Find the nearest History & Heritage in Cornwall

The National Maritime Museum in Falmouth, Cornwal overlooks the marina. The Museum houses galleries, interactve displays, workshops as well as the expected 100’s of boats.

Dupath Well is a granite well-house of c. 1500 that stands over an ancient spring, that was believed to cure whooping cough. Built by the Augustinian canons of nearby St Germans priory, it houses the remains of an immersion pool for cure-seekers.

Bodmin Jail was designed by Sir John Call and built in 1779 by prisoners of war, and was operational for 150 years closing in 1927. During this time the jail saw over 50 public hangings with the last one taking place in 1909. Today a lot of the jail is in ruins but the tourist attraction is over six floors and takes you through the history and experiences.  

Godolphin was considered in the 17th century to be the most fashionable house in Cornwall. There are many fascinating walks on the estate, which includes Godolphin Hill and more than 400 recorded archaeological features.

King Charles’s Castle is a ruined artillery fort on Tresco built between 1548 and 1551 to protect the Isles of Scilly from French attack. A semi-hexagonal structure to provide a wide field of fire and two-storey to give at least two tiers of guns. The domestic quarters for the garrison were at the rear.

Innisidgen Lower and Upper Burial Chambers includes two Bronze Age communal burial cairns.

Chysauster Ancient Village, 2,000 year old Iron Age settlement. The village of stone-walled homesteads known as ‘courtyard houses’, found only on the Land’s End peninsula and the Isles of Scilly. The houses line a ‘village street’, and each had an open central courtyard surrounded by a number of thatched rooms. There are also the remains of an enigmatic ‘fogou’ underground passage.

Cotehele is a Tudor house with superb collections of textiles, armour and furniture. The house is set around three courtyards and the grounds have a valey garden and terraced gardens with many paths you can explore alongside the River Tamar. The garden includes a domed medieval dovecote and passes down to a quay.

Mullion Cove Harbour is a working small protected harbour cmpleted in the 1890s. Whilst the village has a wonderful collection of shops, pubs, cafes, restaurants, and art galleries. In the centre of the village, the 15th century church of St Mellanus with its carved oak bench-ends depicting biblical scenes.

The Geevor Tin Mine is the largest preserved mining site in the UK, and part of the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site! You can go underground into a real 18th-century tin mine, visit the interactive Hard Rock Museum that takes you through the fascinating story of Cornish Tin and Copper mining, and explore the mining buildings with their intact mining machinery. All of this set in a Cornish Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty with fantastic coastal views and wildlife. The mine includes car parking, cafe and shop.

St Catherine’s Castle is one of a pair of small artillery forts, built by Thomas Treffry approximately 1540. The D-shaped, stone fortification, equipped with five gun-ports for cannon, overlooked the mouth of the River Fowey. It was protected by a curtain wall and the surrounding cliffs. The castle was closed at the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, although brought back into service in 1855 during the Crimean War, but it soon became obsolete and was abandoned. During the Second World War the castle was refortified and used to house a battery of naval guns, protecting the coast against the threat of attack. At the end of the conflict the castle was restored to its previous condition and is now managed by English Heritage as a tourist attraction.

Restormel Castle, 13th-century circular shell-keep stands on an earlier Norman mound surrounded by a deep dry ditch. The castle has fantastic views and is a favourite picnic spot.