern and decorative overthrow outside the Rasheigh Arms forms part of the village’s important ironwork tradition

41 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

Paving and steps

The historic cobbled surfaces of the ore floors and yards are important survivals and add to the rich textures of the

conservation area. The cobbled surface of the Rashleigh Arms car park is a particularly fine example: the variety of colour and texture of the cobbles breaking up the large expanse of space. These surfaces have been used to inspire recent surface treatments with cobbled gutters and strips used to control traffic and define private areas, such as at Barkhouse Lane and Eleven Doors.

Wrought iron gates, most probably manufactured at the local foundry, can be found throughout the village

The colourful cobbled surface of the former ore floor, now the Rashleigh Arms car park, was constructed from ballast

The majority of pavements are simple tarmac bordered with slim granite kerbs. Along the southern side of Charlestown Road in front of nos. 45-63 and bending around the corner into Duporth Road the pavement has wide granite kerbs adjacent to cobbled gutters. 42 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

Granite block paving in front of the weighbridge Wide granite kerbs and gutters along Charlestown Road The harbour and quayside areas are all paved in square Granite is used throughout the settlement for steps and slabs of granite and granite blocks. Other areas of granite plinths where there are changes in the gradient. Pier House paving still survive such as to the immediate west of the sits above Charlestown Road on a granite block plinth with weighbridge platform where there are squared blocks, a flight of wide granite steps leading to the entrance. In similar to those used on the quaysides of the inner front of the former count house and estate office on harbour. Flights of granite steps and ramps lead from the Charlestown Road the pavement rises above the road and quayside to the water. is fronted by granite blocks. A plinth of wide granite steps leads to the former post office at 79 Charlestown Road.

Large slabs of granite pave the outer harbour Wide granite steps leading to the front entrance of 79 Charlestown Road 43 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Harbour ephemera

• Bollards around the edge of the quay in the inner basin are formed from re-used sections of iron rising mains from the former mines or clayworks. • Granite and wooden bollards remain along the western wall of the outer harbour. • Ropes, crates and lobster pots relate to the harbour’s continued use.

Granite bollards on the harbour walls

Other ephemera

• Four cast iron capstans, originally used to manoeuvre ships into the harbour - resited within the pub garden of the Rashleigh Arms. • Large cast iron anchor in the south eastern corner of the main car park. • Historic letter boxes - Victorian example set into the wall of the smithy at 165 Charlestown Road, George VI letterbox set into 5 Quay Road. • Distinctive dressed granite niches - originally held water supply outlets. Seen throughout the village including Duporth Road and Quay Road.

Cast iron bollards on the inner basin

44 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

Granite niches built to house water outlets can be found throughout the village 8.4.7 Greenscape

The close connection between the village and its surrounding countryside setting is very important to the character of the Conservation Area. Views to the surrounding green fields and woodland ensure that Charlestown retains the sense of a discrete settlement, separate and different from the nearby St Austell, Duporth and Carlyon Bay. The green fields with their low hedge boundaries and areas of woodland tightly contain the built environment, in places running right into the settlement abutting Charlestown Road. Remains of mine workings are visible in the surrounding area with choked shafts, tip dumps and other earthworks and waste surviving. Mature trees are very significant within and surrounding the village. Large trees including beech, ash and oak line Charlestown Road and deciduous woodland forms a green

45 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal backdrop to some parts of the village. The eastern horizon is capped by a copse of Scott’s Pines at Carlyon Bay that make a distinctive silhouette against the skyline. The reservoir ponds and leat of the harbour flushing system form an important and unique feature in the landscape and are set within deciduous woodland. There is currently no public right of way to the ponds. Garden planting is an important feature of the village, particularly with the long front gardens of some of the cottage rows. Back gardens are largely concealed from the roadside by the continuous build lines of the cottages. The A large number of mature trees including some striking yew trees can detached garden plots on Duporth Road have been be found within the churchyard abandoned and are currently overgrown with brambles. The south-eastern corner of the churchyard has a The recreation ground, formerly one of the ore floors, considerable collection of trees which in turn border a provides an informal green open area for the community. further wooded area to the east and the rope walk which is It includes a play area and football goalposts. itself defined by a row of mature trees.

Long front gardens in front of a cottage row along Duporth Road Tall trees reveal the route of the rope walk

The churchyard forms another significant green space with The area of land to the north of the inner basin is laid to a number of interesting monuments and typical churchyard grass with tree and shrub cover. The northern end of the planting of yews, evergreen shrubs and deciduous trees. inner basin also features trees and ivy cover in an area of otherwise rather hard landscape. 46 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal 8.4.8 Activity settlement in 1998 produced by the Cornwall Archaeological Unit (CAU). The aim of this survey was to The variety of historic and current uses and activities define and explain the historic character of Charlestown in contribute greatly to the character of Charlestown. terms of its surviving buildings and sites and to provide a Historically there were numerous trades and activities resource against which to assess future development of represented in the village: mariners, shipbuilding, Charlestown. merchants, carpenters, blacksmiths, coopers, tailors, rope Following on from the survey RDC designated an Article makers, fishermen, foundrymen, miners, milliners, shoe 4(2) Direction in 2002 bringing a greater degree of control makers and farmers. over changes to the unlisted buildings in the conservation The harbour remains the focus of the settlement, but the area (details in Appendix 1). This Direction coupled with village is no longer defined by its maritime trade and its the large number of Listed buildings within the associated industries. A fleet of historic ships including a Conservation Area, which are subject to Listed building number of square riggers operates from the harbour and consent, has helped maintain Charlestown’s historic Charlestown retains a small fishing fleet presence. The integrity. However, some insensitive change and loss had settlement is surrounded by agricultural land. occurred historically, and more recently before the tightening of conservation control. The village is popular for tourism and leisure uses, such as gig rowing and hosts an annual regatta. It is located on the 8.5.1 Loss coastal footpath and is popular with walkers. The village is supported by several restaurants, cafes, public houses, a Historic hotel, guest houses, offices, gift shops, galleries, the The CAU survey produced a gazetteer of all the sites and church and hall, the recreation ground and the Shipwreck buildings identified during the project from historic and Heritage Centre. All of which add vibrancy and provide sources, maps and fieldwork. Looking down the list the facilities for visitors and the local community. vast majority of entries are recorded as extant. However, 8.5 Loss and intrusion there were some losses including – • various outhouses and small buildings Charlestown’s unusual history in terms of its industrial • development combined with long-held private ownership elements of Polmear Farm including outhouses, a has resulted in an exceptional historic environment whose barn and a mowhay importance and completeness set it apart from the • some of the features of the working harbour majority of other industrial settlements in the county. This • several copper ore floors uniqueness and the perceived threat of overdevelopment in the late 1990s prompted the Local Authority, Restormel • a smithy on Quay Road District Council (RDC), and English Heritage to jointly • a cooperage and sawpit on Charlestown Road commission an historical and archaeological survey of the

47 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal The major loss in recent years was the demolition of a row designs include the use of non-local stone, plastic windows, of four houses on Charlestown Road, built between the and no chimneys. They are sited behind very low front 1825 survey and the 1842 tithe map and Listed Grade II, walls which leave gaps in the streetscape and vast and their replacement with a row of four modern buildings. expanses of hard standing all too visible. Other losses include front garden walls removed to provide off road parking, original doors and windows replaced with inappropriate modern designs, some loss of original cast iron rainwater goods, the trees which bordered the churchyard along its northern boundary and the trees which defined the streetline in front of nos. 99 and 103 Charlestown Road.

This new cottage at the eastern end of the early nineteenth century row respects the form, site, materials, style and detailing of its historic neighbours The cast iron street lanterns fixed to the walls of some of the buildings at the southern end of Charlestown Road The western edge of the churchyard was formerly bordered by trees – reflect the local tradition of ironwork and their siting makes the lychgate now appears somewhat isolated them unobtrusive. The provision of additional free standing street lights in this area has led to a slight impression of 8.5.2 Intrusion clutter and a level of over-illumination which gives the impression of an urban environment inappropriate to the There has been some very successful new development location. Similarly the utilitarian street lights along the within Charlestown that sits comfortably alongside the northern end of Charlestown Road are overscale and more historic fabric. However, some infill buildings have been suited to a bypass than a sensitive historic location. constructed without regard to local character whose 48 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal In some areas of the settlement the overhead cables are very visible and not always sited with reference to the surrounding historic fabric.

The rather bland floorscape in front of nos. 90-109 Charlestown Road 8.6 General condition and Buildings at Risk

The condition of the harbour, ephemera and lockgates is Signage clutter can detract from the surrounding historic fabric an ongoing issue, the structural condition of the harbour itself and particularly in the outer basin is of concern. In some cases there is an over provision of street signage There is a need for comprehensive remedial conservation and it is not always sited with reference to the surrounding repairs and also ongoing maintenance. To date a historic fabric. reactionary approach to harbour repairs has been The modern telephone box outside the Rashleigh Arms car undertaken, the asset would benefit from a conservation park is visually dominant and strikes a discordant modern management plan informed by a condition survey and note in its sensitive historic setting. structural assessment. 8.5.3 Neutral areas Extensive self-sown trees and scrub vegetation has taken hold of the harbour sides to the north of the inner basin. In addition to the missing trees there is a wide expanse of Root action is likely to be causing further damage to the tarmac in front of nos. 91-109 Charlestown Road. Whilst masonry. the open nature of this area reflects its historic character, the uniformity of material with the road surface is The former gardens or allotments opposite 51-63 overpowering. Charlestown Road, former allotments immediately to the south of the recreation ground and the orchard to the west 49 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal of 28 Charlestown Road are important green spaces but The distinctive clay dry structure, with its landmark have become neglected. chimneystack, has been in a semi-derelict and underused condition for a number of years. The reduced functioning of the pond and leat flushing system is an issue, as is the condition of the sluice houses. The condition of buildings in Charlestown is generally good. However, there are a number of significant structures that are currently in a derelict and deteriorating condition and therefore ‘At Risk’. The threat of the loss of these structures and their current underused and poor condition is a negative issue affecting the special character of the Conservation Area. The Grade II* listed Charlestown Chapel and attached Sunday School is currently on the English Heritage Buildings at Risk Register. The chapel roof has been repaired, but the overall condition of the buildings remains poor.

