What is recorded here

St Mawes Castle is a clover-leaf artillery fort built for Henry VIII between 1540 and 1542 to guard the Carrick Roads waterway near Falmouth. Thomas Treffry directed its construction with a four-storey central tower and three round bastions that projected gun platforms into the estuary. The castle survived the English Civil War, repeated military changes, and two world conflicts before becoming a preserved heritage site. Its carved sea monsters and granite frame still mark the mouth of the River Fal as one of the clearest remains of Henry’s coastal defence programme.

The National Heritage List for England records St Mawes Castle as a scheduled monument. The saved point comes from the centre supplied by the official record. Listing does not by itself mean that the public may enter the place.

St Mawes Castle was built by Henry VIII in the 1540s as part of his coastal defense network to protect against French and Spanish invasion. It is important as a well-preserved example of 16th-century artillery fortification and as a key site in England's military history.

The historic-place record does not grant public access. Check current conditions and ownership before entering land or a building.