Charlestown, Cornwall
Encyclopedia
Charlestown is a village and port
on the south coast of Cornwall
, United Kingdom
, in the parish of St Austell Bay
. It is situated approximately 2 miles (3 km) south east of St Austell
town centre.
The port at Charlestown developed from what was in the late 18th century the fishing village of West Polmear. Whereas other areas within the conurbation of St Austell have seen much development during the 20th century, Charlestown has remained relatively unchanged within this expansion.
There are deposits of china clay in the area. Particles of mica quartz in the sea near Charlestown give it a turquoise-blue colour. The same colour is imparted to flooded china clay quarries.
era (specifically from 1790 when work on building an outer quay began to 1799 when the first dock gates were erected) as a new town
, and named after local landowner Charles Rashleigh
who had a hand in its design. In 1799 the locals asked his permission to rename the place Charles's Town which in turn became Charlestown. The works were to the plans of John Smeaton
. It was built to facilitate the transport of copper from nearby mines but its main function became the export of china clay
from the region's quarries and, to a limited extent, still serves that purpose today.
Following the death of Charles Rashleigh in 1823 the fate of Charlestown was caught up in the financial problems of Rashleigh's estate. As a result in 1825 Messrs. Crowder and Sartoris, trading as Charlestown Estate, agreed to accept all the leasehold property in Charlestown in lieu of sums owed to them and purchased the rest of the estate from the Rashleigh family thus becoming the new owners of the port and the surrounding settlement.
In 1790 the settlement was known as West Polmear and had a population of 9, which increased to 3,184 by 1911.
s, including Kaskelot
. One or two of these can often be found at anchor in the harbour, and are frequently open for tours during the summer months. The best-known tall ship to regularly visit the port was the Maria Asumpta
, first launched in 1858 and the world's oldest working square rig
ger. The Maria Asumpta was very popular with tourists and locals alike, until the ship ran aground and broke up on the north Cornish coast in May 1995, with the loss of three of her sixteen crew.
Charlestown is a popular tourist destination. Attractions are the architecture, the sea, and the Charlestown Shipwreck, Rescue and Heritage Centre.
for both film and television dramas. For example, on 25 September 2008 Tim Burton
filmed a part of his Alice in Wonderland
movie here.. Filming took place on 1 February 2011
for much of The Curse of the Black Spot
, an episode of the Dr Who television series. It was filmed at night on the sailing ship Phoenix of Dell Quay while it was moored in the harbour.
it has starred in Poldark
, an adaptation of Jane Austen
's Persuasion
and films such as the 1993 version of The Three Musketeers
. The sequence set in Alderney in the film The Eagle Has Landed
was filmed in and around the harbour and the adjacent beach. The famous Heart Of The Ocean
necklace from the 1997 film Titanic resides at the town's National Shipwreck Museum. Charlestown Rowing Club
is based in the village.
. It currently has 211 children. In 1999 the school was awarded Beacon Status to work in partnership with other schools sharing good practice. In May 2002 the school achieved Healthy Schools Status. The school's declared aim is to "Promote the highest standards of work and behaviour and to provide opportunities for success for all children in a caring environment of mutual trust, respect and harmony."
with all local services directly administered by Cornwall County Council
, but since 1 April 2009 is in the newly formed St Austell Bay
civil parish.
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
on the south coast of Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, in the parish of St Austell Bay
St Austell Bay
St Austell Bay is a bay on Cornwall's south coast which is bounded to the east by Gribbin Head and to the west by Black Head.Since 1 April 2009 it has also been the name of a civil parish, one of four new parishes created on for the St Austell area. It lies southeast of the town of St Austell and...
. It is situated approximately 2 miles (3 km) south east of St Austell
St Austell
St Austell is a civil parish and a major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the south coast approximately ten miles south of Bodmin and 30 miles west of the border with Devon at Saltash...
town centre.