The Chapel and Sunday School are in urgent need of repair

50 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal 9 Problems and Pressures • The structural condition of the harbour including Charlestown’s combination of attractive natural setting, associated ephemera such as the clay shute and the good quality historic houses with many surviving original requirements of its long-term structural features and an historic working harbour attracts a great maintenance and upkeep. deal of interest from those who would like to live and work • The structural condition and under use of a number in the village. The challenge for Charlestown is to manage of significant structures that are currently in a future change in such a way that it maintains its vibrant, derelict and deteriorating condition and therefore ‘at busy character without sacrificing its unique and sensitive risk’ – the clay dry and the Grade II* listed historic environment. Charlestown Chapel which is on the national English Challenges facing the settlement include – Heritage Buildings at Risk Register. Development Public Realm • Extensive redevelopment proposals for the village, • The lack of a coordinated positive tree management harbour and the surrounding landscape. Since the strategy and the over maturity of a number of trees sale of the estate in 1986 a number of significant which may result in a loss of significant tree cover proposals have been mooted including developing and the eroding of this important element of the surrounding fields, which at present maintain the Charlestown’s character. settlement’s discrete character. • Uncoordinated public realm elements detract from • Changes in the harbour economy and Charlestown’s the quality of the historic environment. relative prosperity could threaten its authentic • The reservoir ponds, leat system and surrounding character as a working coastal port and industrial countryside could be more accessible, and their role settlement. There is significant development in the surrounding villagescape better understood. pressure to convert industrial structures and employment space to residential uses. • The vulnerability of the surviving open yards and ore floors to development and resurfacing. Buildings • The completeness and high levels of survival make incremental loss of traditional architectural features due to inappropriate alterations all the more damaging. • ‘Anywhere’ recent development that fails to respect and enhance the special character of the conservation area.

51 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

At present there is no public access to the lower and higher ponds The slatestone former Sunday School on the edge of the churchyard currently lies beyond the conservation area boundary Designations Environmental • • The Conservation Area boundary currently excludes The problems of coastal erosion leading to cliff important elements of the settlement’s historic retreat is significant and is likely to cause problems development: the late eighteenth century ropewalk, for the South West Coastal Path and those buildings the former Sunday School on Church Road, the site sited most closely to the cliff edge. of the Charlestown Battery at Crinnis Head, the • The challenges of responding to climate change in former foundry site and the historic industrial terms of flooding, increased storminess and the development around the Grove. need for renewable energy and efficient buildings.

52 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal 10 Opportunities The possibility could be explored for agreeing a future • Charlestown has a unique history which at present is design for these benches onto which the plaques could difficult to read. The CAU report highlighted the fact be transferred when the existing benches need to be that the major industries of Cornwall – fishing, replaced. mining, farming, engineering and china clay are all represented within this small village. In addition, the village has interesting stories to tell about its ownership and more recent role in show business. A village trail with interpretation panels could help visitors better understand the surviving historic fabric and the route could include links to the wider natural setting. The possibility of reinstating public access to the currently privately owned ponds through a leat trail could be investigated along with access to the rope walk, as originally identified by Policy SA40 of the Restormel Local Plan. • Some elements of the public realm such as the use of cobbles and granite setts to define entrances, private areas and to control traffic and the cast iron lanterns used to light the harbour area successfully reflect local distinctiveness. However, there are some elements of the streetscape which do not reflect the high quality of the surrounding historic The utilitarian railings and street lighting on Church environment. Charlestown would benefit from a co- Road do not reflect the quality of the surrounding ordinated scheme which addressed the problem of historic environment signage clutter and low grade street furniture. There could be a real opportunity to produce street furniture which reflects the cast-iron tradition of the village along with the use of other local, natural materials. Existing examples of locally distinctive street furniture such as the granite and cast iron railings should be maintained and repaired where necessary. There are a number of memorial seats in the village which are of great importance to the families and friends who have bequeathed them. 53 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Charlestown the open spaces are an intrinsic part of the village’s history and character and should be valued and properly maintained. There is an opportunity to revive overgrown orchards and former allotments. • There is an opportunity to formulate local group/forum or ‘friends’ group to raise awareness and champion conservation issues. This group could deliver some of the community focused recommendations such as the village trail or a signage and street furniture audit.

A future strategy could be considered for co-ordinating the design of benches • The former pattern store on the Foundry site is proposed to be repaired and converted for a new community hall. • At present there are a number of open areas of green space within the heart of the village which are uncared for and overgrown. These sites were all significant open spaces in historic Charlestown and include: the late eighteenth century gardens to the back-to-backs along Charlestown Road which still include examples of stone privies now in a bad state of repair, a retaining granite wall with granite gate posts and a granite framed water point; a former early nineteenth century china stone yard immediately to the south of the playing field now a small field and an area recorded as three gardens to the rear of 33-35 Quay Street on the 1825 map The garden plots along Charlestown Road date from the late eighteenth which by the drawing of the Ordnance Survey in century and were a very important amenity for the back-to-back 1880 had become one large enclosed garden. In housing opposite

54 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

Sources

Published sources English Heritage, February 2006 (a). Guidance on conservation area appraisals

Bray, P, 1994. Around and about Charlestown “A glimpse English Heritage, February 2006 (b). Guidance on the into yesteryear”, Corran Publications, St Austell management of conservation areas

Cornwall Archaeological Unit, 1998. Charlestown. Historical Restormel Borough Council, 1996. Charlestown Village and archaeological assessment, Cornwall County Council Design Statement

Larn R and B, 1994. Charlestown, Tor Mark Press, Penryn Restormel Borough Council. Local Plan 2001-2011 Pearse R, 1963. The ports and harbours of Cornwall, HE Warne Ltd, St Austell Restormel Borough Council, March 2006. Local Development Framework: Statement of Community Taylor S, 2005. Charlestown Foundry, Archaeological Involvement Assessment, Historic Environment Service, Cornwall County Council, Report No: 2005R039 Restormel Borough Council, June 2006. Local Development Framework: Generic Development Control Policies, Strategic, policy and programme Preferred Options documents Clifford W and Shrimplin RC on behalf of the Charlestown Map sources Partnership, September 1992. Charlestown Action Plan Survey of Charlestown Estate by Richard Thomas of Falmouth, 1825 (held at RIC, Truro) Cornwall County Council, 2004. Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape. Nomination Document Tithe map of St Austell parish, 1842 – Cornwall Record Office TM 8/1 and TM 8/3 Cornwall County Council, 2004. Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape. World Heritage Site Management Plan First edition 1:25000 Ordnance Survey map 1882 2005-2010 Second edition 1:25000 Ordnance Survey map 1907 Cornwall County Council, 2005. Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape. World Heritage Site Management Plan 1936 revision 1:25000 Ordnance Survey map 2005-2010. Summary

55 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Internet sources

Access to Archives – http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/

Cornish Mining World Heritage Site – http://www.cornish-mining.org.uk/

English Heritage , Images of England – site with information on Listed buildings - http://www.imagesofengland.org.uk/

Other sources

Cornwall Council’s Historic Environment Record including the Sites and Monuments Record, Historic maps, aerial photographs, Historic Landscape Characterisation – http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=8528

56 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal • The provision within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse Appendix 1: Charlestown of a hard surface , where it would front a highway Conservation Area – Article 4(2) or open space. Direction • The installation, alteration or replacement of a satellite antenna on a dwellinghouse or within the In 2002 Restormel Borough Council made a Direction curtilage of a dwellinghouse, where the part of the under the Article 4(2) of the Town and Country Planning building or other structure on which the satellite (General Permitted Development) Order 1999. The effect antenna is to be installed, altered or replaced fronts of the Order is that, within the Charlestown Conservation a highway or an open space. Area, development described below requires planning • The erection, alteration or removal of a chimney on permission. This gives the Council a greater degree of a dwellinghouse or on a building within the curtilage control over change within the conservation area. of a dwellinghouse. • The enlargement, improvement or other • The erection, construction, maintenance, alteration of a dwellinghouse, where any part of improvement or alteration of a gate, fence, wall or the enlargement, improvement or alteration could other means of enclosure within the curtilage of a front a highway or an open space. [This includes the dwellinghouse and fronting a highway or open replacement of doors and windows]. space. • The alteration to a roof slope of a dwellinghouse • The painting of the exterior of any stone, slate which fronts a highway or an open space. or rendered surface which fronts a highway or an • The erection or construction of a porch outside any open space of a dwellinghouse; or any building or external door of a dwellinghouse, where the external enclosure within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse, door in question fronts a highway or an open space. other than such a surface which at the date of the Direction is already painted. • The provision within the curtilage of a dwellinghouse • of any building or enclosure, swimming or other Any building operation consisting of the demolition pool , or the maintenance, improvement or other of the whole or any part of any gate, fence, alteration of such a building or enclosure, where the wall or other means of enclosure fronting a building or enclosure, swimming or other pool to be highway or an open space. provided would front a highway or open space, or where the part of the building or enclosure maintained, improved or altered would front a highway or open space.

57 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Charlestown Conservation Article 4(2) direction In 2002, to protect the many dwelling houses in the Area Management Plan Charlestown Conservation Area, the Council served an Article 4(2) Direction bringing under planning control a number of alterations which would normally be ‘permitted Introduction development’. This was done to ensure that the historic and architectural merit of such buildings was not adversely This Conservation Area Management Plan (CAMP) is affected by the use of modern materials, inappropriate intended to stand alongside the Character Appraisal. There details, and badly designed extensions. The works now is general guidance on the conservation and enhancement requiring planning permission are listed in Appendix 1 of of the key elements that contribute to the quality of the the Conservation Area Appraisal. townscape. At the end of each section is a list of best practice bullet points to aid retention of historic character To date the Direction has had some success in controlling and architectural quality. unsympathetic change. However, a number of inappropriate windows, modern off-the-shelf front doors It is hoped that the document will act as a reference for all and replacement slate roofs exist from before the serving who make decisions which may impact on the special of the Direction and some boundary walls have been lost. character of Charlestown – property owners, planners, developers, designers, the local authority and statutory undertakers. To this end it will be available via the internet and in print form through the library, Parish Council, etc. Special character is derived from the overall effect of many components and is dependent for its survival on a great number of individuals making informed choices about the management of their own piece of the jigsaw. Some control is applied by the Local Planning Authority through the Article 4(2) direction – which brings certain types of permitted development under Council jurisdiction. It is of fundamental importance that owners and contractors recognise that their actions can and do have a significant impact on the quality of Charlestown. Good decisions and sympathetic works take more thought and often cost more; but the rewards are great and will be appreciated in decades to come by future generations. The former foundry site currently lies outside the conservation area boundary

58 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Recommendations

Development

• Development of the surrounding green fields will weaken Charlestown’s identity as a significant historic place distinct from the neighbouring settlements of St Austell, Duporth and Carlyon Bay. • The commercial use of the harbour and the light industries operating from the village are an important part of its character and should be supported and encouraged. Pressure to convert industrial structures and employment spaces to residential use should be resisted. Due to the Article 4(2) there is a good survival of historic windows and doors on unlisted buildings throughout Charlestown Buildings • Great efforts should be made to uphold the Article 4(2) Direction to ensure that good conservation practice such as the retention of historic features or their like-for-like replacement is upheld. The diminution of character caused by the loss of original doors, windows, roofs, etc. is always greater than the sum of the individual parts and this is especially true in an historic setting as sensitive as Charlestown. • Any new buildings should be sited with reference to their surroundings and to reflect the existing historic street patterns. They should be of design, materials, scale and detailing appropriate to Charlestown’s historic character and in accordance with the Building on Context Guidance by English Heritage and CABE and the Cornwall Design Guide.

