Calstock ( kw, Kalstok) is a civil parish and a large village in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the border with Devon. The village is situated on the River Tamar south west of Tavistock and north of

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. The parish had a population of 6,095 in the 2001 census. This had increased to 6,431 at the 2011 census. The parish encompasses of land, of water, and of the tidal Tamar. Calstock, Danesbrook Valley House - geograph

Calstock, Danesbrook Valley House - geograph

As well as Calstock, other settlements in the parish include

Albaston Albaston ( kw, Trevalba) is a hamlet in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in the civil parish of Calstock. It is located at Ordnance Survey . Albaston is about 1 mile (2 kilometres) from the centre of Gunnislake and half-a-mile (0.7 kil ...

, Chilsworthy, Gunnislake,

Harrowbarrow Harrowbarrow ( kw, Kelliskovarnek) is a village in the parish of Calstock in east 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 ...

Latchley Latchley is a village in the Tamar Valley in Cornwall, England, UK. It is in the parish of Calstock (where the population of the 2011 census is included.).Metherell,

Coxpark Coxpark is a hamlet in the parish of Calstock, (where the population is included ) 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 ...

Dimson Dimson is a small village in Cornwall, England. It is situated in the Tamar Valley approximately north of Plymouth and around north of Gunnislake. According to the Post Office, at the 2011 census population details were included in the civil p ...

Drakewalls Drakewalls is a small village in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, UK. It is in Calstock parish, adjacent to Gunnislake between Callington, Cornwall, Callington and Tavistock, Devon, Tavistock.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 201 ...

, Norris Green, Rising Sun and St Ann's Chapel. Calstock village is within the

Tamar Valley AONB Tamar Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or Tamar Valley AONB is a legally designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Devon and Cornwall in England. History There has been mining in the area for hundreds of years, in 1844 a copper ...

, is overlooked by Cotehele house and gardens, and lies on the scenic Tamar Valley railway.

Calstock railway station Calstock railway station is an unstaffed railway station on the Tamar Valley Line serving the village of Calstock in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated at the north end of Calstock Viaduct which carries the railway at high level over t ...

opened on 2 March 1908. The village is twinned with

Saint-Thuriau Saint-Thuriau (; br, Sant-Turiav) is a commune in the Morbihan department of Brittany in north-western France. Inhabitants of Saint-Thuriau are called in French ''Thuriaviens'' or ''Thurialais''. It takes its name from Saint Turiaf of Dol, bish ...

in Brittany, France.

Early history

There is evidence of human settlement in Calstock from Roman, or pre-Roman times, settlers attracted by the rich source of minerals, such as tin, in the area. An iron age hill fort is to be found in the north of the parish. A

Roman fort In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...

, only the third known in Cornwall, was discovered next to the church in 2008. It is thought that up to 500 soldiers would have been based here. More recent excavations have revealed the presence of a Roman mine consisting of pits connected by a network of tunnels. There is also evidence of a Roman road in the vicinity. In

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

times Calstock was in the Kingdom of Cornwall, which resisted the spread of Wessex from the east. In 838 CE Wessex had spread as far as the Tamar, and a battle for independence was fought near Calstock. Following the Norman Conquest, Calstock manor was recorded in the Domesday Book, referred to as ''Callestock''. The Saxon manor (held by Asgar) was taken over, and in the 14th century became part of the

Duchy of Cornwall The Duchy of Cornwall ( kw, Duketh Kernow) is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch obtains possession of the duchy and the title of 'Duke of Cornwall' at ...

: one of the 17 Antiqua maneria. At the time of Domesday Book (1086) the manor was held by Reginald from

Robert, Count of Mortain Robert, Count of Mortain, 2nd Earl of Cornwall (–) was a Norman nobleman and the half-brother (on their mother's side) of King William the Conqueror. He was one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastin ...