The port at Charlestown developed from what was in the late 18th century the fishing village of West Polmear. Whereas other areas within the conurbation of St Austell have seen much development during the 20th century, Charlestown has remained relatively unchanged within this expansion.
There are deposits of china clay in the area. Particles of mica quartz in the sea near Charlestown give it a turquoise-blue colour. The same colour is imparted to flooded china clay quarries.
History
Charlestown grew out of a small fishing village called West Polmear (also West Porthmear). Prior to the building of the harbour trading vessels landed and loaded on the beach. It was developed in the GeorgianGeorge III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
era (specifically from 1790 when work on building an outer quay began to 1799 when the first dock gates were erected) as a new town
New town
A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
, and named after local landowner Charles Rashleigh
Charles Rashleigh
Rashleigh is a surname that has connotations of wealth and status in Cornwall in the United Kingdom.The Rashleighs of Fowey and Menabilly were powerful merchants in the time of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I. Philip Rashleigh, younger son of a family from Barnstaple in Devon, had purchased the manor of...
who had a hand in its design. In 1799 the locals asked his permission to rename the place Charles's Town which in turn became Charlestown. The works were to the plans of John Smeaton
John Smeaton
John Smeaton, FRS, was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent physicist...
. It was built to facilitate the transport of copper from nearby mines but its main function became the export of china clay
Kaolinite
Kaolinite is a clay mineral, part of the group of industrial minerals, with the chemical composition Al2Si2O54. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina octahedra...
from the region's quarries and, to a limited extent, still serves that purpose today.
Following the death of Charles Rashleigh in 1823 the fate of Charlestown was caught up in the financial problems of Rashleigh's estate. As a result in 1825 Messrs. Crowder and Sartoris, trading as Charlestown Estate, agreed to accept all the leasehold property in Charlestown in lieu of sums owed to them and purchased the rest of the estate from the Rashleigh family thus becoming the new owners of the port and the surrounding settlement.
In 1790 the settlement was known as West Polmear and had a population of 9, which increased to 3,184 by 1911.
Economy
Charlestown harbour is used by several local fisherman. The harbour itself is owned by Square Sail, a company that owns and sails a small fleet of tall shipTall ship
A tall ship is a large, traditionally-rigged sailing vessel. Popular modern tall ship rigs include topsail schooners, brigantines, brigs and barques. "Tall Ship" can also be defined more specifically by an organization, such as for a race or festival....
s, including Kaskelot
Kaskelot (tall ship)
Kaskelot is the flagship of the Square Sail fleet and is based out of her homeport of Charlestown, Cornwall, UK . She is a three-masted barque and one of the largest remaining wooden ships in commission. The Kaskelot was built in 1948 by J...
. One or two of these can often be found at anchor in the harbour, and are frequently open for tours during the summer months. The best-known tall ship to regularly visit the port was the Maria Asumpta
Maria Asumpta
The Maria Asumpta was a brig that was wrecked in 1995 with the loss of three lives.-History:The Maria Asumpta was launched at Badalona in 1858, and was involved in the textile trade between Argentina and Spain; later she was used to transport slaves and salt. In the 1930s an engine was installed,...
, first launched in 1858 and the world's oldest working square rig
Square rig
Square rig is a generic type of sail and rigging arrangement in which the primary driving sails are carried on horizontal spars which are perpendicular, or square, to the keel of the vessel and to the masts. These spars are called yards and their tips, beyond the last stay, are called the yardarms...
ger. The Maria Asumpta was very popular with tourists and locals alike, until the ship ran aground and broke up on the north Cornish coast in May 1995, with the loss of three of her sixteen crew.
Charlestown is a popular tourist destination. Attractions are the architecture, the sea, and the Charlestown Shipwreck, Rescue and Heritage Centre.
