40 historic monuments across Cornwall are being restored and protected
Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty sites are getting a grant of almost £500,000
Last updated 15th May 2022
40 historic monuments are being restored and protected across Cornwall for future generations.
The project, conserving and restoring Cornwall’s heritage, has secured a grant of £489,700 from The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
A ‘Monumental Improvement’ project has been set up by Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and other partners to ensure 40 Scheduled Monuments across Cornwall are protected.
The monuments, most of which are on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register, span over 4,000 years of Cornish history and offer a unique insight into the county’s past.
The 40 Scheduled Monuments sites
The chosen sites are of national archaeological significance and feature in 10 of the 12 AONB sections including Bodmin Moor, The Lizard and Rame Head. The sites represent a timeline of Cornwall’s history, featuring Iron Age hill forts, Neolithic settlements and medieval mottes. These include Castle Dore Hill Fort which has links to the writer Daphne du Maurier and composer Richard Wagner and other sites that have connections to the legendary King Arthur.
St Piran’s Oratory at Penhale Sands in Perranporth is another monument intrinsically linked to Cornish history, with legend stating that it was founded by St Piran, one of the three patron saints of Cornwall. It is currently on Historic England’s Heritage at Risk Register due to the risk of flooding and erosion. Through the project, this site along with the others, will be stabilised to safeguard them for future generations.
Creating a legacy for Cornish communities
As well as stabilising the monuments, another key part of the project will be engaging Cornwall’s communities with their heritage. Through volunteering opportunities and activities such as guided walks and scrub clearing, everyone can learn and connect with their heritage in a different way. The hope is this will empower communities to take a more active role in caring for the monuments in the future. Other key aims include:
• training 200 community volunteers
• working with local primary schools and undergraduate students
• delivering over 250 community activities
• increasing physical and virtual access
• improving habitat at 26 sites to better support wildlife
Stuart McLeod, Director England - London & South at The National Lottery Heritage Fund, said: “We are delighted to support Cornwall AONB with their Monumental Improvement project. These monuments offer a unique narrative into Cornwall’s heritage and therefore it’s vital that these are preserved, and their stories discovered. Thanks to National Lottery players, we can invest in projects such as these that make communities better places to live and makes heritage more accessible to all.”
Key partners working together
A Monumental Improvement project launched in May 2020 but needed to secure substantial funding to deliver its ambitions. Through securing this grant from the Heritage Fund, along with other partner funding, this project can continue to make this a reality.
Alongside Cornwall AONB and the Heritage Fund, other project funders include Cornwall Council, Historic England, National Trust, Cornwall Heritage Trust and Kilkhampton Parish Council, with additional partnership support from the Cornwall Archaeological Society. Not only have these partnerships been integral to raising the additional funds required but also to driving the project forward to protect this unique heritage.
Emma Browning, Cornwall AONB Partnership Manager said: “Our cultural heritage in the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty is not only defined by the flora, fauna, wildlife and coast; it includes Scheduled Monuments which feature in the protected landscape providing intrigue and imagination, hinting at Cornwall’s incredible history.
“The Monumental Improvement Project brings together landowners, organisations, volunteers and experts to not only protect 4,000 years of Cornish heritage but connect more people with the protected landscape, improving health and wellbeing.
“The project delivers in 10 of the 12 Sections of Cornwall AONB allowing for an incredible reach to local communities, opportunities for job creation, volunteering and understanding Cornwall’s rich history. Once these Scheduled Monuments are lost, they are lost forever. We hope that this project will remove many of them from the Heritage at Risk register, but it will bring all of them to life in the collective imaginations of local communities and visitors. For those that are impossible to remove from the register because of their location, their stories will be told, contributing to the unique sense of place that is Cornwall AONB.”
Rebecca Barrett, Regional Director at Historic England, said: “This award is fantastic news for the people and places of the Cornwall AONB. Monumental Improvement will bring cherished historic sites into good order, including 25 sites which are particularly vulnerable and on our Heritage at Risk Register. It will also give hundreds of people the chance to celebrate Cornwall’s heritage in really creative ways. We can’t wait to get started.”
Welcoming the announcement, Cornwall Council portfolio holder for environment and public protection Martyn Alvey said: “This is great news for a project that the Council is supporting, which will enable appreciation of these sites that are so important to the culture and heritage of Cornwall. As well as supporting job creation, skill sharing and the wider health and well-being of our residents, the project also reflects the Council’s commitment to working with partners to conserve and enhance our protected landscapes. It’s so important that Cornwall's historic environment is recognised by residents and visitors, as we all work together to protect it from challenges, including climate change.”
National Trust Archaeologist, James Parry said: “We're very excited about this announcement. Working with partners on the 'Monumental Improvement' project has resulted in funding to help secure these Cornish monuments for future generations. Thanks to the Heritage Fund, this work will help the National Trust understand these historically important places even better, which will mean we can deliver our ambition to conserve the monuments and tell the stories that surround these iconic places.”
The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the UK’s largest funder of heritage projects, with almost £3.3billion awarded to over 15,000 projects in London & South since 1994. They support a wide range of projects including historic buildings and monuments; community and cultural heritage; and landscape and nature.