The design of these new houses along Barkhouse Lane demonstrate a knowledge of the local building traditions

59 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal • Appropriate repairs to the harbour should be carried out including the removal of extensive self-sown trees and scrub vegetation from the harbour sides to the north of the inner basin as root growth is likely to cause further damage to the masonry. • The continuing deterioration of the historic fabric of the chapel, Sunday School and china clay dry needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. In addition to the necessary repairs, new sympathetic uses need to be found for these significant historic buildings to ensure their continued maintenance in the future. Public Realm • Trees within the Conservation Area boundary are already afforded a degree of protection, but in some cases a greater degree of control in the form of Tree Preservation Orders is required. These should form part of a wider strategy to address general The cast iron lanterns provide effective lighting without cluttering the management and health and safety issues. This street setting strategy should include the wider woodland • of the Conservation Area and the replanting of The possibility of links to the reservoir ponds, leat system and surrounding countryside from within the indigenous fruit trees in the village orchards. settlement should be explored, and the conservation • Street furniture should be reduced to a minimum by of the leats and ponds both in terms of the natural good design. Signs, traffic signals and lighting and the historic environment should be encouraged. should, where possible, be located on existing • The surviving open yards and ore floors are an furniture and buildings. New designs should be important part of the distinctive character of simple, appropriate to their context and co- Charlestown and all further applications for their ordinated in terms of style, colour and siting. development should be resisted. Where the original surfacing survives this should be retained and where the surface has been lost to tarmac consideration should be given to replacement in the future with a surfacing appropriate to the surroundings, which respects local traditions.

60 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal • Consideration should be given to relocating the modern telephone box to a less obtrusive site or replacing the existing structure with an historic telephone kiosk or a new structure in a simple and unobtrusive design.

The north-western entrance to the ropewalk The modern telephone box is not in keeping with the surrounding historic environment

Designations The Sunday School - first recorded (as such) in 1907 was previously the Reading Room and was constructed in 1869. In addition to its importance as a historic place of learning, • Extend the Conservation Area boundary to include this building represents part of a movement by the the following: established church in the late nineteenth century to regain The ropewalk - this 360 metre long and 4 metre wide some of the ground lost to Nonconformity in the industrial straight and level track was used for spinning and settlements. It is a simple, charming building combining a twisting ropes during their manufacture. It is historically vernacular split level design built into the slope of the connected to the harbour where the ropes were used churchyard with a strong gable end echoing the east end of for shipping and although 45 ropewalks have been the church. The original twelve and nine pane sash recorded in the county this is one of the most complete windows still survive as does the sized slate roof with survivals. crested ridge tiles.

61 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

The former foundry site – first established in 1827 the foundry was until recently a key element in the industrial life of Charlestown. The foundry supplied, in addition to its industrial output, much of the street furniture for the village including signs, railings, gates and the distinctive porch supports, which remain such a feature of Charlestown contributing considerably to its unique character. Although the site has recently been redeveloped for housing elements of the former industrial complex still remain including a waterwheel, the façade of one of the former warehouses, parts of the south-western boundary wall and the yet-to-be-converted former pattern store.

The design of the Sunday School makes reference to the east end of the adjacent church Charlestown Battery at Crinnis Head - Charlestown was the only mineral port in Cornwall specifically built with its own defence and it is the only place where both elements still survive. The battery is roughly semi-circular and has a rear wall constructed from rubble masonry with granite capstones. Within the enclosure are the foundations of military structures. The rear wall and crenellations, which are insubstantial and serve no defensive purpose, were probably constructed for decorative purposes designed to be viewed from the Rashleigh estate at Duporth. The Charlestown Battery is owned and managed by the Atalaya Family Trust. The waterwheel from the former foundry remains in situ and has been incorporated into the new development 62 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal exclusion from the Conservation Area is therefore considered to be anomalous.

The south-western boundary wall of the former foundry site still Surviving walls to the former smelting works to the north of the Grove survives The Grove area – this complex of buildings includes surviving elements from each phase of the development of industrial Charlestown including the former walls, entrance gate and some of the outbuildings of the 1796 smelting works; the corn mill and leat shown on the 1825 map; the Grove, the mid-to-late nineteenth century family home of the Crowders and a late nineteenth century house and garden built to the west of the site. The surrounding fields include the possible former route of the original road into Charlestown, parts of the Charlestown leat system and a bronze age barrow which lies to the north of the Grove driveway. All these areas form part of the development of Charlestown and are important for their evidential, historical, aesthetic and communal value. Their current Granite gate piers with pyramidal caps at the entrance to the Grove

63 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal General Guidance Roofs

This guidance must be considered in conjunction with the The topography and development pattern of Charlestown is forthcoming Cornwall Design Guide. such that the roofscape is of importance to the overall character of the place. Roofscape character is based on the

quality and patina of the materials; the form, pitch and Archaeology orientation of the roofs themselves. Sometimes there is order but most of the attractive roofscapes are more The history and nature of Charlestown means that there is jumbled and dynamic – changing depending on the archaeological potential virtually everywhere. Particularly vantage point. sensitive areas include the areas of the villages first developed around the harbour and the early farm sites. Chimneys punctuate the roofscape and other quality Any works that involve excavation may reveal interesting details, in the form of rainwater goods, etc., add richness finds. Where work is subject to the planning process it will on closer inspection. be considered within the context of the NPPF and may be Slate subject to pre-application archaeological assessment and/or relevant conditions. Slate is the prevailing roofing material and a good deal of locally sourced historic roofing slate is in evidence. There If work is being carried out by private owners they should are fine examples of rag slate roofs and others using be alert to pieces of artefacts, wall footings and changes in smaller slates but also in random widths and diminishing the colour of the earth. If such finds are made they should courses. contact the Council for advice. Significant finds ought to be recorded to add to our understanding of historic Today there are a much wider variety of products Charlestown. available. Artificial slates should always be avoided as they inevitably cause serious harm to the quality of the Statutory undertakers carrying out trench work ought to roofscape. With natural slate being imported from Spain, seek advice before starting and agree a watching brief South America and China, great care is needed when where appropriate – for example if cable undergrounding is specifying real slate. Some of these are suitable carried out. replacements on non-prominent buildings or new-build, but Where there are conditions attached to any Planning, they are never a satisfactory replacement for historic slate Listed building or Conservation Area approval or any other roofing. New slate ought to be fixed using nails – clips are relevant approval requiring archaeological investigation usually specified to compensate for poor slate that splits and recording then this work shall be funded by the when holed as using a correct lap will prevent windlift. applicant as it is not supplied by the local planning Owners of buildings with rag slate must be aware that the authority or County Council. Similarly outside the planning slate will actually have a lot of life left in it but may be system any investigation will require funding. suffering from nail rot. Opportunistic contractors will often offer such owners an amazingly cheap price to re-roof in 64 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal artificial or imported slate, knowing that the rag or random Ridges, hips, eaves and verges slate they reclaim can be sold on or re-used on much more lucrative work elsewhere. Traditional ways of edging roofs are easily lost when roofing work is undertaken. Clay ridge tiles may be Chimneys replaced by concrete, mitred slate or mortar fillet hips covered by tiles, box soffits replace open eaves or moulded Loss of chimneys is nearly always detrimental to the fascias and slated or mortared verges can be lost to character of the roofscape. It is seldom necessary and boards. All of these apparently slight changes have a ought to be resisted. Repair or reconstruction must be the cumulative impact that is far greater than each individual first aim unless there are extenuating circumstances such act would suggest. as serious structural concerns. Many of the hipped roofs in Charlestown have mitred edges Alterations can rob chimneys of their distinctive character and this finish should be replicated when roofing work by the application of smooth, crisp render that hides takes place. stonework, flattens a pleasingly uneven substrate or covers decorative brickwork. Removal of drip slates and historic Lead details such as hips ought to be retained and where pots also detracts from the area. lead flashings have never existed they should only be added if that can be executed with subtlety. All new Rainwater goods leadwork must be treated with patination oil to prevent Most of the historic rainwater goods in the town are cast oxidisation and leaching. iron and there is a notable survival of cast iron ogee- Dormers and rooflights section gutters many with lion heads embellishing their junctions which add to the appearance of individual In order to preserve Charlestown’s roofscape, the insertion buildings and collectively enrich whole street scenes. With of dormer windows should be avoided as their historic use proper maintenance these items can offer good service for in Charlestown is very limited. well over one hundred years. When replacement is needed Rooflights can allow the use of valuable roofspace and there are plenty of suppliers of historic profiles - many are there are good modern interpretations of low profile metal available factory finished and some in cast aluminium. units available. Where they can be inserted with little Plastic is an inferior product which will not last as well or impact to townscape views, especially on screened or rear look as good – especially if it has a modern box profile. It roof slopes, this is acceptable. The smallest unit needed doesn’t take paint well but unpainted it soon develops a should be used and it ought to be a quality metal unit with coating of algae. Like other plastic building products, when a slender frame. In groups or terraces neighbours should it is replaced it has to go to landfill where it will not break try to use rooflights that are complementary in their size, down for centuries, so the environmental costs deserve type and location. consideration.

