Description

SX 45 SW TORPOINT TORPOINT

6/339 Ballast Pond

II

Ballast pond (sometimes referred to as ballast pound). 1783, built by the Admiralty.
Slatestone rubble with Devon limestone copings. Square plan with entrance to east
side. The walls are about 2 metres high to the landward side and deeper to the
seaward side. The overall dimension is about 80 metres square, and the walls are
about 2 metres wide. The walls are battered with dressed stone copings, and on the
inner side the walls are stepped, giving the effect of a string course. The top is
paved with stone setts with cast iron moorings rings at intervals. To the east, the
entrance is about 10 metres wide, and the wall ends are round-headed. The masonry is
of high quality.
When repairs were done to the bottom of a ship, much of the ballast (stone and sand
in the C18) would have to be removed. It was discharged into lighters, which would
often be heavily laden. It is presumed that the ballast pond was built as a shelter
for the lighters, which would not then need to be unload, but could remain in dock
until the ballast was needed again.
(Sources: Harris, G. and F.L. (ed.): The Making of a Cornish Town. Torpoint and
Neighbourhood through two hundred years. 1976)

Listing NGR: SX4404854732

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26614463

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

• 
  Norfolk 1: Norwich and North-East: Norwich and North-east v. 1 (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  [(Shropshire)] [By (author) Nikolaus Pevsner] published on (January, 1958)
• 
  Maintaining and Repairing Old Houses: A Guide to Conservation, Sustainability and Economy
• 
  A Buying and Owning a Listed Building: A Brief Guide
• 
  Bedfordshire, Huntingdonshire, and Peterborough (Pevsner Architectural Guides) (Pevsner Architectural Guides: Buildings of England)
• 
  Listed Buildings, Conservation Areas and Monuments