Welcome

Since 1969 the aims of the Cornish Buildings Group have been to stimulate interest, appreciation and knowledge of good building in Cornwall, and to encourage the erection, protection, repair and recording of such buildings.

Like any amenities group, we depend on numbers, strength and support of our membership, who provide the force and knowledge that have made us effective for over fifty years.

We encourage the protection and repair of historic buildings whether these are listed buildings or simply good examples of traditional building. We aim to encourage good architecture and to raise the general standard of building throughout the county. We hope that our generation may leave behind it buildings which will be looked back on with that same pleasure and enjoyment that we experience when we look at the architecture of past ages.

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NEWS

VACANCIES ON CBG COUNCIL

The Cornish Buildings Group is urgently seeking volunteers to fill two roles which are crucial to our activities: a membership secretary and an awards co-ordinator. Both will be invited to be a member of the CBG Council and join our meetings once a month, but this is not compulsory. Full details are below.

If you are interested in either role, please email us and your enquiry will be passed on to the Chairman, Dr Patrick Newberry, who will contact you directly.

Role profile: CBG Membership Secretary

The role of the Membership Secretary is to run the CBG’s joining process and membership records, working with the CBG Treasurer and CBG Secretary to ensure that we have an up-to-date record of members and their contact details, and that we collect subscriptions efficiently and effectively. The membership records are maintained on a simple Excel spreadsheet, and communications about membership are generally by email. The Membership Secretary has an important part to play in welcoming new members, and the role is a good way of getting to know members of the Group. Full training will be given on the processes we currently use to collect subscriptions, but we are always open to new ideas and ways to increase our membership.

Please note that as such any membership application received since the end of June and until we fill the post will not be formally acknowledged. Please send applications to our usual CBG email address CBGenquiries@gmail.com from where confirmation of receipt will be given and your details added to our mailing list - a formal welcome from our new Membership Secretary will follow in due course.

Role profile: CBG Awards Co-ordinator

The 'Oscars' of building awards in Cornwall, the CBG Awards are respected and desirable recognitions of achievement, with entries from private individuals and architectural practices. The role of the Awards Co-ordinator is to run the Scheme, the component parts of which are:

Launching the scheme in December each year, and sending invitations to potential entrants including architects, property owners, builders and other craftspeople;
Facilitating the CBG Council, who act as the judging panel, as it shortlists entries;
Arranging visits to the shortlisted entries;
Informing entrants of the judges' decisions;
Organising the Awards presentation evening.

The Awards Co-ordinator will be required to attend the shortlisting meeting, judging days, and the Awards ceremony; these usually occur in June and July. For somebody interested in new building design and historic building conservation this role is a great opportunity to study Cornwall’s best architecture, new and old, and to ensure that the best examples are properly recognised and rewarded.

We also have a couple of general vacancies on the CBG Council, so if you have a skill to share and would like to join us, please do get in touch.

CORNISH BUILDINGS GROUP AWARDS 2026

Judging for this year's awards has now taken place, and the results can be found here on our website.

THE FORMER GANGES RESTAURANT, 18 CHAPEL STREET, PENZANCE

Following objections from us, the Georgian Group and others, Cornwall Council refused the application to demolish, citing failure to provide sufficient information and evidence, including an adequate Heritage Impact Assessment and up to date structural report to justify the total loss of the Grade II listed building. It was also noted that the application had not demonstrated that total loss is necessary to achieve public benefits that outweigh that loss. It was also noted in the decision notice that the loss of the building would destroy the character and appearance of the part of Chapel Street where the building stands therefore harming the Penzance Conservation Area. Although it might be possible for the applicant to remedy the documentary deficiencies, it is unlikely that the objections of harm caused could be overturned, so this is a good result.

The building is now on the market at a guide price of £100,000.

BOOKS!

'The Cornish Buildings Group: First 50 years'

Dedicated to the four Council members we have sadly lost since 2019 - Hugh, Jenny, Nick and John - this book tells the full story of the CBG's battle to encourage good design and preserve Cornwall's rich built heritage over the years 1969 to 2019.

Our members will have received a complimentary copy of our new publication, celebrating the first 50 years of the CBG.

To buy a copy for £15 including P&P please email us.

'The Distinctiveness of Cornish Buildings'

Conference Papers Marking the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Cornish Buildings Group Presented at St Austell in 2019

The 15 papers in this richly-illustrated volume were presented at a conference marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Cornish Buildings Group, held at St Austell in 2019. They cover a broad range of subjects including the uniqueness of Cornwall’s building materials, the domestic and ecclesiastical architecture, the advent of new schools after the Education Act of 1870, the new cathedral at Truro in 1876, the contribution of several architects of distinction to the county’s buildings, and the challenges of meaningful conservation today. Archaeology is also featured, with a major essay on the recent excavations at Tintagel, and there is a comprehensive index.

For details of the contents and how to buy a copy, please follow this link to our Buildings at Risk blog.

BUILDINGS AT RISK PROJECT 2020-2023

Between 2020 and 2023, the Cornish Buildings Group led a three-year Historic England / Cornwall Heritage Trust grant-funded project to identify and campaign for Cornish buildings at risk. The Group has maintained a register for buildings at risk since 2014, but this has been done with volunteer support only. The funding supported a case officer who dedicated time to champion buildings at risk in the county, the aim of the project being to identify and monitor buildings at risk and seek solutions for neglected, redundant or derelict listed buildings.

All project news was communicated through a BLOG which will remain live now that the funded project has ended, as a record of its outcomes.

The CBG will continue to monitor and campaign for Buildings at Risk, building on the good work enabled by the project. This will reported on through the Buildings at Risk section on this website (currently being revised).

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