65 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Solar Panels • It is always advisable to check with the LPA as to whether permission is required for alterations. Whilst the Council clearly would wish to promote sound, sustainable energy systems, the choice of such systems can seriously erode the historic integrity of Listed and Walls unlisted buildings in conservation areas. Therefore careful consideration should be given to their positioning to avoid compromising the character of the historic environment. Charlestown is located in an area of rich geological interest Very often there are alternative locations away from the and as a consequence a number of different materials were historic building where solar panels can be fitted. This may available for building. Killas (slatestone) would have been indeed result in such equipment being fixed to less quarried in and around the village whilst granite was sensitive buildings which are part of the curtilage. available from the nearby St Austell quarries and Pentewan Alternatively there are less obtrusive solutions available stone from quarries to the south. such as ground source heat pumps. Although solar panels Some of the domestic buildings are rendered with can be reversible they can be most damaging to historic roughcast or smooth lime render, whilst others have stone roofscapes. walls of granite blocks or killas with granite or brick Roofing: A summary dressings. The majority of working and industrial buildings are of granite or slatestone construction and are un- • Note and record detailing before starting works to rendered. enable reinstatement. Great care and understanding is needed in the repair of all • If traditional details are missing look to similar traditional materials in order to prolong their useful life and buildings for inspiration. protect them from decay. Careful appraisal of prevalent materials in a particular locality ought to inform and inspire • Repair local historic rag and random slate roofs or the designers of new buildings so that contemporary re-use in situ. additions enrich the area. • Maintain or recreate authentic details to ridges, hips, Choice of colour is a matter of taste, but it is worth eaves and verges. remembering that plain limewash was almost ubiquitous in • Repair chimneys and retain historic pot, drip moulds the past and only natural pigments were available. Bolder or cowl details. colours like blues and greens were beyond the reach of all • Repair or reinstate metal rainwater goods in but the wealthiest; consequently these colours often seem traditional profiles. unsuitable on humbler dwellings. • Avoid dormers unless there is strong justification. Stonework • Only use rooflights and solar panels sensitively and As mentioned above many buildings in Charlestown are of consider impact on views. local stone construction. Although most of the stone used in Charlestown is durable, these walls are still vulnerable to 66 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal damage if poorly treated. All stonework must be pointed pointless applying it over paint. There are alternatives to using lime mortar that flexes with the walls and allows traditional limewash which have similar breathable them to breathe. Pointing should also be flush or slightly qualities and matt finish such as mineral paints which may recessed, especially on wider joints, and should never be acceptable in some instances. project in front of the faces. A well-graded sand free of Slate hanging ‘soft’ (or fine clayey) particles is best for most work. Render Slate hanging does occur on several buildings in the village usually where the building is in an exposed location where Render covers rubble stone on a variety of buildings. penetrating damp has been a problem or on elevated side Traditionally this render was always lime based and that elevations of attached buildings where access is difficult remains the only sensible choice as cement based renders and a durable, low maintenance solution was essential. are incompatible with all of these building types. Brickwork Generally speaking the finish of render is a reflection of the status of the building and/or its function. So functional There are no historic buildings in Charlestown entirely buildings, humble cottages and the rear elevations of some constructed from brick. However, it was used extensively higher status dwellings have roughcast, bag rubbed or float on the later buildings in the form of lintels, decorative finished render that follows the unevenness of the wall window surrounds, quoins and chimneys, and on the beneath. These renders were hand-thrown to achieve a facades of the Granary and Polmear Farmhouse. The use of better key and texture is derived from the coarse lime mortars for repair is equally important for brickwork . aggregate; modern ‘tyrolean’ type finishes take their Walls: A summary texture from cementitious droplets and have a fundamentally different character. Grander and more aspirational buildings have smooth render, sometimes fine • Traditional finishes should be repaired whenever stucco; these renders may be lined in imitation of ashlar possible, not replaced. stonework below. Considerable skill is needed to achieve • Compatible materials and finishes are essential on this type of finish. historic walls. The coating of lime renders with modern masonry paint will • Authentic finishes should not be removed or trap moisture over time and can cause failure of the covered. render. This is often interpreted as the failure of an inferior • old fashioned product, but it is in fact the result of Where traditional finishes have been lost, conflicting technologies. Where possible historic renders sympathetic reinstatement is desirable. ought to be repaired and retained, with masonry paint • Limewash allows old walls to breathe; masonry paint removed using specialist stripping products. Limewash traps moisture. remains by far the best and most effective surface coating on old buildings and has a lovely matt finish, but it is

67 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Joinery normally be upgraded in terms of energy efficiency through draught proofing without compromising their character. Authentic joinery and historic glass adds to the historic character and visual quality of any Conservation Area. The Windows extent of survival is often indicative of the percentage of The size, type and design of the windows in an historic Listed buildings; but also of the value local people place on building reveal much about its age or development, its use the historic fabric of their town. Like many other places and the status of its occupants in the past. Humbler Charlestown has a mix of original joinery and buildings often have casement windows that vary in design replacements, some sensitive but some that is poorly according to age, use and local custom. However the detailed. majority of windows in Charlestown are sash windows, At present the replacement of windows and doors in which also vary in size and detail according to age and use. unlisted dwelling houses in the Conservation Area is The enduring popularity of sash windows reflects their controlled by the Article 4(2) direction. versatility in providing controlled ventilation. Unless badly neglected over a long period of time, The intrinsic value of the view through an historic window traditional joinery is rarely beyond repair. In many cases is appreciated by many sympathetic owners. They enjoy the timber used was so well sourced and seasoned that it the elegance of the glazing bars and enthuse about the is far more durable than any modern alternative. Detail distortion and play of light in imperfect historic glass. With may have been lost by years of painting but great care care, old glass can be salvaged and re-used; where it has needs to be taken when stripping paint though as historic been lost, modern equivalents can be sourced from paints contained lead. If repair is not possible, replica specialist suppliers. replacement is the next best thing; though replacement When new windows are needed there are a number of requires the use of primary resources and energy that issues to consider: makes it a less sustainable option. The use of imported • hardwood from unsustainable sources ought to be avoided Proportion and subdivision – The glazing pattern of and PVCu has significant ecological issues in production the original windows ought to be retained, (or and disposal. restored if lost), as that is a critical part of the whole building. It indicates the size of glass available or There is no product that is maintenance free. Timber needs affordable at the time of construction. painting every few years, but each time the result looks • fresh and new. After a hundred years or more sash cords Mode of opening – The introduction of top hung or or hinges may need renewal; this is quite easily done and tilt-and-turn opening lights is always visually jarring gives the unit a new lease of life. When modern opening and harmful to historic character. Overlapping mechanisms or double glazed units breakdown the answer ‘storm-seal’ type details are an entirely modern is replacement of the whole unit – hence the piles of PVCu introduction and are unnecessary if flush units are windows accumulating at recycling centres in the absence properly made. Spring loaded sashes are an inferior of satisfactory means of disposal. Traditional windows can replacement mechanism compared with properly weighted double-hung sashes. 68 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal • Glazing – Traditional glazing bar profiles, properly ironmongery, etc. Unfortunately many owners choose to jointed and glazed with putty, (or glazing express their individuality by replacing a serviceable compound), rather than beading, will give a genuine vintage door with an off-the-peg unit in stained hardwood appearance. or PVCu which is damaging to historic character. • Thermal insulation – Timber double glazing for Shopfront multiple pane window designs often results in the glazing bars being much too thick or slim but A few historic shopfronts have survived in Charlestown and externally mounted and fake, which is unconvincing. there are a few former elements of historic shopfronts Beading further detracts from the appearance if which act as a reminder of how economic activity, added. Alternatives such as ‘slimlite’ or shopping and employment patterns have changed over the ‘slenderglaze’ can achieve better aesthetic results years. but will rarely be an acceptable alternative for Regarding the surviving historic shopfronts, every effort historic joinery. should be made to retain their character through the • The use of shutters and/or insulated curtains/blinds retention of historic features. can greatly reduce heat loss without the need for Joinery: A summary window replacement. • Historic joinery items add character and quality to • Draught-proofing – The most significant heat loss the settlement and ought to be retained and through old windows is due to poor fitting and lack repaired if at all possible. of draught-stripping. There are proprietary systems • that retro-fit draught excluders and greatly reduce When replacement is necessary, this ought to be an the amount of air changes and so heat loss. exact replica. • • Sound insulation – In noisy locations people often Where joinery has been lost in the past and replace windows with modern double glazed units to reinstatement is desirable, look at similar properties reduce the problem. In fact secondary glazing is in the vicinity for inspiration. more effective than double glazing and allows • Design, mode of opening and colour of finish are the retention of traditional windows. most important considerations. • Sills – Traditional sills should be retained unless Enclosure beyond repair. In the past enclosure was about demarcation and also Doors keeping out passing animals. Historic enclosure is Doors are just as vulnerable to insensitive replacement as threatened with change by the desire for greater privacy – windows. The conservation principles summarized above leading to the addition of timber fence panels for example. can be applied equally to doors. Most traditional door types Alternatively it may be removed to provide parking. At allow for individual expression by painting and attractive present the erection of walls and enclosures, and the

