RNLI Collection Box
Porthgwarra, St. Levan, Penzance, TR19 6JR
Listed on the National Heritage List for England. Search over 400,000 listed places
Overview
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1422554
- Date first listed:
- 31-Oct-2014
- List Entry Name:
- RNLI Collection Box
- Statutory Address:
- Porthgwarra, St. Levan, Penzance, TR19 6JR
Location
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Discover moreOfficial list entry
- Heritage Category:
- Listed Building
- Grade:
- II
- List Entry Number:
- 1422554
- Date first listed:
- 31-Oct-2014
- List Entry Name:
- RNLI Collection Box
- Statutory Address 1:
- Porthgwarra, St. Levan, Penzance, TR19 6JR
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
The scope of legal protection for listed buildings
This List entry helps identify the building designated at this address for its special architectural or historic interest.
Unless the List entry states otherwise, it includes both the structure itself and any object or structure fixed to it (whether inside or outside) as well as any object or structure within the curtilage of the building.
For these purposes, to be included within the curtilage of the building, the object or structure must have formed part of the land since before 1st July 1948.
Location
- Statutory Address:
- Porthgwarra, St. Levan, Penzance, TR19 6JR
The building or site itself may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.
- District:
- Cornwall (Unitary Authority)
- Parish:
- St. Levan
- National Grid Reference:
- SW3713221741
Summary
A Royal National Lifeboat Institute collection box of early-C20 date.
Reasons for Designation
The RNLI collection box at Porthgwarra, probably of inter-war date, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
* Rarity and survival: a remarkably well-preserved charity collection box at a coastal location, few of which were built as permanent fixtures;
* Architectural interest: a good example of quality foundry craftsmanship to a handsome design;
* Historic interest: indicative of the once thriving fishing industry at Porthgwarra and the bravery of RNLI volunteers.
History
A small-scale fishing industry in Porthgwarra is recorded in Elizabethan times, with a permanent community having become established by the mid-C19. Porthgwarra means ‘higher cove’ in Cornish. A handful of families gradually moved to the cove and began to build the structures necessary to live and work. Some of the earliest buildings are Rowe’s Cottages, listed at Grade II, dating from the mid-C19. Further buildings and structures with domestic and industrial functions continued to be built until the early C20.
The slipway is the dominant feature of the cove, providing a route from the hamlet to the beach. The RNLI collection box stands beside the top of the slipway. It is not shown on any historic maps and the Ordnance Survey Map of 1908 shows the adjacent slipway on a different alignment to its current position. It is therefore likely that the collection box was installed after this date, possibly when the slipway was reconfigured. Its construction of cast iron makes it unlikely to be of later than 1930s date.
Details
A Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) collection box, of uncertain but possibly inter-war date.
The box is constructed of cast iron, square on plan, and approximately 1m in height. At the base is a mounded plinth. Above, the box has a decorative round-headed panel to each side. The side facing south is a door with keyhole for emptying the contents. The box has angled corners and above is a moulded octagonal cap with a central dome on an octagonal plinth. The box is painted in the colours of the RNLI. It stands on a granite slab by a rubble stone wall.
Legal
This building is listed under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.
Map
This map is for quick reference purposes only and may not be to scale. This copy shows the entry on 04-Jun-2026 at 01:21:13.
Download a full scale map (PDF)© Crown copyright [and database rights] 2026. OS AC0000815036. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900.© British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2026. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006.
End of official list entry