St Mawes Castle

St Mawes Castle stands on the eastern shore of the Carrick Roads waterway in Cornwall, built between 1540 and 1542 under Henry VIII. It was designed as an artillery fort with a clover-leaf shape, a four-storey central tower and three round bastions for gun platforms. The castle was armed with 19 artillery pieces to defend against enemy ships, working with its sister castle Pendennis across the estuary. Thomas Treffry directed its construction, and the total cost reached £5,018. The castle’s carved decorations include sea monsters and gargoyles from the 16th century. The fort played a key role during times of conflict, including the English Civil War when it was held by Royalists before surrendering in 1646. By the 18th and 19th centuries it remained in use, later becoming a barracks and equipped with modern gun batteries in the 1850s. An electrically operated minefield was laid across the River Fal in the 1880s and 1890s, controlled from St Mawes. The historian Paul Pattison has called it “arguably the most perfect survivor of all Henry’s forts.” Visitors today find a well-preserved clover-leaf fort with its central tower and bastions still standing. The elaborate 16th-century carvings remain visible on the walls and gun platforms. The castle overlooks the wide anchorage of Carrick Roads, offering views across the water to Pendennis Castle. Inside, rooms show how soldiers lived and worked, with displays of historic artillery and garrison life. The site is managed by English Heritage and recognised as a scheduled monument and Grade I listed building.