69 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal creation of hard standing form part of the Article 4(2) being attractive items in their own right they also offer Direction and require planning permission. definition to the streetscene and can be a real enhancement to some types of property. The most The tendency towards close-boarded fencing is one that is common application is on properties with a minimal front having a very tangible visual impact. Apart from being a garden or yard; in these locations they offer demarcation characteristically modern approach, these fences are quite without visual weight and avoid shading windows or expensive, require regular maintenance over the years and planting. make it difficult to establish planting due to overshadowing and wind damage. Timber fences also tend to be stained in Hedges eye-catching colours that are often unsympathetic to an historic setting. In the more rural parts of the village and where property adjoins farmland, hedges are characteristic. A mixed Garden structures can also be jarring elements if poorly deciduous planting of hawthorn, field maple, hazel, holly, located, badly designed or brightly coloured. beech and other indigenous species is most traditional. Walls Within a few years such a hedge can be laid to form a dense and effective boundary that is a wildlife resource Stone walls, both boundary and retaining are the most that can draw insects, birds and small mammals into common means of enclosure in the village and are a gardens. significant contributing factor to the character of the Single species plantings of beech, yew, laurel or box may Conservation Area. The majority are constructed from be appropriate in some circumstances but are not a granite or killas with a simple stone cap. Most are practical solution for most places and they demand more mortared and in some instances coursed. However, there maintenance than a rustic mixed hedge. are a few areas of Cornish hedge where the dry stone walls have soft caps of vegetation. Modern coniferous hedges support little wildlife and can often be unattractive and not very neighbourly. For new enclosure stone walling is likely to be the most suitable option, provided the height and style relates to Garden structures any established local trend. The siting of sheds, summerhouses, decking, gazebos or There are no historic brick boundary walls in Charlestown. other structures should be sensitively located. If visible Railings locations are unavoidable, careful attention should be paid to scale, form design and naturally painted materials Whilst not abundant there is clear evidence that cast or should be used to make the structures less jarring. wrought iron railings were historically a more significant Garden structures currently form part of the Article 4(2) element of the townscape than today. Like so many places, Direction and require planning permission. In some a lot of ironwork was removed during wartime. instances such as in prominent undeveloped front gardens There are some buildings and locations which would benefit such structures will be unacceptable. considerably from the re-introduction of railings. As well as 70 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal Enclosure : A summary views. Unfortunately some of these are old, mismatching and untidy. There is a need for enhancement of these • Retain historic enclosure wherever possible. minor spaces and renewal of seats where needed. • If enclosure has been lost, consider the locality and Signage use an appropriate replacement. Business signage should be sympathetic to the character of Townscape features the building and the area. It should be of a scale, design, In addition to the buildings and walls that give Charlestown materials and fixings compatible to the surrounding historic its special character there are other items that make a environment. significant contribution to the overall appearance. There Traffic signage should be restricted to those which convey are attractive items that need to be cherished and essential information only, should be located onto existing retained; others are in need of repair or enhancement. lamp columns, posts or buildings where possible and Floorscape should avoid large backing panels. Planting As detailed in the accompanying appraisal, there are a number of different surviving historic floorscape treatments Trees and hedges are an important element of many reflecting the good selection of local materials available. significant views and their retention is often of These include beach pebble cobbles, granite kerbing and considerable importance. Work to trees in conservation granite paving. areas is controlled and owners or contractors must contact Some of the streets in the villages have no pavements due the LPA for advice before embarking on felling, topping or to the narrowness of the carriageway, but some have lopping works. gutters lined with historic stone or cobbles. Former ore Decorative planting has its place in the public realm, but floors have cobble surfaces which form a lively surface needs to be well planned and maintained to be a positive which reflect their location in terms of tradition and feature. On private land owners can enhance their little bit materials. The quayside is constructed from locally sourced of the village with suitable planting – it can often be the slab of granite. All historic paving should be maintained finishing touch that makes a location really special. and restored if possible. Climate Change Carriageways are blacktop and it is better to use this honest and established surfacing rather than introduce The wide-ranging actions required to limit further manufactured paviours or similar. Road markings in damaging emissions, combined with the need to adapt sensitive areas should be kept to a minimum. historic assets to make them more resilient to a changing climate, will have significant implications for the historic Seating environment and its future management. However, it is There are some thoughtfully located seats around the wrong to say that historic buildings cannot be successfully village where the pedestrian can stop a while and enjoy the upgraded to mitigate climate change, the significance and 71 Dec 2012 Cornwall Council - Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal integrity of historic assets can be threatened by poorly designed and ill informed adaptation and mitigation responses. The non renewable character of historic features and potential for their damage and loss should always be taken into account when adaptation and mitigation responses are being planned and executed. Specific detailed advice on how to improve the energy efficiency of historic properties can be found on the English Heritage website: www.english-heritage.org.uk/climatechangeandyourhome Cornwall Sustainable Buildings Guide: http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=21590 Cornwall Council advice on improving the energy efficiency of historic buildings: http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=18046

72 Dec 2012 C H A CH R AN L DL ES E R T O S W ) W A L (u m

N K th 1 a 0 RO P Prim ary S ch o o l

A D 8

8

63.7 m 2 Recreation G rou nd 1 LB CW

Cha pel

5

C

7 R 4 IN N I Hill cres t 3 S 4 R El O Su b

e A D 8 n St a

1

a L

M illw oo d

h

Ho use 6 c 4 r FIGURE 1

62 u

h C 29 1 1 5

1

3

2 6 C 56 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT MAP R GVC

15 1 1 D Carlyon Bay A O Cemetery R

H

2 6 4 C 1 W to R a to 1 U A te p 1 rw 2 H 60.4 m a 4 C 58.8 m rt h E 1 B

m e S EA C H RO A D 1 e e l 2

8 n 1 O 1 L ts to 7 C ta L S E Ra s h le ig h Co u rt ub 44.0 m E S H l W E

Wa terwh ee l R Hall

2 1

o t

E 9

4

o t

T Vic arag e 1 A

W 9 6

1

1 6 9

96 2

53.9 m Litt le Hall T Hay w ood r 1 to 9 1 a 8 c 8 k 9 0 Po lm ea r Ap a rtm e n ts E IV R D R o s Y e

d 2 R a D L le o 5

N c

1 k U 0 O s le

Si nks F y

a

2 1

Laven der 2 8 Co ttag e Wa r ED Bdy Meml St Pa u l's

5 Ch u rc h

8 61.5 m 5 Lyc h 4

Gat e S 3 E

A Y

A 7

R

O W

A 2 H

D T T re R v e O g

lo

W 9 S

7 s 1 W 1 S

E T 1

1 M An net h Lo w en A H 1 H G 2 I 86 C E 1 L 7 4 H

S 1

A 3 43.1 m 3 7 R 1

1 1 a

C

7 H

6

1 A 3 R

LB 3 16

5 L 8

6 E 2 1 S T O W 1 1 N 5 R

O th

1 A a

6 P 1 1 D Ga ll e o n C o u rt 52.7 m

Sl uic es 4

7 1 2

65.2 m 6

6 40.2 m 4

6 6 6

2 The Walle d G ar den Po nd 6

1 1

9 4 1

5 1 1 6 Ro pew al k H ous e Po nd 0a 1 1

5 8

6

0

8

1

3

4

1 1 0 5

2 2 3

69.7 m

P a 40.8 m t h 35.1 m

Po nd Sl uic e Ho us e T

r

a 4 c 2 Barrett's k New E ngine Recreation G rou nd

Sh aft

3

1

1

1

1

1

8

9 2 0

1 ck Tra

2

1

3 28.7 m 0 3 1 4 Tr S ack R O O D

N

E 9 V 9 E L E Carlyon

T P r Bay a th a (u c m) k The O ld 69.5 m

G ran ary

D

T 3 r r 9 a a

c i

n k

2

8 3 1 5

9 27.6 m

Po lm ea r Chy F arm

ck

5 Tra 8

1 2 S 6 E A R ol O ho A c 3 S

d 2 D l 1 O We s t e 5 Th Po lm ea r

Ct 3

7

7 21.9 m

7

4

3

3

7 5

7 33

n a 6 o w 3 s t t rle i s a o d Ch t h e c h 3 M u r 1 68.3 m Ch

30

6

3 1

7 37 18.6 m

9 7 6

6 GP Po st s C H Ra s h le ig h 2 A Coal Y ard R Arms L (PH ) So u th Polmea r Min e E 8 6 S (d i su s e d ) T O W N LEGEND 27

R 5 4 O Q A El U D Charlestown A Y Su b R

9 O 4 St a A D

7 19.8 m 2 FB 4 Sl uic e 5 1 TCB

1 T St on e

Track 5 EE R T S se K u C o U h

FB 5 D e 5 o k m S ld

Sl uic es O 7 h e T 23 8 Conservation Area

6 Mu seu m 21

1

1

5 6 D 1 WBs A 8 RO Sl uic e Y FB A 14.9 m QU

Po nd 5 Development Until 1793 14.9 m Br oad M ead ow Ho use

1 7 ) (u m a th Sl uic e Ho us e West Po rt hme ar C o ttag es P

40.5 m

Car Par k

A Bol 1 d i t Q Bols U A Development Until 1825 l Y a

16.3 m st

Bol R 6 oa e th O 1 C op a BA R 2 l P K H A S Issu es O US E LA D D N E R O A

O RT H DU P 1

Bol 1 0 FB 11.1 m Bols Co ast e al op Slo Sl p e l Development Until 1842 a

st 21.7 m 3

Po nd 2 a 3 1 o C

In ner Basin

3 Sl uic e 5 Me a n H igh W Bols at er Sa nd Po nd T San d r a Roc k

c

k 3 Cg St ati on Po nd 9

gle

1 Rock 2 in Development Until 1882 Sh Bou ld ers e gl Charlesto wn in Sa nd Sh Sq u a re Docks d PC n Sa il a Me 5 a n Ho u s e LB d Lo l an w ta S W s e at a er

Trac o op Roc k

k C Sl 25.1 m 4 2

Roc k 5 14.0 m

1 Bol th Pa Roc k

1 Development Until 1914 Hot el Po st Roc k Bol k c o Rock R R 7.3m Bol o Roc k c Wi nc h k

R Bol o AD Bol c H R O k PO RT

DU W S D Sh in gle l i pw Su b way ay St A uste ll B ay

r

d e

n t

C a 34.4 m r a ML W e t W r h at e a g W i w FS h R W Bols ig H o H o

h n c

L a g San d e k

i n M

n

H a

e a

n e

1 M 1

a M Bol e

M LW

M W D HW M S San d a Sa nd Bol San d an d Sh in gle S h n R

d o 7 i c n MLW a k g n l

ML W e d

a 5 Outer Bas in

5 Lig ht

Bols MLW

(fixe d gr een ) 3 Sa nd Qua y DW ML W

46.1 m W 1 D MLW Boll ard Charlesto wn Do cks

Qua y Bo

ll ar Red Lig h t ¯

d

7 s (Fixe d)

6 6

e l Cn

g 4 n i

h ML W Scale 1:3000 D

6 S W 6

Roc k Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey map with the permissions of the controller 5 Sh af t

6 21.9 m

e l of Her Majesty'sStationary Office © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction g

n i Sh in gle h

S Adit s W D and S an d infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Cornwall Council 100049047 H

O

L

M

B

U

S

H

P A

EN R

R IC 2 E P 5 A R C 65 63 C 44 H MP 285.25 0 66 64 1

R 52

3 O

69.8m 5 42 1

0 A 3 1 2

7

2 D

6 25

2

E 6

RN D R IV 7 O 6 AC 20

2 0

2

40 2 8

1

El 7

1 Sub S ta 3 4 ) 34.4m 5 (um CR IN Pl ayin g Fi eld D NIS

ath R P W 24

2 O

1 A GL O D U 2 2

3 D C E 0 9 7 S

3 TE 22a

R 1

1 W AV 2 E 7 N

UE 8

El S ub Sta 3 5

3

5 7

3 2

4

7

3

4 4 1 MP 285 P

dy at

ED B h 1 2

2

2 D

1

W 8

3 0 4 R D 6 C W . 9

m

12

1 3

9 2 14 4

48.7m

2

19 3

1 8

5

1 7

7

58.3m 15 1

1 CB 21 1

1 50.1m 3 C y H Bd A R CH A ED FIGURE 2 L E ND ST LE R O S W ) Cha rlesto w n W WN A L (um IN DS O R DR E