. There were two and a half hides of land and land for 12 ploughs. Reginald held one virgate of land with 2 ploughs and 12 serfs. 30 villeins and 30 smallholders had the rest of the land with 6 ploughs. There were 100 acres of woodland, 3 square leagues of pasture and 3 pigs. The value of the manor was £3 sterling though it had formerly been worth £6. The manor was sold by the Duchy to John Williams of

Scorrier House Scorrier House, located near the village of Scorrier, Cornwall, England, UK, is a country house and the seat of the Williams family of Caerhays and Burncoose, Williams family. Scorrier House is also home to an important Cornish garden, Scorrier Ho ...

circa 1807. During the English Civil War Calstock became a garrison of the Royalists in Cornwall, consisting of roughly 1,200 Cornishmen. The force was quartered at Cotehele and Harewood House. During the civil war, the Parliamentarians attacked Gunnislake New Bridge, it was defended by

Sir Richard Grenville Sir Richard Grenville (15 June 1542 – 10 September 1591), also spelt Greynvile, Greeneville, and Greenfield, was an English privateer and explorer. Grenville was lord of the manors of Stowe, Cornwall and Bideford, Devon. He subsequently ...

and Captain Southcote with men from their garrison at Calstock. At the cost of 240 men the bridge was lost to the Parliamentarian forces, however they failed to advance further into Cornwall. Calstock and Cornwall were commended by King Charles I for their loyalty and the King's letter to the Cornish people is still displayed at

St Andrew's Church, Calstock St Andrew's is the Anglican parish church of Calstock in Cornwall and dates to the 14th century. It is a Grade I listed building. History The church stands within the extent of a recently discovered Roman fort at the top of the hill overloo ...

Industries

Mining

Danescombe Valley Mine Buildings - geograph

Mining was important in Calstock from

Mediaeval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

times, with the Duchy mining silver. The industry was booming in the late 19th century, and the discovery of copper, coupled with nearby granite quarrying, made Calstock a busy port. The rapid population boom due to the growth of industry led, in 1849, to an outbreak of

cholera Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

. The industry declined in the early 20th century due to foreign competition, and now only the ruined pump houses that dot the landscape remain. Calstock had much mining activity, principally; *Cotehele Consol - copper and arsenic *Calstock Consol - copper *Okeltor Consol - copper, tin and arsenic, mined silver and copper up until 1877 *Wheal Trelawny - copper, very close to Okeltor Consols *Danescombe Mines - copper, tin and arsenic *Wheal Zion - copper *Wheal Edward - copper and arsenic *Wheal Arthur - copper and arsenic, directly east of Wheal Edward

Transport

The Tamar is navigable to boats past Calstock some upstream to

Morwellham Quay Morwellham Quay is an historic river port in Devon, England that developed to support the local mines. The port had its peak in the Victorian era and is now run as a tourist attraction and museum. It is the terminus of the Tavistock Canal, and ...

with some or even of water at extreme spring tides. Calstock Quay and Danescombe Quay were once important for transporting minerals from the various mines in the area. In the Victorian era when steamers brought tourists to the village, Calstock was visited by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1846. Tourist boats still operate from Plymouth as far as Cotehele in the summer months. The importance of the river as a transport route declined with the construction of the Tamar Valley railway at the start of the 20th century. The village is still dominated by the railway's viaduct.

Boat building

The river has it own unique design of craft, The

Tamar barge A Tamar barge is a masted sailing vessel, designed for carrying cargo along the River Tamar and the south coast of Cornwall. The Tamar barge can be either a single or double masted vessel. It can carry up to 32 tonnes. Tamar barges were manufa ...

. Calstock had two main boat builders, Goss's Yard, which built the West Country Ketch '' Garlandstone'', now at Morwellham Quay industrial museum, and May's Yard, in the Danescombe Valley. '' Garlandstone'' was, unusually, built as a speculative venture by James Goss to keep his men employed at a period of diminishing repair work following the run down and closure of Morwellham Quay. A surviving Tamar barge, ''Shamrock'', is preserved by the National Trust and National Maritime Museum at Cotehele Quay. A second barge, ''Lynher'', also built by James Goss, is privately owned at

Cremyll Cremyll (pronounced ) is a small coastal village in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Cremyll is on the Rame Peninsula facing Plymouth Sound. The village is about 9 miles by road or 0.5 miles by boat from Plymouth. It is in the civ ...

