Helston Castle

Has been described as a Possible Timber Castle (Other/Unknown), and also as a Possible Masonry Castle, and also as a Possible Fortified Manor House

There are no visible remains

NameHelston Castle
Alternative Names
Historic CountryCornwall
Modern AuthorityCornwall
1974 AuthorityCornwall
Civil ParishHelston

The site of Helston Castle, probably a fortified manor house, is now occupied by the Bowling Green. It was in use in the late C12 but is otherwise unrecorded (Henderson). The castle was erected by Edmund Earl of Cornwall (1272-1300) and in 1478 is described by William of Worcester as being in ruins. Leland also saw traces of the castle, and the traditional site as marked on the OS 25" is probably accurate and is the obvious one for a medieval structure (Toy). The castle may have been more a defensive structure than a manorial one since the traditional site commands the valley, the river approach and the river crossing, and Toy mentions that there was a bridge across the Cober at St Johns in medieval times. No trace of the castle remains (Field Investigators Comments F1 NVQ 11-JAN-72). (PastScape)

Gatehouse Comments

Helston was a significant borough, one of the five Stannary Towns. It had a jail (presumably the castle) and was a place where rents were collected (including rents in the form of beer) so a safehouse for these rents and taxes would have been needed. The record of use in the C12 by Henderson implies an earlier, presumably timber, castle in the town rebuilt in stone in the late C13. The comment by NVQ (presumably Norman V Quinnell) about this being a defensive structure rather than 'manorial' may be a response to Henderson description of the site as a 'fortified manor house'. More of an administrative centre than a domestic house, particularly if it was used as a jail, so not a fortified manor house but a castle, although probably quite small.

- Philip Davis

Not scheduled

Not Listed

Historic England (PastScape) Defra or Monument number(s)
County Historic Environment Record
OS Map Grid ReferenceSW656273
Latitude50.1002502441406
Longitude-5.27798986434937
Eastings165650
Northings27390
HyperLink HyperLink HyperLink

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Books

  • Higham, Robert A., 1999, 'Castles, Fortified Houses and Fortified Towns in the Middle Ages' in Kain, R. and Ravenhill, W., Historical Atlas of South-West England (University of Exeter Press) p. 136-43
  • Salter, Mike, 1999, The Castles of Devon and Cornwall (Malvern: Folly Publications) p. 21
  • King, D.J.C., 1983, Castellarium Anglicanum (London: Kraus) Vol. 1 p. 77 (vanished)
  • Henderson, Charles (edited by Rowse, A.L. and Henderson, M.I.), 1963 (original written 1935), Essays in Cornish history (Clarendon Press) p. 71
  • Toy, H.S., 1936, History of Helston (London) p. 398-9
  • Harvey, Alfred, 1911, Castles and Walled Towns of England (London: Methuen and Co)
  • Mackenzie, J.D., 1896, Castles of England; their story and structure (New York: Macmillan) Vol. 2 p. 3-4 online copy

Antiquarian

  • Chandler, John, 1993, John Leland's Itinerary: travels in Tudor England  (Sutton Publishing) p. 70, 84
  • Toulmin-Smith, Lucy (ed), 1907, The itinerary of John Leland in or about the years 1535-1543 (London: Bell and Sons) Vol. 1 p. 194, 321 online copy
  • Harvey, J.H. (ed), 1969, Itineraries (of) William Worcestre (Clarendon Press) p. 20

Journals

  • Preston-Jones, Ann and Rose, Peter, 1986, 'Medieval Cornwall' Cornish Archaeology Hendhyscans Kernow Vol. 25 p. 135-185 online copy

Other

  • Stephanie Russell, December 2002, Cornwall & Scilly Urban Survey: Helston (Cornwall County Council) Download copy
  • Henderson, C., 1914, Notebooks of Parochial Antiquities. MS At RIC. VOL I, 182