Culture
Charlestown harbour has been used several times as a filming locationFilming location
A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage...
for both film and television dramas. For example, on 25 September 2008 Tim Burton
Tim Burton
Timothy William "Tim" Burton is an American film director, film producer, writer and artist. He is famous for dark, quirky-themed movies such as Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Ed Wood, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet...
filmed a part of his Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American computer-animated/live action fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton, written by Linda Woolverton, and released by Walt Disney Pictures...
movie here.. Filming took place on 1 February 2011
for much of The Curse of the Black Spot
The Curse of the Black Spot
"The Curse of the Black Spot" is the third episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by Stephen Thompson, and directed by Jeremy Webb, the episode was first broadcast on 7 May 2011 on BBC One in the United Kingdom and on BBC America in the...
, an episode of the Dr Who television series. It was filmed at night on the sailing ship Phoenix of Dell Quay while it was moored in the harbour.
it has starred in Poldark
Poldark
Poldark is a BBC television series based on the novels written by Winston Graham which was first transmitted in the UK between 1975 and 1977.-Outline:...
, an adaptation of Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
's Persuasion
Persuasion (novel)
Persuasion is Jane Austen's last completed novel. She began it soon after she had finished Emma, completing it in August 1816. She died, aged 41, in 1817; Persuasion was published in December that year ....
and films such as the 1993 version of The Three Musketeers
The Three Musketeers (1993 film)
The Three Musketeers is a 1993 film from Walt Disney Pictures and Caravan Pictures, directed by Stephen Herek from a screenplay by David Loughery and starring Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherland, Chris O'Donnell, Oliver Platt, Tim Curry and Rebecca De Mornay....
. The sequence set in Alderney in the film The Eagle Has Landed
The Eagle Has Landed (film)
The Eagle Has Landed is a 1976 film version of the novel The Eagle Has Landed by Jack Higgins. It was directed by John Sturges and starred Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall...
was filmed in and around the harbour and the adjacent beach. The famous Heart Of The Ocean
Heart of the Ocean
The Heart of the Ocean is the name of a fictitious blue diamond featured prominently in the 1997 film Titanic.-Origin:Historically, there was a blue sapphire pendant on the Titanic...
necklace from the 1997 film Titanic resides at the town's National Shipwreck Museum. Charlestown Rowing Club
Charlestown Rowing Club
Charlestown Rowing Club is a Cornish Pilot Gig Rowing club in the town of Charlestown in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.- Vessels :*Waterwitch - Launched in 2003. Built by John & Dave Currah of Looe. Named after a ship of the same name. Famous for being the last UK registered cargo carrying...
is based in the village.
Education
Charlestown Primary School is a one form entry primary school situated between Charlestown village and Carlyon BayCarlyon Bay
For the parish council see CarlyonCarlyon Bay is a bay and beach in St Austell on the south coast of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is located approximately east of the town centre.Carlyon Bay was formerly the location of the Cornwall Coliseum...
. It currently has 211 children. In 1999 the school was awarded Beacon Status to work in partnership with other schools sharing good practice. In May 2002 the school achieved Healthy Schools Status. The school's declared aim is to "Promote the highest standards of work and behaviour and to provide opportunities for success for all children in a caring environment of mutual trust, respect and harmony."
Administration
Charlestown is in the new parliamentary constituency of St Austell and Newquay. Previously, the village was in part of an unparished areaUnparished area
In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish. Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparished. Many towns and some cities in otherwise rural districts are also unparished areas and therefore no longer have a town council or city...
with all local services directly administered by Cornwall County Council
Cornwall County Council
Cornwall Council is the unitary authority for Cornwall, in England, United Kingdom. The council, and its predecessor Cornwall County Council, has a tradition of large groups of independents, having been controlled by independents in the 1970s and 1980s...
, but since 1 April 2009 is in the newly formed St Austell Bay
St Austell Bay
St Austell Bay is a bay on Cornwall's south coast which is bounded to the east by Gribbin Head and to the west by Black Head.Since 1 April 2009 it has also been the name of a civil parish, one of four new parishes created on for the St Austell area. It lies southeast of the town of St Austell and...
civil parish.