Coastguard look-out tower and landmark 240m north of Portreath Harbour

Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places

Overview

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1005456
Date first listed:: 12-May-1973

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Official list entry

Heritage Category:: Scheduled Monument
List Entry Number:: 1005456
Date first listed:: 12-May-1973
Location Description:: Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details.

Location

The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

District:: Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
Parish:: Portreath
National Grid Reference:: SW 65508 45637

Reasons for Designation

The Coastguard look-out tower and landmark 240m north of Portreath Harbour survives well and is an intriguing structure perched on steep cliffs and clearly visible from both land and sea. It was used for navigation by shipping and as a shelter for the watching Coastguards on land. It has been misidentified in the past as a true lighthouse although the watchmen may have signalled from the cliffs with torches or lanterns. It clearly has social, political and economic importance as part of national protection for shipping and for guarding against smuggling.

Details

The monument includes a coastguard look-out tower, situated on the northern tip of cliffs, to the north of Portreath Harbour south of Horse Rock coastal stack. The tower survives as tapering circular stone-built structure with a blocked doorway. There is a decorative finial for a weathervane on the conical stone roof. The tower stands to a height of approximately 7.6m and is painted white. Built in the late-18th or early-19th century as a landmark for mineral ships, it is known locally by several names including 'the Landmark', 'The Lighthouse' and 'The Pepper-pot'. A notice over the doorway reads 'HM Coastguard Board of Trade'. It is recorded in 1830 as 'Coast Guard Watch House'.

Sources: HER:- PastScape Monument No:-426076

Legacy

The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system.

Legacy System number:: CO 914
Legacy System:: RSM - OCN

Legal

This monument is scheduled under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979 as amended as it appears to the Secretary of State to be of national importance. This entry is a copy, the original is held by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.