St Mawes

At the southern end of the Roseland lies the south facing village of St Mawes, in the civil parish of St Just in Roseland. St Mawes has a waterfront of almost 2 miles, being bounded to the east by the Percuil River, to the south by its outer harbour, and to the west by Carrick Roads (Fal estuary). It is named after a saint from either Wales, Ireland or Brittany (stories differ) who visited in the 6th century, and whose holy well still exists. The original waterside fishing settlement was to the west of a central valley and on the east side was the settlement of Bohella. These two settlements formed the nucleus of today’s village.

For centuries St Mawes subsisted mainly on fishing, with boat building a complementary activity. This developed into building pilot gig boats (rowed) and maintaining pilot cutters (sail powered), both of which feature today as leisure craft. They were originally used to take pilots out to sea to meet homeward bound sailing ships. The pilot was put on board to guide the ship to a safe anchorage in Falmouth Bay or Carrick Roads.

St Mawes gradually expanded, began to call itself a town and had a mayor. It was mainly owned by the Duke of Buckingham and returned two members of parliament, as one of the ‘rotten boroughs’, until the 1832 Reform Act. The act made the town of much less of interest to the Duke and in1842 he offered it for sale!

The St Mawes waterfront scene, showing the harbour, fishing boats and their crews, and the castle was painted by JMW Turner in 1811. It was probably about this time that its recreational attractions started to be noticed and began its evolution as a holiday destination and desirable residential/retirement location. It developed into a high-class resort with the construction of many fine dwellings which continues to this day. With this development all the usual service businesses sprang up and the village gradually expanded, with a current permanent population of 644 (2021 census). This is augmented by almost as many second home family members, many of whom spend long periods of time in St Mawes, and by some thousands of tourists who holiday here each year for a few weeks.

The main notable event between the original fishing village era and the 19th century was the construction of St Mawes Castle at the southwest tip overlooking and guarding the entrance to Carrick Roads, along with its companion Pendennis Castle in Falmouth. These were intended to keep the French and Spanish at bay but in fact never featured in any conflict until the English civil war when the castle was surrendered without a fight. It was completed in 1545 during the reign of Henry VIII and is perfectly preserved.

The topography of St Mawes is such that most dwellings have a water view. There are also views of the National Trust part wooded St Anthony headland, across Falmouth Bay to the Lizard peninsula, and across Carrick Roads (Fal estuary) to Falmouth and beyond. These views will be there in perpetuity and explain why the village regularly features in national publications. In addition, the 2-mile stretch of land between St Mawes and St Just in Roseland is owned by the National Trust, and this is a superb walking area. There are three beaches in St Mawes: Summers, Harbour and Tavern, and wind surfing, kayaking and paddle boarding are popular activities. However, sailing is the major on-water recreation, organised by St Mawes Sailing Club, which with about 1,600 members, is the largest in the southwest of England. Among the sailing activities races are held twice a week throughout the season, and three annual regattas are organised.

There are two top class hotels in St Mawes, Tresanton and Idle Rocks. There is also the Ship & Castle hotel, Rising Sun hotel/pub and the Victory Inn, plus about 6 further restaurants and cafes. There are two boatyards (Freshwater and Polvarth), doctor’s and dentist’s surgeries, a pharmacy, post office/newsagent, art galleries, clothing and gift shops, a small supermarket, two churches, a visitor centre, and a village hall, plus a number of professional and trade businesses, and a primary school. There are still a few full-time fishermen in the village, and of course fishing and crabbing are popular amateur pastimes. In the centre is the harbour, with its origins in the 16th century. It is regulated by the Pier and Harbour Company which was incorporated by Acts of Parliament in 1854 and 1934. Its harbourmaster also controls the outer harbour anchorage and moorings, plus a lot of pleasure boat traffic coming and going. For many years before the advent of road transport, all bulky materials were delivered to the harbour, and a levy was paid to the company. A foot ferry runs from the harbour all year round to Falmouth, and in the season, another runs between St Mawes and Place on the St Anthony headland.

As seen from the above, the needs of St Mawes residents and visitors are well catered for, and together with the area’s outstanding natural beauty, explain why it is often called the Roseland’s Jewel in the Crown. There are several publications dealing with St Mawes or parts of it. The most comprehensive (all unfortunately out of print) are ‘St Mawes Back Along’ by Dave McCree, ‘The Book of St Mawes’ by Chris Pollard, and ‘The Roseland between River and Sea’ by Laurence O’Toole. However, the best way of experiencing St Mawes is of course to visit in person.