Cawsand (;
lit. ''Cow Cove'') and
Kingsand
Kingsand ( kw, Porthruw) and Cawsand are twin villages in southeast Cornwall, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 201 ''Plymouth & Launceston'' The villages are situated on the Rame Peninsula and are in the parish of Maker-wi ...
(
Cornish: ''Porthruw'') are twin villages in southeast
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated on the
Rame Peninsula and is in the
parish
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...
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
Kingsand ( kw, Porthruw) and Cawsand are twin villages in southeast Cornwall, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 201 ''Plymouth & Launceston'' The villages are situated on the Rame Peninsula and are in the parish of Maker-wi ...
, formerly on the border of
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
and Cornwall (the border has since been moved and now is situated on the
River Tamar). 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 listed as Grade I on the National Register of Historic Parks and Gardens and is one of four designated country parks in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The country park is on the Rame Peninsula, overlooking Plym ...
. There are frequent bus services to the city of
Plymouth
Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west.
Plymouth ...
which is three miles to the north across Plymouth Sound. There is also a ferry service in the summer (from
Cawsand Bay to
Plymouth Hoe) and a pilot gig club (Rame Gig Club).
The Rame Peninsula is considered part of the
Forgotten Corner of Cornwall
The Forgotten Corner of Cornwall is a geographical area of South East Cornwall, Great Britain. It includes the Rame Peninsula and the town of Torpoint, as well as villages like Antony, Downderry, Polbathic, Portwrinkle and Widegates.
Descrip ...
.
Geology
Cawsand Beach is sand and shingle with a network of
rockpools and is found along The Bound.
History
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 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
Battery most often refers to:
* Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power
* Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact
Battery may also refer to:
Energy source
*Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...
to mount about 10 guns to cover the western entrance to
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 ...
by the breakwater. Released by the
Ministry of Defence
{{unsourced, date=February 2021
A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in states ...
in 1926, it remained derelict until it was converted into residential accommodation.
Correspondence from 1801 to 1803 shows that
Admiral Nelson 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.
Often a chapel of ea ...
in 1877–78. It is a
Grade II listed building.
Originally built in 1793, Cawsand also has a
Congregational Church
Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...
.
Twinning

Cawsand is
twinned with
Porspoder in
Brittany, France.
[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