| Print | More

ST MAWES CASTLE

ABOUT THIS MONUMENT

+ / -

EH Visitor Information
Related Monuments
Related Text
Investigation History

More Pictures
Modern Map
Old Map
Aerial Photograph

Monument Types
Sources
Thesaurus
Description

DESCRIPTION

+ / -

St Mawes artillery castle was built between 1540 and 1543, as one of a chain of coastal defences constructed by Henry VIII to counter the threat of French and Spanish invasion following the English Reformation. It is situated on a broad headland at the mouth of the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall. St Mawes was built just above an earlier fortification dating to the late 1530s, which was probably a preliminary attempt to fortify this coastline. From the 17th to 20th centuries, the slopes of the headland around the artillery castle were modified by successive phases of gun batteries as well as World War II searchlight emplacements. A lower gun battery was also built just below the castle (see associated records).

The Henrician castle consists of a central keep with three semi-circular bastions arranged about it in clover-leaf pattern. The main entrance is on the landward side of the keep, approached through a hexagonal guardhouse and then by a stone bridge over a deep dry moat. Originally there may have been a drawbridge. The keep is of three storeys and housed a kitchen in the basement, accommodation for ordinary soldiers on the first floor, accommodation for the governor and chief officers on the second floor and an open gun platform on the roof reached by a winding staircase. In the late 17th century a lead-covered dome, called a cupola, was added to the castle's stair turret as a daymark - a maritime navigational aid. The part-circular forward bastion provided the castle's main gun deck on the ground floor and a raised gun platform on the upper floor.

The castle was built under the direction of Thomas Treffry and it is constructed of local slatestone rubble with granite employed on many of the architectural features. There are many carved and incised decorative elements to the design including the Royal Arms over the keep, carved sea monsters, shield plaques, gargoyles as well as dedicatory and laudatory inscriptions to Henry VIII.

PICTURES

+ / -

DETAIL

+ / -

MORE INFORMATION & SOURCES

+ / -

(SW 84113275) St. Mawes Castle (NR) (1)

Saint Mawes Castle was built in 1540-43 as one of the chain of castles constructed by Henry VIII under the threat of French invasion. It was garrisoned for the King in the Civil War, but its position was not defensible from land attack, and it surrendered to Parliamentary forces in 1646.

During the First World War the castle was included in the coastal defence scheme, but became an ancient monument in 1920. It was taken over by the military again in 1939. The castle consists of a central keep with three semi-circular bastions arranged about it in clover-leaf plan. The main entrance is on the north-eastern or landward side of the keep, approached through a hexagonal guard-house and then by a stone bridge over a deep dry ditch. Originally there was a drawbridge. Below the castle is a small Tudor blockhouse with three gun ports. Saint Mawes Castle, HHR Grade 1. (2-8)

Notes on the state of the castle in 1623. (9)

Conservation report on the castle with detailed description of the remaining works. (10)

The keep is of three storeys and housed a kitchen in the basement, accommodation for ordinary soldiers on the first floor, accommodation for the governor and chief officers on the second floor and an open gun platform on the roof reached by a winding staircase. The part-circular forward bastion provided the castle's main gun deck on the ground floor and a raised gun platform on the upper floor. The castle was built under the direction of Thomas Treffry, a prominent landowner and merchant. It is constructed of local slatestone rubble with granite employed on many of the architectural features. There are many carved and incised decorative elements to the design including the Royal Arms over the keep, carved sea monsters, shield plaques, gargoyles as well as dedicatory and laudatory inscriptions to Henry VIII. Below the castle is a small semi-circular Tudor blockhouse, built in the 1530s with three gun ports. From the 17th to 20th centuries, the slopes of the headland around the artillery castle were modified by successive phases of gun batteries as well as World War II searchlight emplacements. A lower gun battery was also built just below the castle. For a complete description of the site please refer to the source. (11)

Henrician castle with later additions of the Napoleonic Grand Sea Battery and a mid 19th century gunpowder magazine. For more details please refer to the source. (12)

One of the best preserved coastal artillery fortresses built between 1539 and 1546 by Henry VIII to counter foreign attacks from the French and Spanish. The clover-leaf castle was originally designed to mount "ship-sinking" guns. Little development occurred at St Mawes until it was rearmed in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Please refer to the source for more information on the site. (13)

See the new guidebook for more details. (14)

SOURCE TEXT

( 1) Ordnance Survey Map (Scale / Date)

OS 1:10,000 1972

( 2) Ministry of Public Buildings and Works 1963 Pendennis and St Mawes Castles [guide]

( 3) by Nikolaus Pevsner ; revised by Enid Radcliffe 1970 Cornwall

The Buildings of England Page(s)189-90

( 4) Department of the Environment 1973 Ancient monuments in England : a list prepared by the Department of the Environment, corrected to 31st December 1971

Page(s)76

( 5) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

Truro Rural District, OCT-1960 Page(s)30

(6) Ministry of Works, Ancient Monuments and Historic Buildings 1947 Saint Mawes Castle [guide]

(7) List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest

Carrick, 25-JUN-1985 562

(8) by H M Colvin ... [et al] 1982 The history of the King's Works, volume 4 : 1485-1660 (Part 2)

Page(s)595-8

(9) Fortress Study Group Fort : the international journal of fortification and military architecture

Page(s)50-1

(10) Richard Linzey 2000 Fortress Falmouth

(11) Scheduled Monument Notification

10-JUL-1996

(12) Harrington, Peter 2007 The Castles of Henry VIII

Page(s)56

(13) 2009 English Heritage Visitor Handbook 2009/10

Page(s)113

(14) Dick Linzey 1999 The castles of Pendennis and St Mawes

English Heritage Guidebook

RELATED MONUMENTS

+ / -

Monument Name/No

Resources

Description

PENDENNIS CASTLE
FALMOUTH

Monument Pictures
Monument Maps
Monument Investigation
Monument Sources
EH Visitor Information

Pendennis castle, erected between 1540 and 1545, was the most westerly of a chain of coastal defences erected by Henry VIII in response to the threat ...

LOWER GUN BATTERY
ST. JUST-IN-ROSELAND

Monument Pictures
Monument Maps
Monument Investigation
Monument Sources
EH Visitor Information

Lower Gun Battery, just below St Mawes Castle, was first built at the end of the 18th century, during the Revolutionary Wars with France. It was armed...

MONUMENT TYPES

+ / -

COMMENTS

+ / -

Please help us keep our information accurate let us know if you see any errors on this page.

Further information about monuments may be obtained by contacting NMR Enquiry and Research Services , through the English Heritage website.

EH Archives
EH Prints
English Heritage
Heritage Explorer
Heritage Gateway
Images of England
National Heritage List for England
English Heritage Archive
ViewFinder