Secrets of Millbrook

SECRETS OF MILLBROOK History of Cornwall History of Millbrook Hiking Places of interest Pubs and Restaurants Cornish food Music and art Dear reader, We are a German group which created this Guide book for you. We had lots of fun exploring Millbrook and the Rame peninsula and want to share our discoveries with you on the following pages. We assembled a selection of sights, pubs, café, restaurants, history, music and arts. We would be glad, if we could help you and we wish you a nice time in Millbrook Your German group Karl Jorma Ina Franziska 1 Contents Page 3 Introduction 4 History of Cornwall 6 History of Millbrook The Tide Mill Industry around Millbrook 10 Smuggling 11 Fishing 13 Hiking and Walking Mount Edgcumbe House The Maker Church Penlee Point St. Michaels Chapel Rame Church St. Germanus 23 Eden Project 24 The Minack Theatre 25 South West Coast 26 Beaches on the Rame peninsula 29 Millbrook’s restaurants & cafes 32 Millbrook’s pubs 34 Cornish food 36 Music & arts 41 Point Europa 42 Acknowledgments 2 Millbrook, or Govermelin as it is called in the Cornish language, is the biggest village in Cornwall and located in the centre of the Rame peninsula. The current population of Millbrook is about 2300. Many locals take the Cremyll ferry or the Torpoint car ferry across Plymouth Sound to go to work, while others are employed locally by boatyards, shops and restaurants. The area also attracts many retirees from cities all around Britain. Being situated at the head of a tidal creek, the ocean has always had a major influence on life in Millbrook. Although fishing and most other industries have disappeared over the years, Top left: Cremyll Ferry; boatbuilding still plays a very important role in the Top right: Rame Head; area. Left center: Whitsand Bay; Right center: Wreck at Freathy Beach Commonly called the forgotten corner of Cornwall the Rame peninsula has retained its native landscape and is designated as an Area of outstanding natural beauty (AONB). Visitors can find miles of hiking trails along the rugged coastal trails and many hidden, pristine beaches. The fury of Atlantic storms has driven many ships on to the treacherous rocky coast and vigilant ramblers may spot signs of their fate. 3 Top left: The Men-An- History of Cornwall Tol; Top right: The Chun Quoit; Lower left: Situated at the very southwest of the The Lanyon Quoit; British isles, the county of Cornwall is Right: The Trethevy inhabited by just over 500,000 people. Quoit. Its name evolved from the Celtic tribe name Cornovii, which means horn- dwellers, derived from the shape of the Cornish peninsula, and the Anglo-Saxon Waelas, meaning strangers. In the Cornish language its name is Kernow. The history of Cornwall begins after the last Ice Age when hunter/gatherer tribes inhabited Britain between about 10,000 BC and 3000 BC. Many Megaliths of this period can still be seen and prehistoric remains in general are more numerous in Cornwall than elsewhere in England. When the Celts arrived during the first millennium before Christ they brought an advanced technology of iron tools with them improving agricultural and mining techniques. In 55BC the Romans landed in Britain and stayed until the end of the 4th century, but they had very little influence in Cornwall. Anglo-Saxons migrated to England during the following four centuries and pushed the Celts back to Cornwall, as far as the river Tamar. To prevent Cornish raids, the Anglo-Saxons conquered parts of the Rame peninsula which subsequently became part of Devon until the mid-19th century. Left: King Doniert’s Stone, pieces of a 9th century cross; Right: The Chysauster Ancient Village, one of the few places where Romans lived in Cornwall. 4 Left: The ruins of Tintagel Castle, where according to the legends King Arthur was conceived; Right: The Norman church of St. Germans In the 9th century Cornwall finally lost its sovereignty but the Cornish people managed to preserve a certain amount of cultural and political independence which remains until today. Except for installing themselves as rulers the Norman conquest of England in 11th century brought almost no changes to Cornwall. During the 15th to early 18th century the Cornish revolted against England on several occasions but were always defeated. Tin mining has played a very important role in the history and culture of Cornwall for the last 4000 years and with the invention of the Steam Engine in 1781 and the following age of industrial revolution the mining industry boomed. A massive decline in Cornish mining a century later led to the Cornish Diaspora in which many Cornish migrated overseas. The last Cornish and European tin mine, South Crofty mine, closed in 1998, however reopening the