St Catherine's Castle ( kw, Kastel S. Kattrin) is a
Henrician castle in
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, England, built by
Thomas Treffry between approximately 1538 and 1540, in response to fears of an invasion of England by
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
. The D-shaped, stone fortification, equipped with five
gun-port
A gunport is an opening in the side of the hull of a ship, above the waterline, which allows the muzzle of artillery pieces mounted on the gun deck to fire outside. The origin of this technology is not precisely known, but can be traced back to ...
s for
cannon
A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...
, overlooked the mouth of the
River Fowey in Cornwall. It was protected by a
curtain wall and the surrounding cliffs. The castle remained in use for many years until it was closed at the end of the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
in 1815. Brought back into service in 1855 during the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
, it was fitted with two new artillery positions, but it soon became obsolete and was abandoned. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
the castle was refortified and used to house a
battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
of naval guns, protecting the coast against the threat of German attack. At the end of the conflict the castle was restored to its previous condition and is now managed by
English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
as a tourist attraction.
History
Construction
St Catherine's Castle was built as a consequence of the international tensions between England,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
and the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
in the final years of the reign of King
Henry VIII. Traditionally
the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
had left coastal defences to the local lords and communities, only taking a modest role in building and maintaining fortifications, and while France and the Empire remained in conflict with one another, maritime raids were common but an actual invasion of England seemed unlikely. Modest defences, based around simple
blockhouses and towers, existed in the south-west and along the
Sussex coast, with a few more impressive works in the north of England, but in general the fortifications were very limited in scale.
![1786 engraving of St Catherine's Castle](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/99/1786_engraving_of_St_Catherine%27s_Castle.png)
In 1533, Henry broke with Pope
Paul III
Pope Paul III ( la, Paulus III; it, Paolo III; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549), born Alessandro Farnese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death in November 1549.
He came to ...
in order to annul his long-standing marriage to
Catherine of Aragon and remarry. Catherine was the aunt of
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infa ...
, the Holy Roman Emperor, and he took the annulment as a personal insult. This resulted in France and the Empire declaring an alliance against Henry in 1538, and the Pope encouraging the two countries to attack England. An invasion of England now appeared certain and Henry began to improve his coastal defences.
In response to this situation, a small, D-shaped stone fortification was built to protect
Fowey Harbour in Cornwall, then an important centre for trade.
The harbour was reached through the Fowey estuary, which the local town had protected in the previous century with two blockhouses positioned along the river's edge—the Fowey and Polruan blockhouses—and a
boom chain
A boom or a chain (also boom defence, harbour chain, river chain, chain boom, boom chain or variants) is an obstacle strung across a navigable stretch of water to control or block navigation.
In modern times they usually have civil uses, such as ...
strung between them.
[ The new castle replaced these and was located high on the headland overlooking the entrance to the estuary itself, St Catherine's Point, from which it took its name.
Construction work began on the castle at some point between 1538 and 1540, under the direction of a member of the local Cornish gentry, Thomas Treffry. By 1540, a map of the local defences described the castle as only "half-made"; when the antiquarian John Leland visited what he described as a blockhouse in 1542, he was hosted by Treffry, and afterwards recorded that the construction had been funded partly by Treffry and partly by the local town.
]
Later use
St Catherine's Castle remained in use for many years. During the English Civil War
The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...
of the 1640s, it was held by the Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...
supporters of King Charles I Charles I may refer to:
Kings and emperors
* Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings
* Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily
* Charles I of ...
against Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
; in 1684 the local burgesses reported that the fortification was in a "runious" state.[ The antiquarian ]Francis Grose
Francis Grose (born before 11 June 1731 – 12 May 1791) was an English antiquary, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He produced ''A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue'' (1785) and ''A Provincial Glossary, with a Collection of Local Pr ...
visited the castle in 1786 and noted that the fortification was still being maintained at the expense of the local town. He praised its "picturesque and romantic" position but concluded that the building itself was of "little importance, either to antiquity or architecture". At this time the castle was equipped with six cannons and it continued to be used as a battery
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
until the end of the Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
in 1815.
After the Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
broke out in 1853, fresh concerns of invasion were raised and the coastline was refortified.[; ] The castle was redeveloped as part of this work in 1855, and two new gun positions built around the old blockhouse.[ In 1887, the castle was equipped with rifled, muzzle-loading artillery pieces, supported by volunteer forces and used for training purposes, but the weaponry became obsolete and the site had fallen out of use again by the end of the century.][
The castle was brought back into use in the ]Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
by the British Southern Command to defend the coast against German attack.[; ] In June 1940 it was re-equipped as a gun battery and observation post, with additional concrete defences laid around the position.[ Two ]naval gun
Naval artillery is artillery mounted on a warship, originally used only for naval warfare and then subsequently used for shore bombardment and anti-aircraft roles. The term generally refers to tube-launched projectile-firing weapons and excludes ...
s were installed in one of the 19th century firing positions and in a new gun position built to the west of the castle; these were supplemented by a French gun, and the old blockhouse itself was used to control a minefield in the estuary below. The guns were manned first by the 364 Coast Battery of the Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...
and then by the 379 Battery of the 557 Coast Regiment, but the battery was retired from active operations in November 1943. After 1945 the entire fort was decommissioned and the newer defences removed.
In the 21st century, the castle is operated by the heritage organisation English Heritage
English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, medieval castles, Roman forts and country houses.
The charity states that i ...
as a tourist attraction and is protected under UK law as a Grade II* listed building
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
and scheduled monument
In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change.
The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...
.[; ]
Architecture
The 16th century blockhouse is a two-storey, D-shaped design, internally, with walls of slate rubble up to thick resting on a platform cut out of the bedrock.[ The ground floor originally had three semi-circular ]gun-port
A gunport is an opening in the side of the hull of a ship, above the waterline, which allows the muzzle of artillery pieces mounted on the gun deck to fire outside. The origin of this technology is not precisely known, but can be traced back to ...
s overlooking the sea and the estuary, although one has since been blocked up.[ On the first floor were two more gun-ports—one now filled in—and smaller windows that could have been used for smaller gunpowder weapons. The building had a fireplace and chimney, with a small guard chamber by the entrance, and was topped by a parapet walk.][
The blockhouse overlooks the sea and the estuary from its position on a rocky outcrop.][ It is surrounded by cliffs and a curtain wall, enclosing a semi-circular area around in size, incorporating slits for firing muskets. A rectangular bastion, internally with thick walls, protects the rear of the blockhouse.][ The original pathway to the blockhouse was blocked by later work, and the current steps up to the building are of 19th century origin.][
A flat-roofed magazine was cut out of the rock just below the blockhouse in the 19th century, and a gun platform with two circular recesses for gun carriage rails was constructed, protected by a ]granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
parapet.[ The curtain wall was reworked in this period and marked by plaques labelled "WD 1855". The recesses and marks from the additional defences in the Second War can still be seen in places along the gun platform.][
]
References
Bibliography
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External links
English Heritage visitor information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Catherine's Castle
Castles in Cornwall
Device Forts
English Heritage sites in Cornwall
Ruins in Cornwall
Fowey