Lime production

Calstock, second limekiln near the old incline - geograph

There are four sets of lime kilns at Calstock and more at Cotehele Quay. Further kilns were located at various points along the river. The burning of lime was a major industry in the area in the 19th century. The limestone was delivered to the kilns by boat but the resulting lime was shipped out to the various farms by horse and cart. It was used as a fertiliser, an ingredient in paint and as a mortar for bricklaying.

Parish church of St Andrew

The church is said to have been consecrated about 1290. Nothing obvious remains of this period, but the pillars and arches to the north of the centre aisle of the present building are early 14th century. About 1420 the south aisle was added, and the whole church re-roofed. There were presumably several later restorations, but in 1861 an architectural survey of the diocese of Exeter noted that This resulted in the thorough restoration of 1867, carried out at a cost of £600, and under the direction of Mr James Piers St Aubyn (1815–95). St. Aubyn, a relative of the well-known family residents of St Michael’s Mount, had an architectural practise in London and Devonport, and was responsible for the restoration (some would say butchering) of many West Country churches. Here at Calstock the floor levels were altered, the existing tiles laid, the chancel given its present roof, and the buildings furnished with its plain pitched-pine benches. However, severe though the restorations was, many of interesting features of the church were preserved. During the incumbency of the Rev. Thomas Hullah (instituted 1865) the church was restored and three chapels-of-ease were built at Gunnislake, Harrowbarrow and Latchley; these chapels were needed because of the increase in population for the mines of the parish. The rector was assisted by three curates and his six daughters were active as teachers and church workers.

Other churches in the parish

St. Anne's, Gunnislake

The land was bought on 29 January 1879. The total cost of the building was £2,400 of which the Duke of Bedford gave £500 and the Church building society gave £200. The foundation stone of the church were laid by the Dowager Countess of Mount Edgcumbe, at 3pm on Tuesday, 30 September 1879. The building was designed by

J. Piers St Aubyn James Piers St Aubyn (6 April 1815 – 8 May 1895), often referred to as J P St Aubyn, was an English architect of the Victorian era, known for his church architecture and confident restorations. Early life St Aubyn was born at Powick Vicar ...

and was consecrated by

Edward Benson Edward Benson may refer to: * Edward White Benson (1829–1896), Archbishop of Canterbury * E. F. Benson Edward Frederic Benson (24 July 1867 – 29 February 1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist and short story wr ...

, the Bishop of Truro, in 1880. It was dedicated to St. Anne because of an ancient local holy well, close by the site of the church. The church seats up to 225 worshippers. In 1918 Gunnislake made an appeal to become its own separate parish, but failed to raise the necessary funds.

All Saints, Harrowbarrow

In 1870 a parishioner presented the rector with a piece of land, near the Prince of Wales Mine, and then the church was again designed by

and was built as a school and a mission chapel for £700. The church seats up to 80 worshippers.

Albaston Chapel

The graveyard in front was consecrated in 1888. Outside the chapel, just inside the main gate, there is a large granite

memorial cross A memorial cross (sometimes called an intending cross) is a cross-shaped memorial to commemorate a special event or an incident, typically where one or more people died. It may also be a simple form of headstone to commemorate the dead. File I ...

commemorating 132 men who made the supreme sacrifice in war. The cross bears the following inscription;

St Michael and All Angels, Latchley Church

In 1879 the "foundation stone of our long wished for church was laid".

