Charlestown

With the U3A today on a trip to Charlestown. Weather not too bad but quite a cold wind, light good.

Charlestown grew out of a small fishing village called West Polmear (also West Porthmear). Prior to the building of the harbour trading vessels landed and loaded on the beach. It was developed in the Georgian era (specifically from 1790 when work on building an outer quay began to 1799 when the first dock gates were erected) as a new town, and named after local landowner Charles Rashleigh who had a hand in its design. In 1799 the locals asked his permission to rename the place Charles's Town which in turn became Charlestown. The works were to the plans of John Smeaton. It was built to facilitate the transport of copper from nearby mines but its main function became the export of china clay from the region's quarries and, to a limited extent, still serves that purpose today.
Following the death of Charles Rashleigh in 1823 the fate of Charlestown was caught up in the financial problems of Rashleigh's estate. As a result in 1825 Messrs. Crowder and Sartoris, trading as Charlestown Estate, agreed to accept all the leasehold property in Charlestown in lieu of sums owed to them and purchased the rest of the estate from the Rashleigh family thus becoming the new owners of the port and the surrounding settlement.
In 1790 the settlement was known as West Polmear and had a population of 9, which increased to 3,184 by 1911.