Carn Brea Castle

{{Infobox historic site

| name = Carn Brea Castle

| native_name =

| native_language =

| image = Carn Brea Castle by Ansom.jpg

| caption = South side in 2009

| type =

| locmapin = Cornwall

| coordinates = {{coord|50.222458|-5.244833}}

| location = Carn Lane, Carnkie, Redruth, Cornwall, England

| area =

| built =

| architect =

| architecture =

| governing_body =

| owner =

| designation1 = Grade II

| designation1_offname = Carn Brea Castle

| designation1_date = 9 April 1975

| designation1_number = {{listed building England|1160284}}

}}

Carn Brea Castle on Carn Brea is a 14th-century grade II listed granite stone building which was extensively remodelled in the 18th century as a hunting lodge in the style of a castle for the Basset family. The building is in private use as a restaurant.{{citation | last1=Chapman | first1=Sarah | year=2008 | title=Iconic Cornwall | last2=Chapman | first2=David | publisher=Alison Hodge Publishers | isbn=978-0-906720-57-8 | page=16}}

Description

The castle is a small stone folly decorated in the romantic ideal style of a medieval/gothic castle. It has an irregular layout with four rectangular turrets round a core of the same height and an embattled parapet. The building is built into a large stone outcrop with a steep drop on the rear. The building was designed as a hunting lodge rather than a dwelling and measures {{convert|60|by|10|ft}}.{{citation | author=Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge Great Britain | year=1837 | title=The Penny Cyclopædia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Volume 8 | publisher=C. Knight | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KKcrAAAAYAAJ | page=40}}

History

File:Carn Brea Castle.jpg

The castle was originally built as a chapel, in 1379, thought to be dedicated to St Michael.{{cite web|url=http://www.cledha.co.uk/cbpg/|title=About Carn Brea|publisher=Carn Brea Protection Group|accessdate=2007-08-20|url-status=usurped|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929041801/http://www.cledha.co.uk/cbpg/|archivedate=29 September 2007}} Antiquarian William Worcester recorded that there were 32 castles on the Cornish peninsula, including Carn Brea which was described as a tower.{{Cite book|title=Cornwall, Connectivity and Identity in the Fourteenth Century|last=Drake|first=S. J.|publisher=Boydell & Brewer|year=2019|isbn= 978-1-78327-469-7 |page=10 |doi=10.2307/j.ctvktrxzx}}

The castle was extensively rebuilt in later periods, primarily in the 18th century by the Basset family as a hunting lodge.{{cite web|url=http://www.saint-illogan.org.uk/pics_carnbrea.htm|title=Pictures of Carn Brea|publisher=Parish of Saint Illogan|accessdate=2007-08-20|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20010808122158/http://www.saint-illogan.org.uk/pics_carnbrea.htm|archivedate=8 August 2001}} It is considered a folly, due to the huge uncut boulders that make up part of its foundations, giving the impression of the building melting into the land.{{cite web|url=http://www.follytowers.com/carn_brea_castle.html |title=Carn Brea Castle, Follies and Monuments|publisher=FollyTowers.com|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070829111809/http://www.follytowers.com/carn_brea_castle.html|archivedate=29 August 2007}}

Its use as a beacon for ships was recorded in 1898 when stipulated in the lease, the tenant agreeing to show a light in the north facing window. The castle had periods of disuse and disrepair in the 1950s to 1970s, until private renovation in 1975-1980. The building was classed by English Heritage as grade II listed in 1975.{{NHLE |num=1160284 |date= |accessdate=2010-10-28}}

In the 1980s the building was converted into a Middle Eastern cuisine restaurant.{{cite web|url=http://www.eatoutcornwall.com/cornwall-restaurant/print-details.php?pv=6055|title=Carn Brea Castle|publisher=Eat Out Cornwall|url-status=usurped|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929023305/http://www.eatoutcornwall.com/cornwall-restaurant/print-details.php?pv=6055|archivedate=29 September 2007}}

Media interest

A 19th-century East India trading ship was named after Carn Brea Castle. It was wrecked off the Isle of Wight in 1829 and reported in The Times as being involved in excise tax fraud.{{cite news|work=The Times|date=18 July 1829|page=4|title=Some frauds of a very peculiar and extensive nature have been discovered}}

Carn Brea castle appeared in the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again, as two air-launched cruise missiles armed with nuclear warheads fly over the English countryside and out to sea, passing directly over as well as the nearby Basset monument viewed through the missiles head-up display.