Latchley Latchley is a village in the Tamar Valley in Cornwall, England, UK. It is in the parish of Calstock (where the population of the 2011 census is included.).Piers St Aubyn James Piers St Aubyn (6 April 1815 – 8 May 1895), often referred to as J P St Aubyn, was an English architect of the Victorian era, known for his church architecture and confident restorations. Early life St Aubyn was born at Powick Vicarag ...

, the same architect as Gunnislake. It was built three years later than Gunnislake at a cost of £1,147 as a chapel-of-ease dedicated to

St Michael and All Angels ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

. It was dedicated by the Bishop of Truro on 20 July 1883. After a bad attack of woodworm to the building in August 1968 it was closed to worshippers and in 1985 it was sold and used for a dwelling. Cotehele Courtyard - Delicate Hues - panoramio

Cotehele Courtyard - Delicate Hues - panoramio

Cotehele's Chapels

St. Katharine, House Chapel Cotehele

In Cotehele, on the west side of Hall Court is the vicarage and chapel. The chapel, dedicated to St. Katharine and St. Anne, is connected to the main building via a small passageway leading to the dining room. The chapel is one of the oldest rooms in the house, alongside the Great Hall. It still has the original clock, a rare example from the Tudor period, still in operation today.

St. Thomas Becket, Woodland Chapel Cotehele

In the grounds of Cotehele, directly East of the House close to the River Tamar, lies a peaceful basic chapel. inside there are pews going around the walls, two minister's benches and a very ornate table. the patron saint of the chapel is St. Thomas Becket.

Primary school

Calstock Community Primary School was built in 1901 and opened on 6 January 1902. At that time the school consisted of just two main classrooms. It has since been extended with the addition of the infant suite which won an award for architectural design, in keeping with the remainder of the school. The centenary of the school was celebrated in the summer of 2002. In 2014 Stoke Climsland School federated with Calstock to pool resources. The vast majority of pupils continue their education at

Callington Community College Callington Community College is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form with academy status, in Callington Cornwall. The school was established between 1911 and 1914 on Launceston Road as a council building, with parts of that buildi ...

or Devonport High School for Boys / Girls.

Railway

East Cornwall Mineral Railway

The East Cornwall Mineral Railway was a gauge railway line, opened in 1872 to connect mines and quarries in the

Callington Callington ( kw, Kelliwik) is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston. Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had inc ...

and Gunnislake areas in east Cornwall with shipping at Calstock on the River Tamar. The line included a rope-worked incline to descend to the quay at Calstock. Wagons with goods from the mines around Gunnislake and

were brought down the hillside on a cable-worked incline with a gradient of 1 in 6 (17%). Following the opening of the LSWR mainline railway at nearby Bere Alston, a connecting line from there to Calstock was opened, and the existing line converted to

standard gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), International gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge and European gauge in Europe, and SGR in Ea ...

, opening throughout as a passenger line in 1908. When rural lines in the area were closed in the 1960s under the

Beeching Axe The Beeching cuts (also Beeching Axe) was a plan to increase the efficiency of the nationalised railway system in Great Britain. The plan was outlined in two reports: ''The Reshaping of British Railways'' (1963) and ''The Development of the ...

, a short section of the original ECMR line was retained to keep open a connection from

to Gunnislake, and that section remains open.

Calstock Viaduct

The viaduct is high with twelve wide arches, and a further small arch in the Calstock abutment. Three of the piers stand in the River Tamar, which is tidal at this point and has a minimum clearance at high tide of . It was built between 1904 and 1907 by John Lang of Liskeard using 11,148 concrete blocks. These were cast in a temporary yard on the Devon bank opposite the village. The engineers were Richard Church and

W. R. Galbraith William Robert Galbraith (7 July 1829 – 5 October 1914)Marshall, 2003 was a civil engineer in the United Kingdom during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was employed by the London and South Western Railway as a consulting engineer ...

. The viaduct was first crossed by truck on 8 August 1907 and first used by passengers on 2 March 1908. It is a

Grade II* listed 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 ...

structure.

