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antonia's pearls

the village of charlestown

the world heritage organisation says
charlestown is the best preserved china clay and copper
georgian port in the world, with fine examples of vernacular
architecture, nearly all buildings listed grade II and a picturesque
harbour, it remains relatively unspoilt to this day.

conde nast traveller says
picturesque and pristine, charlestown is one of
cornwall’s most beautiful and unspoiled historic ports.
originally built in the georgian period to ship copper,
today the grade II listed 18th century harbour
instead transports visitors back in time.
the harbour conjures images of a bygone era.
It’s little wonder the photogenic harbour
is eternally popular with film and television crews
( poldark, alice in wonderland )
looking to capture the rugged romance of old-world cornwall.
coffee shops and cafés are dotted around the village.

we say ...
built in the late 1700s the tiny harbour village of
charlestown is largely unchanged and has been granted
UNESCO world heritage status.
the beaches either side of the quay are so close a toddler can
make it. charlestown is approximately 10 minutes from both the
eden project and the lost gardens of heligan.

it is also ideally situated for visiting the maritime
museum at falmouth and the tate at st ives.
the airport at newquay and our closest surfing beach,
watergate bay, are both a 35 minute drive
and it is a 10 minute taxi ride from the main line train station.

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It is an easy stroll to the restaurant, the pub,
the wine bar, the cafe, the art gallery, the antiques shop
and it is a 10 minute walk to the supermarket.

david and antonia have sensitively restored
from the ground up marine villa
the sea cabin, the sail loft and the pearl

self to fully catered, food from our kitchen to order
restaurants within toddler distance and spa at home
luxury in absolute privacy,
and on a stormy night
the waves might just lull you to sleep.

a little bit of history

in the 1750's, the royal society recommended
smeaton to build a lighthouse for the
eddystone rocks, the fearsome
submerged rocks off plymouth

smeaton put granite blocks together using
dovetail joints and marble dowels and
rediscovered the use of hydraulic lime,
a form of concrete that sets under water,
last used by the romans

in the 1780's, when charles rashleigh wanted
to build a harbour in the tiny fishing village
of polmear for the export of copper
he asked smeaton

smeaton used the same construction
techniques for charlestown harbour's cats paw
at the end of the harbour arm

the harbour was finished in the 1790's,
the villagers asked if they could rename
the village charles' town.