Charlestown History Group

Tickets for St Piran’s Event

5th March 2026

Upcoming Events

After some 150 years, the Charlestown Battery has now been equipped with a pair of replica 24 pounder Blomefield Cannons, each about 10 feet long, to demonstrate clearly the original purpose of the Battery.  In the late eighteenth century when Charles Rashleigh created the Harbour, the Napoleonic wars were threatening our coast, and he built the Battery to ensure that the Harbour would be protected against invasion. The armament evolved gradually to include heavier guns, manned by the Charlestown Militia, and these new cannons faithfully reflect the reality that Rashleigh had faced when he first planned his unique harbour.

This new project, first envisaged in 2008 in discussion with Richard Larn, a well regarded Charlestown historian, was finally enabled when an order was placed last year with Irons Brothers Foundry at Wadebridge, and the finished products were recently delivered to Messrs. Macsalvors Plant Hire for eventual delivery and installation.  In order to reach the site, the cannons first had to be offloaded onto a tractor and trailer with the kind assistance of farmer Anthony Hart, so that they could be moved up through the farm fields to reach the Battery. The installation process itself was complicated, because the cannons and their carriages each weigh about 4 tons, and had to be lifted clear above the Battery Wall, a Grade II listed building. 

Andy Trudgian, Chairman of the Charlestown History Group said “I feel privileged to have played a part in this project, and to see a pair of cannons back within the walls of the gun battery. On behalf of all those who have an interest in local history, I’d like to thank the Atalaya Trust for this commitment that enables visitors to easily understand the vital defensive role the battery played in the early success of Charlestown.”  

Chairman of Trustees, Ali Browning, greatly appreciated the huge amount of co-operation received from the Charlestown Harbour team, Macalvors, Cornwall Council, Councillor James Mustoe, Cormac Countryside Rangers, Farmer Antony Hart, the Charlestown History Group and Irons Brothers, all helping to bring this important project to a successful and lasting conclusion.

The White Ensign deployed for ‘Installation Day’ is an original Naval flag, kindly lent for the occasion from His Majesty’s Naval Base at Devonport.        

The following is in response to recent posts on Facebook.

The Charlestown History Group is proud of the role it has played in securing the most important historical items relating to Charlestown from the closure sale of the Shipwreck and Treasure Museum. With the support of the Parish Council, the items are now safe, under conservation, in public ownership and on display in the village.

Whilst a better outcome might have been for more items to have been saved from sale, the current outcome was the ONLY realistic option. There was no sensible alternative and without intervention from the Charlestown History Group, the objects would have been lost.

The recent comments intimated that the History Group somehow sabotaged an alternative solution for the artefacts. This is not so and it is a fact that the objects would never have been given either to an individual or another organisation with unclear aims and without any realistic future plan for the preservation and protection of the artifacts.

It is most disappointing that in the recent post there is the intimation that members of the Charlestown History Group are people with questionable aims and/or no real historical interest in the village. This is not so and disingenuous to our membership who put in many hours of voluntary work for the benefit of Charlestown’s history.

Please have a look at our website – www.charlestownhistorygroup.com – to see what we do and the practical contribution we have made and continue to make to better Charlestown’s history. We are also usually at the Pattern Hall on Friday mornings between 10 and 12 or Monday afternoons between 2 and 4  and you are welcome to pop in and see what we do.

Statement from the Charlestown History Group (CHG) regarding the sale of the Shipwreck and Treasure Museum, Charlestown.

The CHG is hopeful that the museum is sold as a going concern and remains an attraction in our beautiful and historic village.

If this is not possible, we wish to assure the public and interested persons that we are in active discussions with all relevant parties to ensure the safety of historical objects important to Charlestown.

Our goal is to keep these items in the village, in community ownership, and accessible to all. As a community group with an established public archive and with the discussions held so far, the CHG is already in a very good position to achieve this.

The strong support of the community will certainly be needed going forward. If after further discussions it subsequently becomes necessary we will look to launch a public funding campaign later in September.

In the meantime, if you wish to register your current and/or future support to the protection of Charlestown’s history, please comment on this post; send us an email and/or join our Facebook page where you can keep up with developments.

facebook.com/charlestownhistory

curator@charlestownhistorygroup.com

charlestownhistorygroup.com

Charlestown Hostory Group’s latest practical project is unveiled this spring in the form of a new history trail around the village.

Set up with the assistance of the Parish Council, the interactive trail consists of two main introduction/orientation boards along with smaller signs showing QR codes at key points around the village where more historical information can be obtained using a smart phone.

It is hoped that the new trails will be a very accessable way for everyone to get more information about Charlestown’s fascinating history.

In November, close to the birthday of Charles Rashleigh, we joined forces with our friends at St Austell Old Cornwall Society to erect a new plaque on the wall of High Cross cemetery in St Austell . Now positioned close to his actual burial spot it is in addition to his original tomb top stone which is now faded and stands a good distance away.

After a short ceremony, the over 40 people who attended, included Charles’s great granddaughter and great nephew, retired for refreshements at the White Hotel, Rashleigh’s original residence before he built Duporth House.

The Group has also been busy, in partnership, with the Parish Council on a new self-guided history trail around the harbour. New map boards and a QR code system will soon be going up to guide visitors around the village and allow anyone to find out more about Charlestown’s fascinating history.

Our final act for the 2023 Rashleigh bicentennial celebrations is the inclusion of Charles Rashleigh’s life story within the trail so that his legacy will be permanently available for all to see when visiting the village he created.

17th November. Charles Rashleigh’s Birthday. Flag flying today, and all this weekend at the Gun Battery to celebrate the 276th Birthday of Charlestown’s Founder.

In time for St Piran’s Day and to launch a year of events to celebrate the bicentennial of Charles Rashleigh’s death, a St Piran’s flag was hoisted up the new flagpole high above Charlestown at a special and historic ceremony on Saturday 4th March 2023.

The flag raising marked the end of a two year project by the Charlestown History Group to put a flagpole back at Charlestown’s Gun Battery on the the western cliffs overlooking the village. The flagpole replaces the one originally installed in the mid 1790s when Crinnis Cliff Artillery Volunteers were formed and which has been lost for over 100 years.

As well as a new flagpole, the Charlestown History Group has undertaken extensive improvement works on the Battery site, clearing invasive vegetation, habitat improvment and protecting the historic structures for the future.

The Gun Battery along with the port of Charlestown itself was built with the vision and fortitude of Charles Rashleigh. 2023 marks 200 years since his death and the flag raising lauches a year of events to commerate Charlestown’s founder.

The work at the Battery has been a true community project and it is hoped it will be the catalyst for further improvements to the site so that more people can know of its history and it can be protected for the future.

If you’d like to join us and help in this and the other work of the Charlestown History Group, you can do so by visting our get involved page.

A flag will fly from the flagpole on a few special occasions a year and members of the public will also be able to request, in return for a donation towards history group’s funds, a flag to be flown to mark their pecial occasion. Perhaps to celebrate a birthday or in memory of a loved one. More information of flag raising for your occasion can be found on our flag page.

The earliest known image of Charlestown from circa 1800 showing a flag flying from the Gun Battery. The Charlestown History Group is very proud to announce that our project to put back a flagpole at this location is nearing completion. Invitations to the first flag raising ceremony have gone out this weekend to all those who have been involved. Our sincere thanks to you all and we look forward to sharing with you what will surely be an historic milestone in Charlestown’s history. (Credits & Thanks: #Charlestown History Group. CHG/SM1146/P1874). @charlestownhistory #charlestownhistorygroup