K ath IVE 1 R P 0 O Prim ary S choo l E N A D D INB U R A

G H C LO SE L 8

E

E 8

63.7m 2 R Recrea tio n Grou nd 1 T LB E W TOWNSCAPE ANALYSIS MAP L C P

9 P

1 Chapel A

1 1

E 6

S

O Pond 5

L

CR

7 C 4 IN N I H S H il l c res t 3 El 4 RO G A Sub R

e D U

8 n Sta 1 B

a N

I L

M i l lw oo d D

h El E

H ou s e 6 c

Tennis C ourts 4 Sub r 6 Sta

2 u 31 h

9 C 2 1 15

Penr ice

1 2

3 6 2 Com mun ity 1 Th e C 56 R Coll ege O l d GVC

M i l l 2

15 43 1

3

8 19 1 1 49 1 D Carlyon Bay 47

A Cemete ry

5 O

8 R

1 2 H 6 4 C 1 o W t t R a o 1 U A t er 12 60.4m pa H 58.8m w 14 C rt h E BE AC H RO A D

m e S 1 e

e 2 O

8 n l 1 1 L t s o t C 7 L ta Rash leigh C ou rt E S 44.0m E b C ha rl e st o w n u H l S H ou s e W E

Waterw heel R Hal 47.9m

2 1

o

t

E Vicarage 9 4

o t

T 1

A TC B

W

0 4

9 6

o

1 t

1 2

4 6

4 3

4 9 4

96

2 8 4

7 LB 8 1

0 2

1

53.9m Hal 1

0 2 3 Li t t l e 3 T r

1 to 9 1 H ay w o o d a c 88 k 90 Polm ear PO Apa rtm ents Á E IV R D R os e Y d R a 2 l

e 5

D Lo

N 1 c U 0 k LEGEND s O l Sinks F ey 32

y W 35

C a d 2 B D

E 1 4 2 UE E N AV

Á NT

La v en d er E 2 K Long S tone 8

C ot t a g e 0 2 War

ED Bdy Meml St P aul's

9 5 1

1

Chu rch 2

8 61.5m a 1

5 1

Lych 4

1

Gate S 4

E 2 3 2 A Y

A 7

R

W

O

A H 2

D T

T

re Conservation R Area

7

v O 1 1

eg 0

l

1

W 6

9 S o 7 s

S 1 W 1 E 1 T 1

A M A nn e t h L o w e n H 12 H IG 86 C E 7 1 B L 4

C H 1

S 3 43.1m 3

7 A 1 R 1 1

a

C

7 H

6

1 A 3 LB R

L 3 16

5 8

6 E 2 1 S th T a O P W N 1 1 5 R

y O

d 1 A th

B 6 a 1 1 D P D E Gall eon C our t 52.7m

Sluices Proposed Conservation Area 17 4

1 H 72 A D D 65.2m O N

W 6 AY 40.2m 64 21 66

62 Th e Wa l le d G a rde n

6

Po n d 0 1

Bound1 ary Extension 1

9

1

4

5 F 1 C 1 60 R op e w a l k H o u se Po n d a 11

58

6 1

60

8 1

8

1

3

4

1 15

0

2 2 3 2 2

World 69.7mHeritage Site

P

a 40.8m t Á h 35.1m

Sluice House T Po n d r

a

c 4 k 2 Pl ayin g Fi eld Barre tt's New En gi ne Recrea tio n Grou nd Sh af t

C

3 H

1

1

1 A 1 1 T

S

W 9

8

2 0 1 O R ck T Tr a H W A Listed Buildings Y 29

1 2

3 28.7m

3 0 1 4 Tr ack S R O O 33 D

N

E 9 V 9 E L Carlyon E

T Pa r th a Bay (um c ) k Th e O l d 69.5m

G ra na ry

D

r 3

T 9

a r

0

i a 4

n c

1

0 k 1 2

8

1 3 9 5

27.6m Other Historic Buildings

0

5 4 Polm ear Chy 4 Farm

Tr ack 5 8

1 S 2 6 E A R l oo O h c A S 3 D

d 2 l 1 West O e 5 Th Polm ear

Ct 3

21.9m

7 7 Negative/Neutral/New Build 7 4

3 El S ub Sta 4 8

3 7

6 4

5

7 3

n 3 a

w 6 to 3 s st rle i a od Ch th h e rc M u 31 Buildings 68.3m Ch

30

6

3

1 7 18.6m

37

9

7 Posts 53 6 Á6 GP

C H Rash leigh 2 A Ar ms Coa l Ya rd R L (P H ) South P olmear M ine E 8 S (disuse d) 6 T O W 4 N 27 9

R 5 4 O Pl ayin g Fi eld Q A El U D Charlestown A Y Negative/Neutral Spaces Sub

R 51

9 Sta a 4 O A

D

FB 7 19.8m 4 2 Sluice 5 1 TC B T Stone

Tr ack 1 E 5 E TR e S s K u C o U h

FB D e

5 k 5 o m S ld Hotel O

Sluices e 5 7 1 Th 23 67.4m 8

6 Significant Open Museum

21

4 1 4

1

5 6 WBs D 18 OA Sluice R Y FB A 14.9m U Areas/Parks P Q a th 65.1m 5 (u Po n d m ) B ro ad M e ad o w P 14.9m ath ( um) H ou s e 1 62.5m 7 ) (um Path Sluice House We st P o rt h me a r C o t t ag e s

40.5m C oastal Slope Car Park Bol A 1 d i t È Q Bols U C A o a 16.3m Y Water Bodies l s

a

Bol t ta R s 6 a l th o e S a B O 1 C p P A R K 2 lo lo H O U A S p Issues S E e L A N D A D E U O n TH R

R d

DU PO 1 Bol 1 0 11.1m FB Bols C oa s pe ta l lo Slo l S pe ta Bou ld ers

21.7m s 3 a

Po n d 2 o App let re e Be ach 3

1 C Historic/Traditional s er Sa nd an d Shin g le

Sluice Inn er Basin ld 3 u 5 o B Me an H igh W Bols ater Po n d Sand Sa nd Tr Rock

ac 3 Cg Station

Po n d 9 k Street Surfaces

e 1 l 2 Roc k ing Bou ld ers Sh e gl in Sand Cha rle st own h Bou ld ers Squ are S Doc ks d Sail PC n a Me 5 d an Hou se LB n Lo l a w a S W st at Tr a e er Rock

ack o p

25.1m C lo

4 S 2 Rock

14.0m Rock

5 1 Former Ore Floors/Yards/Settling h Bol at Rock P

Hotel Post 1 Rock Bol k c o Roc k R R 7.3m Bol o Rock c Winch Tanks (which k survive as open R Bol o OA D Bol c R TH R k

DU PO È k W c

S D o

lip Sh in gle R w Subway a St A y u stell Bay

r App let re e Po int e

d

t

C n a

a spaces) 34.4m r MLW e W r t h ate a g W i w FS h

W Bols ig R h H o H o L an c

g Sa nd e k i n M

n

H a ML

a W

e n e

M

1

a M Bol

1

e M W L

È W

M D W MH Sand Roc k Sa nd Bol S Sa nd an d Shin g le S a n

h R 7 d o in c M LW g a k l n MLW e

d

a

5 Out er Bas in 5 Light Bols LW

(f i x e d g re en ) M 3 Sand Unlisted Former Fish Cellars MLW Qua y DW

46.1m W 1 D MLW Bollar d Cha rle st own Do ck s

58.6m DU PO R TH R OA D 51.3m È Qua y B oll Red Light

ar ds 7 6 (F i x ed )

6 e Cn l

g 68.7m 4 D in

RO A h D MLW 6 W

S

6

1 2

Rock

5 Shaft 6 21.9m

e 4 l È g

in h Sh in gle Adits S W

1 Significant Views D and San d 6 Á

4

H

O

10 9 3 6 L

L

O

W

2 1

C

R

E

S

14 22 C

1 Dup orth 24 E 26 1 N

T 1 D

1 W Panoramic Views

8 10 12

1

2 14 7 7

4 Y 12

2 A 0 2 B 2 5 H 1 R T B PO B A A D R IVE U o PAG O D D u Y l È

Coastal d

7 e

5 2 2

V D up o rt h 0 È r

I s

E 3 Slopes

Fa rm a W 1 6 n C ot t a g e 1 Roc k 4 d

S 2

R 2 h

i

O n 1 5 9 g

A 7

5 le

D 2

R 1 2 D 1 O 7 A

P

O 4

E R

1 2

1 2 4 W M

A R

L A

K F

9 1 R

2

6

5 O 3

N 5 A

8 M

1 8

0 5 3 2 0 2 3

6 43.0m 2 2 1 4 1 Th e Vi l l a 2 LK 3 Coastal

E WA 2

M IDD L Slopes

1

1 8 43.3m 7 3 Dup or th 3 2 3 4 P

2 at 3 8 7 h

5 (u Du m D )

p o U

5

rt 3 5

h 5 41.8m Fa P r O m 3 H 6 Coastal WAY R

6 D ote

R l T 2 Slopes A 4 d H H an C S

3 R B 2 O Rock Boulder s K en n ar d A 12 2 Y 8

Coastal

3 2

6 2 9 Slopes Rock

2 3 6 8 Mean High Water 1 Posts Sa nd

Dup or th

0 5 MHW

3

7 0 1 El S ub Sta Coastal E

RIS Bou ld ers Roc k

2 Slopes N 5 7 ILIO Roc k PAV ¯ MHW K

3 6 L 9 Coastal

A W 1 Y Slopes R R m)

5 h (u A 6 at Scale 1:4000 1 P

U

2 Po lmea r I sla nd

5 Q 1 31.4m Wat er Mean Low

P 4

0

A Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey map with the permissions of the controller 9 V 4

I L

I O

3

N

of Her Majesty'sStationary Office © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction W W A Sa nd E L I 6 V 1 K

D t N o A L 8 infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. D O

O Roc k

W

9

t o

1

6 Cornwall Council 100049047 7

FB 4

1

7

t o

2 7 Sa nd Roc k Roc k Du Po rth

Coastal Slopes Roc k FIGURE 3 1842 TITHE MAP

¯ Scale 1:4000 Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey map with the permissions of the controller of Her Majesty'sStationary Office © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Cornwall Council 100049047 FIGURE 4 1880 HISTORIC MAP

¯ Scale 1:4000 Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey map with the permissions of the controller of Her Majesty'sStationary Office © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Cornwall Council 100049047 FIGURE 5 1907 HISTORIC MAP