mine is still discussed. Left: mines at St Just, right: tin mine near St Agnes, bottom: mines in Cornwall, ca 1890 5 Left: Emblem of Millbrook Bottom: Aerial photo of Millbrook History of Millbrook The first evidence for the existence of the village of Millbrook dates back to 1442, when the Lord of Millbrook was given to Sir John Cornwall by Henry VI. But despite the lack of evidence it is believed that the village is older and estimates of its foundation vary between 4th and 14th century. The village’s name however comes from an old tidal mill and a small brook, nowadays flowing into Millbrook Lake. In the reign of Queen Elisabeth Millbrook was referred to as a “Riche Fishing Town” with at least 40 boats and many men participating as sailors in the wars of that time. With the amount of fish in the fishing grounds virtually decimated in the last 150 years, the fishing industry faded away and today there are only a few professional fishermen left on the whole peninsula. At the same time other industries like brickworks boomed. Today there is hardly any industry left in Millbrook, although boatbuilding is still important with two boatyards in Millbrook and a third one in Cremyll, about two miles away. 6 The Tide Mill Left: Old painting, mill and millpond clearly visible. The mill in Millbrook dates back to at least 1518 Right: mill building in 2010 and was rebuilt in 1801. It was worked by the tidal water being impounded in a 25 acre millpond at high tide and after the tide had ebbed a little, milling could begin. It is reported that the mill could operate approximately 8 hours in a 24 hour period. Over time, the mill had between two and four waterwheels of whitch one was used for a hoist to lift the corn to the top level of the mill. Each of the other wheels moved one or two millstones. The waterwheels rotated at about 10 rpm, and through gearing, the millstones rotated at approximated 120 rpm. The mill was last used in 1914 to grind corn, but in the following years the mill and the quay next to it were used by The Millbrook Steam Boat Company. Since then the millpond has been filled in and the football field and the park are now located there. The building can still be seen but after an archaeological excavation in 2011 it was renovated and now serves another purpose. Right: Old map with mill and millpond marked, some other industry is also visible; Left: Granite millstone from the mill 7 Industry around Millbrook Buried in Millbrook lies an abundance of industrial heritage contrasting with today’s rural landscape and with extensive scouting history buffs can uncover the secrets of Millbrook’s past. The former industrial facilities at the Southdown Marina area weren’t only the earliest and most numerous but clearly they have had the most turbulent history. In 1650 a Gun Powder Works was built there and until its total destruction during a fire and a huge explosion on 5th July 1865 it produced Gun Powder for the Royal Navy. In 1733 among other navy storage facilities and accommodation buildings the Kings Brewhouse was built in the Southdown area, producing all the navy’s beer, 20,000 gallons per week, until 1835. But the building’s history was far from being over; it was converted into a soap factory, used as a powder mill, occupied to produce fish fertilizerand at the beginning of the 20th century used as Gelatine Works. Between 1870 and 1904 a copper smelting and chemical works was situated in Southdown and from 1888 to 1942 and 1946 to 1948 the Southdown Brick Company had a factory with kiln chimneys up to 120 ft high there. The Quarry used by this brick factory is still recognizable. Nowadays, Voyager Boatyard, one of Top and left: Southdown brickworks the three boatyards of the area is from different angles located at the Southdown Marina. Bottom: Voyager Boatyard 8 Foss Brickworks, located just to the east of the tide mill, was the first brickworks to open in Millbrook in 1872 and remained in production until the 1930s. The factory had a 130 ft chimney and also an adjacent quarry. Today the factory’s site is used by the Multihull Centre boatyard. The third and largest brickwork, Pottery Brickworks, was located at the area of St Johns Rd. It started production in the 1880s and until 1935 produced up to 50,000 bricks a day. Like the other brickworks there was a quarry nearby and the chimney had a height of 165 ft. Many of the bricks from the three brickworks were shipped to the more than 20 building sites of coastal Top: Photo from 1895, tide mill batteries and fortifications that the navy built and Foss Brickworks visible between 1860 and 1920 to protect the naval Left: Multihull Centre Boatyard base of Plymouth.

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