St Mawes Castle
Following an incident in the 16th Century involving French and Spanish ships in Falmouth Bay, King Henry VIII decided that the coast of Cornwall urgently needed defending from invasion. During the 1540s two key forts were built at either side of Falmouth Bay along the Cornish Coast; Pendennis Castle and St Mawes Castle.
The building of St Mawes Castle cost £5,000 and took five years to complete. The castle is one of the best preserved of King Henry VIII’s forts, consisting of a central circular keep surrounded by three bastions facing the sea. The castle has a central rounded tower with three lower bastions that give the castle the appearance of a shamrock leaf when viewed from the air.
However St Mawes had no landward defences and the main entrance was on the landinward side, an issue that was forced during the Civil War when the Royalist governor of the castle surrendered without a single shot being fired.
St Mawes Castle was continually used as a military installation right up until World War II and remains in a remarkably preserved state. The walls have been little changed and few modifications have been made to the original structure, leaving a truly historic monument to Tudor military architecture.
This attraction is included in the Great British Heritage Pass.