¯ Scale 1:4000 Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey map with the permissions of the controller of Her Majesty'sStationary Office © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Cornwall Council 100049047 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

undertakers. To this end it will be available via the internet Charlestown Conservation Area and in print form through the library, Parish Council etc. Management Plan Special character is derived from the overall effect of many components and is dependent for its survival on a great Introduction number of individuals making informed choices about the management of their own piece of the jigsaw. Some control is This Conservation Area Management Plan (CAMP) is applied by the Local Planning Authority through the Article intended to stand alongside the Character Appraisal. There is 4(2) direction – which brings certain types of permitted general guidance on the conservation and enhancement of development under Council jurisdiction. the key elements that contribute to the quality of the townscape. At the end of each section is a list of best practice It is of fundamental importance that owners and contractors bullet points to aid retention of historic character and recognise that their actions can and do have a significant architectural quality. impact on the quality of Charlestown. Good decisions and sympathetic works take more thought and often cost more; It is hoped that the document will act as a reference for all but the rewards are great and will be appreciated in decades who make decisions which may impact on the special to come by future generations. character of Charlestown – property owners, planners, developers, designers, the local authority and statutory

Consultation Draft 103 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

General guidance

Article 4(2) direction This guidance must be considered in conjunction with the Design Guide, which may be viewed at Council offices. In 2002 to protect the many dwelling houses in the Charlestown conservation area, the Council served an Article Archaeology

4(2) Direction bringing under planning control a number of The history and nature of Charlestown means that there is alterations which would normally be ‘permitted development’. archaeological potential virtually everywhere. Particularly This was done to ensure that the historic and architectural sensitive areas include the areas of the villages first merit of such buildings was not adversely affected by the use developed around the harbour and the early farm sites. Any of modern materials, inappropriate details, and badly works that involve excavation may reveal interesting finds. designed extensions. The works now requiring planning Where work is subject to the planning process it will be permission are listed in Appendix 1 of the Conservation Area considered within the context of the PPS5 and may be subject Appraisal. to relevant conditions.

To date the Direction has had some success in controlling If work is being carried out by private owners they should be unsympathetic change. However a number of inappropriate alert to pieces of artefacts, wall footings and changes in the windows, modern, off-the-shelf front doors and replacement colour of the earth. If such finds are made they should contact slate roofs exist from before the serving of the Direction and the Council for advice. Significant finds ought to be recorded some boundary walls have been lost. to add to our understanding of historic Charlestown.

Consultation Draft 104 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

but most of the attractive roofscapes are more jumbled and Statutory undertakers carrying out trench work ought to seek dynamic – changing depending on the vantage point. advice before starting and agree a watching brief where appropriate – for example if cable undergrounding is carried Chimneys punctuate the roofscape and other quality details, out. in the form of rainwater goods etc, add richness on closer inspection. Where there are conditions attached to any planning, listed building or conservation area approval or any other relevant Slate approval requiring archaeological investigation and recording then this work shall be funded by the applicant as it is not Slate is the prevailing roofing material and a good deal of supplied by the local planning authority or County Council. locally sourced historic roofing slate is in evidence. There are Similarly outside the planning system any investigation will fine examples of rag slate roofs and others using smaller require funding. slates but also in random widths and diminishing courses.

Roofs Today there are a much wider variety of products available. Artificial slates should always be avoided as they inevitably The topography and development pattern of Charlestown is cause serious harm to the quality of the roofscape. With such that the roofscape is of importance to the overall natural slate being imported from Spain, South America and character of the place. Roofscape character is based on the China, great care is needed when specifying real slate. Some quality and patina of the materials; the form, pitch and of these are suitable replacements on non-prominent orientation of the roofs themselves. Sometimes there is order

Consultation Draft 105 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

buildings or new-build, but they are never a satisfactory there are extenuating circumstances such as serious replacement for historic slate roofing. New slate ought to be structural concerns. fixed using nails – clips are usually specified to compensate for poor slate that splits when holed as using a correct lap will Alterations can rob chimneys of their distinctive character by prevent windlift. the application of smooth, crisp render that hides stonework, flattens a pleasingly uneven substrate or covers decorative Owners of buildings with rag slate must be aware that the brickwork. Removal of drip slates and historic pots also slate will actually have a lot of life left in it but may be suffering detracts from the area. from nail rot. Opportunistic contractors will often offer such owners an amazingly cheap price to re-roof in artificial or Rainwater goods imported slate, knowing that the rag or random slate they reclaim can be sold on or re-used on much more lucrative Most of the historic rainwater goods in the town are cast iron work elsewhere. and there is a notable survival of cast iron ogee-section gutters many with lion heads embellishing their junctions Chimneys which add to the appearance of individual buildings and collectively enrich whole street scenes. With proper Loss of chimneys is nearly always detrimental to the character maintenance these items can offer good service for well over of the roofscape. It is seldom necessary and ought to be one hundred years. When replacement is needed there are resisted. Repair or reconstruction must be the first aim unless plenty of suppliers of historic profiles - many are available factory finished and some in cast aluminium. Plastic is an

Consultation Draft 106 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

inferior product which will not last as well or look as good – Lead details such as hips ought to be retained and where lead especially if it has a modern box profile. It doesn’t take paint flashings have never existed they should only be added if that well but unpainted it soon develops a coating of algae. Like can be executed with subtlety. All new leadwork must be other plastic building products, when it is replaced it has to go treated with patination oil to prevent oxidisation and leaching. to landfill where it will not break down for centuries, so the environmental costs deserve consideration. Dormers and rooflights

Ridges, hips, eaves and verges In order to preserve Charlestown’s roofscape, the insertion of

dormer windows should be avoided as their historic use in Traditional ways of edging roofs are easily lost when roofing Charlestown is very limited. work is undertaken. Clay ridge tiles may be replaced by Rooflights can allow the use of valuable roofspace and there concrete, mitred slate or mortar fillet hips covered by tiles, box are good modern interpretations of low profile metal units soffits replace open eaves or moulded fascias and slated or available. Where they can be inserted with little impact to mortared verges can be lost to boards. All of these apparently townscape views, especially on screened or rear roof slopes, slight changes have a cumulative impact that is far greater this is acceptable. The smallest unit needed should be used than each individual act would suggest. and it ought to be a quality metal unit with a slender frame. In groups or terraces neighbours should try to use rooflights that Many of the hipped roofs in Charlestown have mitred edges are complementary in their size, type and location. and this finish should be replicated when roofing work takes place.

Consultation Draft 107 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

Solar Panels • If traditional details are missing look to similar buildings for inspiration. Whilst the Council clearly would wish to promote sound, • Repair local historic rag and random slate roofs or re-use sustainable energy systems, the choice of such systems can in situ. seriously erode the historic integrity of listed and unlisted • Maintain or recreate authentic details to ridges, hips, buildings in conservation areas. Therefore careful eaves and verges. consideration should be given to their positioning to avoid • Repair chimneys and retain historic pot, drip moulds or compromising the character of the historic environment. Very cowl details. often there are alternative locations away from the historic • Repair or reinstate metal rainwater goods in traditional building where solar panels can be fitted. This may indeed profiles. result in such equipment being fixed to less sensitive buildings • Avoid dormers unless there is strong justification. which are part of the curtilage. Alternatively there are less • Only use rooflights and solar panels sensitively and obtrusive solutions available such as ground source heat consider impact on views. pumps. Although solar panels can be reversible they can be • It is always advisable to check with the LPA as to whether most damaging to historic roofscapes. permission is required for alterations.

Roofing: A summary • Note and record detailing before starting works to enable reinstatement.

Consultation Draft 108 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

Walls designers of new buildings so that contemporary additions enrich the area.

Charlestown is located in an area of rich geological interest Choice of colour is a matter of taste, but it is worth and as a consequence a number of different materials were remembering that plain limewash was almost ubiquitous in the available for building. Killas (slatestone) would have been past and only natural pigments were available. Bolder colours quarried in and around the village whilst granite was available like blues and greens were beyond the reach of all but the from the nearby St Austell quarries and Pentewan stone from most wealthy; consequently these colours often seem quarries to the south. unsuitable on humbler dwellings. Some of the domestic buildings are rendered with roughcast or smooth lime render, whilst others have stone walls of Stonework granite blocks or killas with granite or brick dressings. The majority of working and industrial buildings are of granite or As mentioned above many buildings in Charlestown are of slatestone construction and are un-rendered. local stone construction. Although most of the stone used in Charlestown is durable, these walls are still vulnerable to Great care and understanding is needed in the repair of all damage if poorly treated. All stonework must be pointed using traditional materials in order to prolong their useful life and lime mortar that flexes with the walls and allows them to protect them from decay. Careful appraisal of prevalent breathe. Pointing should also be flush or slightly recessed, materials in a particular locality ought to inform and inspire the especially on wider joints, and should never project in front of

Consultation Draft 109 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

the faces. A well-graded sand free of ‘soft’ (or fine clayey) sometimes fine stucco; these renders may be lined in imitation particles is best for most work. of ashlar stonework below. Considerable skill is needed to achieve this type of finish. Render

The coating of lime renders with modern masonry paint will Render covers rubble stone on a variety of buildings. trap moisture over time and can cause failure of the render. Traditionally this render was always lime based and that This is often interpreted as the failure of an inferior old remains the only sensible choice as cement based renders fashioned product, but it is in fact the result of conflicting are incompatible with all of these building types. technologies. Where possible historic renders ought to be repaired and retained, with masonry paint removed using Generally speaking the finish of render is a reflection of the specialist stripping products. Limewash remains by far the status of the building and/or its function. So functional best and most effective surface coating on old buildings and buildings, humble cottages and the rear elevations of some has a lovely matt finish, but it is pointless applying it over but it higher status dwellings have roughcast, bag rubbed or float is pointless applying it over paint. There are alternatives to finished render that follows the unevenness of the wall traditional limewash which have similar breathable qualities beneath. These renders were hand-thrown to achieve a better and matt finish such as mineral paints which may be key and texture is derived from the coarse aggregate; modern acceptable in some instances. ‘tyrolean’ type finishes take their texture from cementitious droplets and have a fundamentally different character. Grander and more aspirational buildings have smooth render,

