Running for cover
Sitting on a calm sheltered bay which looks over Plymouth Sound, the twin villages of Cawsand and Kingsand are a pair of 17th Century fishing villages, once renown for their fishing and smuggling activities.
The streets are narrow and twisting, and the diverse geology of the area is reflected in the building materials. A pleasing palette of rust and grey slatestone and rich red sandstone contrasts with the pretty pastel colours of the rendered buildings.
Simple, single storey stone sheds, outhouses and fish cellars recall the importance of the fishing industry which flourished in the 18th century. They were built from red volcanic stone, known as rhyolite, which was probably quarried from the bedrock on the foreshore.
By the start of the twentieth century Cawsand’s sizeable fishing fleet was in serious decline. The once plentiful stocks of pilchards had been reducing since the 1880s, and were completely destroyed by motorized trawlers based in Plymouth. By 1914 there were only 16 boats left in the village. The two communities could no longer rely on the sea to employ a sizeable proportion of its population and many left to look for work elsewhere.
Running for cover
Sitting on a calm sheltered bay which looks over Plymouth Sound, the twin villages of Cawsand and Kingsand are a pair of 17th Century fishing villages, once renown for their fishing and smuggling activities.
The streets are narrow and twisting, and the diverse geology of the area is reflected in the building materials. A pleasing palette of rust and grey slatestone and rich red sandstone contrasts with the pretty pastel colours of the rendered buildings.
Simple, single storey stone sheds, outhouses and fish cellars recall the importance of the fishing industry which flourished in the 18th century. They were built from red volcanic stone, known as rhyolite, which was probably quarried from the bedrock on the foreshore.
By the start of the twentieth century Cawsand’s sizeable fishing fleet was in serious decline. The once plentiful stocks of pilchards had been reducing since the 1880s, and were completely destroyed by motorized trawlers based in Plymouth. By 1914 there were only 16 boats left in the village. The two communities could no longer rely on the sea to employ a sizeable proportion of its population and many left to look for work elsewhere.