Summary
An early-C19 limekin constructed of granite.
Description
A former limekiln of 1819 date adapted and restored in the late C19 and C20.
MATERIALS: constructed of local rubble stone with attached timber shelter and bench seating. The shelter has rendered columns and low walls, and slate roofs. The limekiln walls under the shelter are rendered. The roofs of the turrets are covered in scallop-shaped metal shingles. The modern door opening has a granite lintel.
PLAN: irregular on plan it is built against the cove cliff under Readymoney Road and extends to the south west broadly on an L-plan. The south-east corner is infilled with the 1930s public shelter.
DESCRIPTION: a tall single-storey structure, the former limekiln has a broad stone elevation facing south east that returns to the south-west and features a sealed arched opening to another south-east facing wall. Covering the opening, and infilling the south corner up to the sea wall is a public shelter with seating. A wall plaque reads: TO COMMEMORATE/ THE SILVER JUBILEE OF/ H.M. KING GEORGE V/ MAY 6 1935/ W.C. BEALE/ MAYOR. The south-west wall has an inserted door under a granite lintel and the stonework surrounding it is disturbed. Three of the southern corners of the limekiln have corbelled turrets with cruciform detailing. The north corner wall to the roof is raised with some ramping, and appears to the be truncated remains of the limekiln chimney. The roof is flat, grassed and has benches set in concrete plinths and a modern lighting standard. In the north-west parapet is a plaque that reads: PRESENTED TO/ “FOWEY”/ IN MEMORY OF/ EDMUND JULIAN/ OCT 1929.
A plant room behind the inserted door opening contains modern machinery. Other interior parts of the former limekiln are not accessible.
SUBSIDIARY FEATURES: a rubblestone sea wall is engaged with the south corner of the former limekiln and curves west and north west to terminate at a low pier. It adjoins a modern ramp and steps that lead to the beach from the shore. There is also a mid-late single-storey toilet block and café to the north.
History
The former limekiln at Readymoney Cove is of 1819 date and was built by William Rashleigh of Menabilly (1777-1855) on his estate. It would have produced the lime for the building works he was carrying out in the area, probably including estate worker buildings nearby. The lime produced may also have been used for the ornamental gardens at Menabilly (Registered at Grade II), which Loudon recorded in his gazetteer of Cornish gardens in 1822. Construction of the limekiln had been delayed in 1810 by a protest from the public when building equipment was thrown into the kiln, damaging it. Rashleigh’s son, also William Rashleigh (1817-1871), inherited Menabilly and built his own house, Point Neptune (Grade II), overlooking the limekiln and cove. His ownership may coincide with the addition of ornamental turrets to the structure, which are shown on a photograph taken in around 1900.
The limekiln was bought and restored in 1929 by Jesse Julian, of local furniture makers Julian and Son. A new viewpoint was created for the public enjoyment in memory of Julian’s father, Edmund Julian. The shelter with bench seating in the south-east corner by the sea wall was erected in 1935 for the Silver Jubilee of George V. Also in the C20, the main opening to the limekiln was sealed and a lean-to structure adjoining the north wall (shown on the circa1900 photograph) was rebuilt as a toilet block and café. A new door has been created to the south-west wall and part of the interior of the limekiln enclosed as a plant room. In 2017 the roof area has modern fittings including lighting and benches.
Reasons for Listing
The former limekiln at Readymoney Cove, Fowey, is listed at Grade II for the following principal reasons:
Architectural interest:
* for its considerable presence in its seaside location due to its scale, regionally characteristic granite elevations, and the architectural embellishments made as its use has changed.
Historic interest:
* as an early-C19 limekiln that survives well;
* for its association with the Rashleigh family;
* as an imaginative re-use of a building for the growing leisure industry in the interwar years, and in this case marking the Silver Jubilee of George V.
Group value:
* with William Rashleigh’s house: Point Neptune (Grade II).
External Links
External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.
Recommended Books
Surrey (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Cork: City and County (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Ireland)
Yorkshire West Riding: Sheffield and the South (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
London 4: North: North v. 4 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
Gwent/Monmouthshire (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of Wales)
Hampshire: Winchester and the North (The Buildings of England) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)