Consultation Draft 110 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

Walls: A summary

Slate hanging • Traditional finishes should be repaired whenever possible, Slate hanging does occur on several of buildings in the village not replaced. usually where the building is in an exposed location where • Compatible materials and finishes are essential on historic penetrating damp has been a problem or on elevated side walls. elevations of attached buildings where access is difficult and a • Authentic finishes should not be removed or covered. durable, low maintenance solution was essential. • Where traditional finishes have been lost, sympathetic reinstatement is desirable. Brickwork • Limewash allows old walls to breathe; masonry paint traps moisture. There are no historic buildings in Charlestown entirely constructed from brick. However it was used extensively on Joinery the later buildings in the form of lintels, decorative window surrounds, quoins and chimneys, and on the facades of the Authentic joinery and historic glass adds to the historic Granary and Polmear Farmhouse. The use of lime mortars for character and visual quality of any Conservation Area. The repair is equally important for brickwork. extent of survival is often indicative of the percentage of listed

buildings; but also of the value local people place on the historic fabric of their town. Like many other places

Consultation Draft 111 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

Charlestown has a mix of original joinery and replacements, There is no product that is maintenance free. Timber needs some sensitive but some that is poorly detailed. painting every few years, but each time the result looks fresh and new. After a hundred years or more sash cords or hinges At present the replacement of windows and doors in unlisted may need renewal; this is quite easily done and gives the unit dwelling houses in the Conservation Area is controlled by the a new lease of life. When modern opening mechanisms or is controlled by the Article 4(2) direction. double glazed units breakdown the answer is replacement of the whole unit – hence the piles of PVCu windows Unless badly neglected over a long period of time, traditional accumulating at recycling centres in the absence of joinery is rarely beyond repair. In many cases the timber used satisfactory means of disposal. Traditional windows can was so well sourced and seasoned that it is far more durable normally be upgraded in terms of energy efficiency through than any modern alternative. Detail may have been lost by draught proofing without compromising their character. years of painting but great care needs to be taken when stripping paint though as historic paints contained lead. If Windows repair is not possible, replica replacement is the next best thing; though replacement requires the use of primary The size, type and design of the windows in an historic resources and energy that makes it a less sustainable option. building reveal much about its age or development, its use The use of imported hardwood from unsustainable sources and the status of its occupants in the past. Humbler buildings ought to be avoided and PVCu has significant ecological often have casement windows that vary in design according to issues in production and disposal. age, use and local custom. However the majority of windows in Charlestown are sash windows, which also vary in size and

Consultation Draft 112 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

detail according to age and use. The enduring popularity of historic character. Overlapping ‘storm-seal’ type details are sash windows reflects their versatility in providing controlled an entirely modern introduction and are unnecessary if ventilation. flush units are properly made. Spring loaded sashes are an inferior replacement mechanism compared with The intrinsic value of the view through an historic window is properly weighted double-hung sashes. appreciated by many sympathetic owners. They enjoy the • Glazing – Traditional glazing bar profiles, properly jointed elegance of the glazing bars and enthuse about the distortion and glazed with putty, (or glazing compound), rather than and play of light in imperfect historic glass. With care, old beading, will give a genuine appearance. glass can be salvaged and re-used; where it has been lost, • Thermal insulation – Double glazing cannot be achieved modern equivalents can be sourced from specialist suppliers. within traditional multiple pane designs without bars being either much too thick or fake. Beading is nearly always When new windows are needed there are a number of issues added which further detracts from the appearance. to consider:- Attempting to introduce double glazing into a traditional • Proportion and subdivision – The glazing pattern of the design usually means a small air gap that hugely reduces original windows ought to be retained, (or restored if lost), the insulation properties anyway. The use of shutters as that is a critical part of the whole building. It indicates and/or insulated curtains can greatly reduce heat loss the size of glass available or affordable at the time of without the need for window replacement. construction. • Draught-proofing – The most significant heat loss through • Mode of opening – The introduction of top hung or tilt-and- old windows is due to poor fitting and lack of draught- turn opening lights is always visually jarring and harmful to stripping. There are proprietary systems that retro-fit

Consultation Draft 113 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

draught excluders and greatly reduce the amount of air Shopfronts

changes and so heat loss. • Sound insulation – In noisy locations people often replace A few historic shopfronts have survived in Charlestown and windows with modern double glazed units to reduce the there are a few former elements of historic shopfronts which problem. In fact secondary glazing is more effective than act as a reminder of how economic activity, shopping and double glazing and allows retention of traditional windows. employment patterns have changed over the years. • Sills – Traditional sills should be retained unless beyond repair. Regarding the surviving historic shopfronts every effort should be made to retain their character through the retention of Doors historic features.

Doors are just as vulnerable to insensitive replacement as Joinery : A summary windows. The conservation principles summarized above can be applied equally to doors. Most traditional door types allow • Historic joinery items add character and quality to the for individual expression by painting and attractive settlement and ought to be retained and repaired if at all ironmongery etc. Unfortunately many owners choose to possible. express their individuality by replacing a serviceable vintage • When replacement is necessary, this ought to be in exact door with an off-the-peg unit in stained hardwood or PVCu replica. which is damaging to historic character

Consultation Draft 114 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

• Where joinery has been lost in the past and reinstatement The tendency towards close-boarded fencing is one that is is desirable, look at similar properties in the vicinity for having a very tangible visual impact. Apart from being a inspiration. characteristically modern approach, these fences are quite • Design, mode of opening and colour of finish are the most expensive, require regular maintenance over the years and important considerations. make it difficult to establish planting due to overshadowing and wind damage. Timber fences also tend to be stained in Enclosure eye-catching colours that are often unsympathetic to an historic setting.

In the past enclosure was about demarcation and also Garden structures can also be jarring elements if poorly keeping out passing animals. Historic enclosure is threatened located, badly designed or brightly coloured. with change by the desire for greater privacy – leading to the addition of timber fence panels for example. Alternatively it Walls may be removed to provide parking. At present the erection of walls and enclosures, and the creation of hard standing form part of the Article 4(2) Direction and require planning Stone walls, both boundary and retaining are the most permission. common means of enclosure in the village and are a significant contributing factor to the character of the Conservation Area. The majority are constructed from granite or killas with a simple stone cap. Most are mortared and in some instances coursed. However there are a few areas of

Consultation Draft 115 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

Cornish hedge where the dry stone walls have soft caps of properties with a minimal front garden or yard; in these vegetation. locations they offer demarcation without visual weight and

For new enclosure stone walling is likely to be the most avoid shading windows or planting. suitable option, provided the height and style relates to any Hedges established local trend.

There are no historic brick boundary walls in Charlestown. In the more rural parts of the village and where property

Railings adjoins farmland, hedges are characteristic. A mixed deciduous planting of hawthorn, field maple, hazel, holly,

beech and other indigenous species is most traditional. Within Whilst not abundant there is clear evidence that cast or a few years such a hedge can be laid to form a dense and wrought iron railings were historically a more significant effective boundary that is a wildlife resource that can draw element of the townscape than today. Like so many places, a insects, birds and small mammals into gardens. lot of ironwork was removed during wartime.

Single species plantings of beech, yew, laurel or box may be There are some buildings and locations which would benefit appropriate in some circumstances but are not a practical considerably from the re-introduction of railings. As well as solution for most places and they demand more maintenance being attractive items in their own right they also offer than a rustic mixed hedge. definition to the streetscene and can be a real enhancement to some types of property. The most common application is on

Consultation Draft 116 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

Modern coniferous hedges support little wildlife and can often be unattractive and not very neighbourly. Enclosure : A summary

• Retain historic enclosure wherever possible. • If enclosure has been lost, consider the locality and use an

Garden structures appropriate replacement.

The siting of sheds, summerhouses, decking, gazebos or other structures should be sensitively located. If visible Townscape features locations are unavoidable, careful attention should be paid to scale, form design and naturally painted materials should be used to make the structures less jarring. In addition to the buildings and walls that give Charlestown its special character there are other items that make a significant Garden structures currently form part of the Arcticle 4(2) contribution to the overall appearance. There are attractive Direction and require planning permission. In some instances items that need to be cherished and retained; others are in such as in prominent undeveloped fron gardens such need of repair or enhancement. structures will be unacceptable.

Consultation Draft 117 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

Floorscape

Seating As detailed in the accompanying appraisal, there are a number of different surviving historic floorscape treatments There are some thoughtfully located seats around the village reflecting the good selection of local materials available. where the pedestrian can stop a while and enjoy the views. These include beach pebble cobbles, granite kerbing and Unfortunately some of these are old, mismatching and untidy. granite paving. There is a need for enhancement of these minor spaces and renewal of seats where needed. Some of the streets in the villages have no pavements due to the narrowness of the carriageway, but some have gutters lined with historic stone or cobles. Former ore floors have Signage cobble surfaces which form a lively surface which reflect their location in terms of tradition and materials. The quayside is Business signage should be sympathetic to the character of constructed from locally sourced slab of granite. All historic the building and the area. It should be of a scale, design, paving should be maintained and restored if possible. materials and fixings compatible to the surrounding historic environment. Carriageways are blacktop and it is better to use this honest and established surfacing rather than introduce manufactured Traffic signage should be restricted to those which convey paviours or similar. Road markings in sensitive areas should essential information only, should be located onto existing be kept to a minimum.

Consultation Draft 118 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

lamp columns, posts or buildings where possible and should Climate Change avoid large backing panels. The wide-ranging actions required to limit further damaging

emissions, combined with the need to adapt historic assets to Planting make them more resilient to a changing climate, will have significant implications for the historic environment and its Trees and hedges are an important element of many future management. It is wrong to say that historic buildings significant views and their retention is often of considerable cannot be successfully upgraded to mitigate climate change importance. Work to trees in conservation areas is controlled however, the significance and integrity of historic assets and owners or contractors must contact the LPA for advice can be threatened by poorly designed and ill informed before embarking on felling, topping or lopping works. adaptation and mitigation responses. The non renewable character of historic features and potential for their damage Decorative planting has its place in the public realm, but and loss should always be taken into account when needs to be well planned and maintained to be a positive adaptation and mitigation responses are being planned and feature. On private landowners can enhance their little bit of executed. Specific advice on how to improve the energy the village with suitable planting – it can often be the finishing efficiency of historic properties can be found on the English touch that makes a location really special. Heritage website – www.english- heritage.org.uk/climatechangeandyourhome . Cornwall Sustainable Buildings Guide - http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=21590

Consultation Draft 119 May 2012 Cornwall Council Charlestown Conservation Area Appraisal

Cornwall Council advice on improving the energy efficiency of historic buildings - http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=18046

Consultation Draft 120 May 2012 FIGURE 6 1936 HISTORIC MAP

¯ Scale 1:4000 Reproduced from the Ordnance Survey map with the permissions of the controller of Her Majesty'sStationary Office © Crown Copyright. Unauthorised reproduction infringes Crown copyright and may lead to prosecution or civil proceedings. Cornwall Council 100049047