TWO west Cornwall buildings have been included in Historic England's list of remarkable buildings.
St John the Baptist Church in Pendeen and the Tidal Observatory in Newlyn are in the 23-strong list.
They form Historic England’s highlights of 23 remarkable buildings and 900 places that have been listed or upgraded this year, including 638 war memorials in this centenary year.
Michael Ellis, Heritage Minister said: “Our historic buildings and places help us to make sense of our past and to understand the world we live in today. Protecting our heritage ensures that future generations can enjoy, and learn about, our rich history and I am pleased to see that a large number of important places have been added to the National Heritage List in 2018.”
St John the Baptist Church, boundary walls, vicarage and school, Pendeen, Cornwall
The parish of Pendeen in Cornwall was established in 1846, and its first vicar, Reverend Robert Aitken, was tasked to provide a church for the community.
Aitken was renowned for his unusual preaching style and this was deemed to be well-suited to pull people away from the dominance of Methodism in the county’s mining communities. Aitken took it upon himself to design the church, the neighbouring vicarage and school, using local materials. Many of the fixtures and fittings were also made by local craftspeople, and Aitken donated his own collection of 16th century and 17th century Flemish and German glass roundels to enhance the windows.
From 1850 until 1852, the predominantly-mining community worked to quarry stone from Carn Earnes, the hill above the church, in order to build the church and its boundary walls.
Further fittings were added to the church, as in 1986 when a timber font cover with symbols of Cornwall’s industries, including a hidden ice cream cone representing tourism, was installed. Although there was a growth in tourism to the county at this time, the main industries in Cornwall were fishing and mining. This is possibly why the ice cream cone symbol was hidden, as tourism was yet to be recognised as a major industry in Cornwall. The castellated boundary walls surrounding the churchyard and cemetery, described by John Betjeman as ‘like a toy fort’, are an astonishing piece of architecture in this remote setting in west Cornwall.
Tidal Observatory, Newlyn, Cornwall
The fishing industry in Newlyn on the south coast of Cornwall expanded in the 1880s, resulting in the construction of a new harbour and two piers. In the early 20th century, the south pier was extended to give better protection to the harbour and a tidal observatory was built at its north end. The observatory was one of three constructed at the request of Ordnance Survey to establish Mean Sea Level.
With the observatory being completed in 1914, hourly measurements were taken of the height of the tide between 1915 and 1921, determining that Newlyn was the most stable and therefore the principal place to establish Mean Sea Level for the entire country. Over the next 100 years, the observatory contributed key tidal data to studies in oceanography, geology and climate change.
Today, all heights on Ordnance Survey maps are referenced to a brass bolt within the observatory, 4.75m above Mean Sea Level - also known as Ordnance Datum Newlyn. The Ordnance Survey gave up responsibility for the tidal observatory in 1983, but it continues to be used for scientific tidal measurements, particularly for guiding climate change and coastal management studies.
Duncan Wilson, Chief Executive of Historic England added: “Historic England ensures that England’s most significant places are protected and 2018 has seen some remarkable ones added to the List. From an old lifeboat house in Essex to a former railway station in Otterington to the Cock sign in Sutton high street, our fascinating history and heritage is celebrated through listing. We encourage people to understand and enjoy the wonderful range of historic places on their own doorsteps and by listing them we are protecting them for future generations.”
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