St Mawes Castle

-The 1540s

After Henry VIII broke with the Holy Roman Church, the climate was politically volatile. England faced new threats in its isolation, especially in face of a French and Spanish alliance. 

In response, Henry VII issued a Device (Act) in 1539, which embarked on a coastal defence plan that was astonishing for its time to protect and fortify the South and East coasts.

The Fal Estuary was one of the areas that the invading enemies might find a foothold to attack England. The ambition of this coastal defence program was staggering, with St Mawes being just one of 30 new fortifications planned to defend the English coast. 

Henry first commissioned a smaller, temporary fort of two stories before beginning the current stone fort we see today. Sir Thomas Treffrey oversaw the construction of the four-story central tower with extensive artillery on the upper floors.

Below the tower, they built three bastions, each with upper and lower floor gun facilities. A dry ditch protected the fort from a landward attack.

-1545

Builders completed the fort in autumn 1545 at a quite considerable sum for the time of £5,018. St Mawes Castle worked in tandem with the sister fort Pendennis Castle to protect the Carricks Roads and Fal Estuary. 

Their strategic positioning ensured crossfires that covered the anchorage and guarded the Carrick Road. The castle held heavy artillery designed to sink ships, and a smaller blockhouse at sea level supported the castle itself. 

-1558

While the fears of French invasion never materialised, the Spanish threat of invasion grew more likely. When war broke out in 1578, Elizabeth I set to strengthen St Mawes Castle with a 100 man garrison and additional artillery.

Fears grew after a Spanish armada was narrowly averted by inclement weather and prompt English attack. The Crown built two earth and timber bastions from the castle, eventually becoming the primary castle batteries.

-1596

The Spanish prepared to invade England, and Falmouth as their chosen point of entry. Inclement weather again diverted the Spanish attack, and after Elizabeth’s death, James I made peace with Spain. 

However, the Crown still added two earthworks bastions to the castle to counter the outdated Tudor design in 1623.

-1642 

During the English Civil between Parliament and Charles I, St Mawes formed part of the Royalist stronghold. The castle protected the vital supply routes to the continent, and Carrick Roads formed the base of Royalist privacy in the English Channel. 

-1646

After successive Parliamentarian victories, Sir Thomas Fairfax entered Cornwall with a substantial army. The captain of St Mawes, Major Hannibal Bonython, surrendered without resistance. Some historians speculate that the quick surrender may have been due to the captain of St Mawes parliamentarian sympathies rather than the generous surrender terms. 

The parliamentarians took the ammunition from St Mawes and used them against Pendennis Castle that fell later in the year. 

-1660

St Mawes castle remained under parliamentarian control under Captain George Kekewich, but it dwindled to a small garrison. At the ascension of Charles II in 1660, Royalist Richard Vyvyan took the captaincy over 13 men. The captaincy fell to his son Vyel Vyvyan who died without heirs, and John Granville Earl of Bath bought the castle lands.

-1714

Historical records refer to the castle as being in good condition after its continued use under successive captains.

-1775 

Britain fell to war with France, and once again, St Mawes provided a solid defence to Falmouth. Local militia occupied the site, and the castle housed over 30 pieces of heavy artillery. However, in 1797 an ordinance only found one 24 pounder gun serviceable.

-1815

After the threat of Napoleonic wars subsided, the castle fell back into a ‘care and maintenance’ capacity, although it remained occupied. 

-1849 

The Tudor role of captaincy was dissolved at the death of the final office holder, Sir George Nugent. The command of the castle fell to a regular military appointment. As Falmouth became a leading site of transatlantic trade, the caste role once again increased in importance.

-1850

Under threat from France, and the new advances in ironclad warships necessitated a castle artillery overhaul. The military built a new Grand Sea Battery and magazine under that’s linked to the castle by deep passages and 64-pounder muzzleloader guns. 

-1880s

Fresh fear of French attack prompted the English to create an electrically operated minefield across Carrick Roads in 1885, operated from St Mawes and Pendennis. 

Several contact mines forced ships to sail alongside St Mawes with illumination and quicker firing guns to replace the old 64-pounder artillery. They built an additional battery above the castle to house the quicker firing weaponry.  

-1905

Military review of St Mawes defences found the castle redundant, and they moved the weaponry to Pendennis and St Anthony battery. In the first world war, the castle served as a barracks. 

-1920

The Office of Works took custody of the castle, which they then opened to the public as a tourist destination.

-1939

The Second World War saw St Mawes once again occupied by the British Army. In 1941 the 173 Coast Battery installed a new twin six-pounder battery northwest of the castle and anti-aircraft guns. A 115 man garrison lived in a local Nissan hut while the remainder lived in the barracks. 

-1943

The British Army installed rapid-fire artillery to tackle German E-boats, which they controlled by radar. These defences provided vital protection to the military vessels assembled in Falmouth harbour, ready for the D-Day Normandy invasion. 

-1956

The British Army removed St Mawes from active military function, and the castle reopened to the public.

-Today

English Heritage operates the castle site, and it's a scheduled monument.