Buildings at Risk
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One of the Cornish Buildings Group’s core objectives is to encourage the conservation of historic buildings in Cornwall, and as such we need to draw attention to buildings that are at in serious decay or at risk of loss. We have had a ‘risk list’ since 2014, when we set out our criteria for what we define is ‘at risk’.
In 2020 we started a three-year Historic England and Cornwall Heritage Trust grant-funded project to identify and campaign for Cornish buildings at risk. This funding supported a case officer – our ex-chairman Paul Holden - who has dedicated time to champion buildings at risk in the county. Paul has been working with people around the county to pull together a new list, or register, and also has set up a blog.
Below you will find our criteria and some examples of buildings on our Risk list.
Our definition of a Building at Risk
A building should be defined as 'at risk' if it is in poor repair and there is no realistic plan for repair and future use.
A building will be defined as in poor repair if it exhibits three or more of the following characteristics:
The roof is not weather tight.
Windows are boarded up or broken.
Gutters and rainwater goods are not functioning properly.
There are significant outbreaks of dry or wet rot.
The building is unoccupied or out of use.
Inappropriate alterations are proposed to the building.
An inappropriate use is proposed for the building.
The above criteria provide an objective basis for assessing a building’s status, but good judgement is always required. We will always recognise realistic plans of owners or others for repairing or restoring a buildings; such plans should be rigorous, prepared with appropriate expert input, have realistic timescales and properly costed and resourced.
Our register supplements Historic England's Heritage at Risk campaign, and also that of SAVE. A building does not have to be on the National Heritage List for England (statutorily listed) to be added to our register.
Below are a few examples of buildings on our current Buildings at Risk register
Built in 1843 to the designs of Dr Hocking in the Early English lancet style and extended in 1893 by J.W. Touson, the Church of St Paul is an interesting early Victorian Gothic church. The church was the gift of Rev. Henry Batten, curate of St Mary's, and built as a proprietary chapel for use by supporters of the Oxford Movement. The church closed in 2000 and was listed the following year.
It was recently (June 2020) announced in a Cornwall Live article that the church on Clarence Street in Penzance had been sold at auction for £112,000 - smashing its estimate of £50K - after the Duchy of Cornwall put it on the market. The article contains 40 photos of the interior of the church, showing its perilous condition but also its marvellously-unusual roof structure and good fittings and stained glass. This and subsequent sales have fallen through, but it was sold again at auction in May 2023.
There will be challenges ahead for the building - how it can be repaired, used / converted, maintained and respected - and we will be monitoring progress and providing updates as and when we can.
Lamb & Flag smelting house, Canon’s Town, St Erth
Next to the Lamb & Flag pub on the A30 west of Hayle stands this early-C19 smelting works; the pub name refers to the symbol of purity stamped into tin ingots at the works. This building has been a concern for the CBG Council for many years, and recently has deteriorated even further.
Established as ‘Treloth’ in around 1715 and one of the first smelting houses to use reverbatory furnaces, the smelter was rebuilt in 1825 and extended shortly after. It was one of the most important smelting centres until 1840 but was closed in 1883.
Despite putting pressure on Cornwall Council to enforce repair on the building’s owners in spring 2018, the CBG Council are not aware of any progress being made to stabilise the structure. The building has deteriorated badly since, and we will continue to monitor the situation.
For many years the Cornish Buildings Group has grown increasingly concerned about the condition of the smithy building at Wheal Busy in Chacewater. The Grade II-listed structure stands separately from the scheduled parts of the mine - to its east, south and west - but all are located within the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site. The Smithy has an extensive scantle-slate roof and impressive cast iron lintels over its two main entrances, made by the Perran Foundry. The building owes much of its form to a major reworking of the mine in the 1870s and the lintels proclaim the title: ‘Great Wheal Busy Mines 1872’.It is thought to be the largest historic blacksmiths shop on a metalliferous mine in Britain.
The Wheal Busy engine house was successfully restored in 2014, and the WHS has prioritised Wheal Busy Smithy as a conservation project since that time. In early 2019 we were thrilled to hear that the Smithy was approved for £1m in funding from the Highways England A30 Environmental Designated Funds.
We understand that listed building consent for the refurbishment of the Smithy including internal and external stabilisation had been granted at the end of 2019, but with the Covid-19 restrictions works were delayed. We will monitor the situation and provide updates where possible.
For more information about Wheal Busy you can read the scheduled monument description here.
Photos May 2020 courtesy Terry Knight on a lockdown walk!
This Grade II-listed former carpenter's shop in Telegraph Street, St Day, has been disused for many many years and has been boarded up for some of this time. The rare windows with vertical mullions and vertical glazing bars with random panes between have not been painted for a while; as the timber is softwood it needs to be painted regularly as does the weatherboarding between the floor levels. On close inspection there is obvious deterioration of the timber. The adjoining cottage to the left was renovated some time ago and appears to be occupied. The carpenter's shop is possibly the best example of this building type in Cornwall. We would recommend that it is maintained and cared for as soon as possible.
Church refurbished by J.D. Sedding. Serious structural cracking to the tower has rendered the church redundant and is now on the open market. The changing nature of the Tregolls Road in Truro has long been a concern of this Group, the loss of this important perpendicular style church would negatively affect the character of this conservation area.
NEWS (Jan 2020) St Paul's remains on the market after last year it was announced that it will cost £4 million to make the tower safe. We will continue to monitor the future of this important building.
Please sign our online petition to save this building from the wreckers ball. Please sign here
A four storey mill, once water driven steam powered, has been vacant for many years and is on the SAVE Heritage at Risk register . Various schemes have been put forward to convert to residential use. The Buildings Preservation Trust has been involved in discussions and feasibility studies over its future.
In January 2023 it was reported that the building was being converted into affordable housing. Updates as we have them.