Cawsand (; lit. ''Cow Cove'') and Kingsand ( Cornish: ''Porthruw'') are twin villages in southeast

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated on the

Rame Peninsula The Rame Peninsula () is a peninsula in south-east Cornwall. It is surrounded by the English Channel to the south, Plymouth Sound to the east, the Hamoaze to the northeast and the estuary of the River Lynher to the north-west. On a clear day, ...

and is in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Maker-with-Rame. Cawsand overlooks

Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abo ...

and adjoins Kingsand, formerly on the border of

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and Cornwall (the border has since been moved and now is situated on the

River Tamar The Tamar (; ) is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon (to the east) and Cornwall (to the west). A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the Tamar Valley National Landscape (an Area of Outsta ...

). Cawsand has two public houses: the Cross Keys Inn on Armada Road, not trading and for sale in September 2022, and the Bay bar, overlooking Cawsand beach. Cawsand is within

Mount Edgcumbe Country Park Mount Edgcumbe Country Park is a National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens, grade I listed country park in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The country park is on the Rame Peninsula, overlooking Plymouth Sound and the River Tamar. The p ...

. There are frequent bus services to the city of

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

which is three miles to the north across Plymouth Sound. There is also a ferry service in the summer (from

Cawsand Bay Cawsand Bay is a bay on the southeast coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The bay takes its name from the village of Cawsand at , to the northeast of the Rame Peninsula. Cawsand Bay is oriented north–south, opening eastward into Plym ...

Plymouth Hoe Plymouth Hoe, referred to locally as the Hoe, is a large south-facing open public space in the English coastal city of Plymouth, Devon. The Hoe is adjacent to and above the low limestone cliffs that form the seafront and commands views of Pl ...

) and a pilot gig club (Rame Gig Club). The Rame Peninsula is considered part of the Forgotten Corner of Cornwall.

Geology

Cawsand Beach is sand and shingle with a network of rockpools and is found along The Bound.

History

The settlement is first recorded in 1404. In 1596, local militia repelled an attack by Spanish forces and defences were built soon after. Cawsand Fort (at ) is sited just above the village. The

fort A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

is an 1860s

Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom The Royal Commission on the Defence of the United Kingdom was a committee formed in 1859 to enquire into the ability of the United Kingdom to defend itself against an attempted invasion by a foreign power, and to advise the British Government on ...

fort built on the site of a 1779 battery to mount about 10 guns to cover the western entrance to

by the breakwater. Released by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

in 1926, it remained derelict until it was converted into residential accommodation. Correspondence from 1801 to 1803 shows that

Admiral Nelson Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, 1st Duke of Bronte ( – 21 October 1805) was a Royal Navy officer whose leadership, grasp of strategy and unconventional tactics brought about a number of decisive British naval victories during the French ...

had stayed in Cawsand and it is rumoured that he had dined at the Ship Inn, which burned down in 2013 after several years of abandonment. The site has been cleared and is now being rebuilt by The Peninsula Trust which plans to turn the site into a cafe and affordable housing.

Religion

St Andrew's Church was built as a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

in 1877–78. It is a

Grade II listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, H ...

. Originally built in 1793, Cawsand also has a

Congregational Church Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...

Notable people

* John Pollard, Royal Navy officer * Thomas Ball Sullivan, Royal Navy officer * Daniel Tyerman, missionary

Twinning

Cawsand is twinned with

Porspoder Porspoder (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Population Inhabitants of Porspoder are called in French ''Porspodériens''. See also *Communes of the Finistère department The following is a ...

Brittany, France The region Brittany ( ; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is an Regions of France, administrative region of Metropolitan France, comprising the departments of Côtes-d'Armor, Finistère, Ille-et-Vilaine, and Morbihan. Its capital and l ...

.Twinning Committee for Cornwall, www.twinningcommitteeforcornwall.weebly.com

References

External links

Victorian Forts data sheet on Cawsand Bay BatteryRame Heritage
{{authority control Villages in Cornwall Military history of Cornwall Forts of Plymouth, Devon Buildings and structures in Cornwall Forts in Cornwall