Holidays B&B stays in Charlestown
holidays near Charlestown Harbour
Charlestown is a Georgian port remaining relatively unspoilt and undeveloped reflecting how many West Country ports and fishing coves looked prior to development being one of the finest late 18th and early 19th century industrial harbour sites in the country.
Built for Charles Rashleigh, the port represents a rare example of a mineral port with it's own defences and is one of the best preserved china clay and copper ore ports of it's period anywhere in the world which is why it is now being protected by WORLD HERITAGE STATUS.
By 1867 Charlestown had a respectable population. Sailors were also catered for at houses of ill repute known to this day as "eleven doors". Smuggling was at it's peak between 1700 and 1850. Men known as "free traders" supplied every item. They would drop brandy kegs over the side to be recovered later (this was known as "saving the crop").
The Pier House Hotel in Charlestown
Retired / Suspended Page
Holidays and Bed and Breakfast in Charlestown
Overlooking Charlestown Harbour - sea views
In 1993 the harbour was purchased by Square Sail Shipyard and became the home of the tall ships which are used for many films, including:
- Moll Flanders
- Return to Treasure Island
- The Eagle Has Landed
- Shackleton's Endurance
- Frenchman's Creek
- Odyssey
- The Onedin Line
- The Three Musketeers
- Mansfield Park
- Longitude
- A Respectable Trade
- Rebecca
To name but a few. The ships are also used as training
ships and can be chartered for sailing trips.
At the beginning of the 18th century china clay was found in Cornwall. The roads were inadequate and the railways non-existent until the latter half of the 19th century. So with the construction of the Charlestown harbour by Charles Rashleigh it became the only shipping outlet for the St Austell area. In the year of 1876 Charlestown shipped over 34,000 tons of clay and china stone for foreign and domestic parts. The last China clay shipment from Charlestown was on the M.V Ellen on 13th December 1999.
The history of the port together with the new heritage status can only enhance the attraction of visiting the port .
Situated on the South West coastal path you can take a stroll over the cliff tops to Porthpean Beach and village or to Carlyon Bay in the opposite direction. Charlestown beaches are a pebbles throw from the hotel where swimming is safe and at low tide children can enjoy exploring the many rock pools.
Holidays B&B stays Cornish Cottages Cottages in Charlestown and the Local Area