Services

is served by trains on the Tamar Valley Line from to . Connections with main line services can be made at Plymouth, although a small number of Tamar Valley services continue to or from .

Literary associations

The poetry publisher Peterloo Poets, founded by Harry Chambers, was based in Calstock until it closed down in 2009. Peterloo Poets was formerly based at Liskeard. In 2010 Chambers was honoured for services to Poetry in the New Year Honours.

Local establishments

During Victorian times the parish had "13 churches and 13 taverns." Now the parish only has four churches and nine taverns, including the Tamar Inn, on Calstock Quay, which dates from the 17th century and was rumoured to be the haunt of smugglers and highwaymen, and the Boot Inn, in the centre of the village, built in the year 1666. Calstock has a

non-league football Non-League football describes football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is specifically used to de ...

club, playing in the second division of the

Duchy League The Duchy League is a football competition based in the eastern half of Cornwall, United Kingdom, but also includes a few sides from over the border in Devon. The League was formed in 1965 as a merger of the Liskeard & District League and the St. ...

. Their home ground is on Calstock Quay by the banks of the River Tamar. The club’s nickname, The Bees, and logo are derived from Cornwall‘s county colours of black and gold. The club is run by local volunteers and is sponsored by the Tamar Inn, also located on Calstock Quay.

Governance

In 1894 the parish was made its own rural district, ''

Calstock Rural District Calstock Rural District was a local government division of Cornwall in England, UK, between 1894 and 1934. Established under the Local Government Act 1894, the rural district was abolished in 1934, enlarging St Germans Rural District. During ...

'', at the time Calstock had a large population. In 1934 the rural district was abolished and amalgamated with Callington Urban District to form

St Germans Rural District St Germans Rural District was a local government division of Cornwall in England, UK, between 1894 and 1974. Established under the Local Government Act 1894, the rural district was enlarged in 1934 by the abolition of Callington Urban District ...

. Then in 1974 the

was amalgamated with

Liskeard Rural District Liskeard Rural District was a local government division of Cornwall in England, UK, between 1894 and 1974. Established under the Local Government Act 1894, the rural district was enlarged in 1934 by the abolition of Bodmin Rural District, as wel ...

to form

Caradon Caradon was a local government district in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It contained five towns: Callington, Liskeard, Looe, Saltash and Torpoint, and over 80 villages and hamlets within 41 civil parishes. Its District Council was based in Liskear ...

. In 2009 Caradon was abolished so that the whole of Cornwall was governed by one unitary authority, Cornwall Council.

Parish Council

Calstock Parish Council forms the lowest tier of local government. The parish council was established in 1934, after Calstock Rural District was amalgamated the parish with the Rural District of St Germans. Eighteen councillors are elected or co-opted from the five wards of the parish - Calstock,

Chilsworthy Chilsworthy is the name of two villages in south west England. One is on the Cornish side of the River Tamar, in the civil parish of Calstock, just upstream from Gunnislake The other is about 3 km north west of Holsworthy in Devon in the ...

, Delaware, Gunnislake and

. The council meets at the Tamar Valley Centre in Drakewalls.

Cornwall Council election, 2017

The 2017 Cornwall Council election was held on 4 May 2017 as part of the 2017 local elections in the United Kingdom 122 councilors were elected from the 121 electoral divisions of Cornwall Council.

Local heraldry

''For further reading consult;

Cornish heraldry Cornish heraldry is the form of coats of arms and other heraldic bearings and insignia used in Cornwall, United Kingdom. While similar to English, Scottish and Welsh heraldry, Cornish heraldry has its own distinctive features. Cornish heraldry ty ...

Twin towns

, Brittany

Places of interest

References

External links

Calstock Online Parish Clerk

Calstock History

Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Calstock
*Calstock Parish Church History, Rev Gordon Ruming {{authority control Calstock Civil parishes in Cornwall Manors in Cornwall Ports and harbours of Cornwall River Tamar Villages in Cornwall