St. Catherine’s Castle

Address: Cornwall

Opening hours: If you want to visit St. Catherine’s Castle, you will be happy to know that the admission is free. Just come for a visit to appreciate a rare, surviving treasure as the castle is. From June 28, 2012 to March 28, 2013, the castle is open for visits as long as you come at a reasonable time. The schedule beyond the given one will only be posted when the period is already near. For now, you can arrange a visit to the area, possibly with family and friends.

Contact: English Heritage contact number 01726 833616 

St. Catherine’s Castle is yet another historically important site from the time of Henry VIII. The king was even the one who commissioned the small fort, which was built to shield Fowey Harbour in Cornwall. The two-storey building has a twin battery that contains muzzle-loading guns with rifles. These guns were added in the 19th century although the castle-fort itself was built around the 1530s. The weaponry of the castle was also modified during the Second World War. However, these changes were removed to make way for the restoration of Victorian gun races.

The castle is thus named because of St. Catherine’s Point, which is the name of the headland that it is sitting on. The castle’s building went through under the supervision of Thomas Treffry, who lived around the area and who went on to build other castles during the 1540s. St. Catherine’s Castle was used by the Royalists during the English Civil War, which ended in 1646. By 1684, the castle was considered by many as “ruinous”.

The site has indeed been witness to several historical events that it ended up being under the care of The English Heritage. This castle, after all, had been part of the story that made England what it is today.

St. Catherine’s Castle is a good example of the combination of the masculine and the feminine. The name is very feminine and yet it was what defended the fighting men who sought refuge behind its walls. War has, even through all the years, been considered a wholly masculine affair although today women are already fighting alongside men.

If you are English, you have to see this castle up-close for yourself. Even if you are not English, you will be in awe of what the castle has done through the centuries. It has endured wars, and has gone through alterations and yet, its very core is still ever-present.

If you want to visit St. Catherine’s Castle, you will be happy to know that the admission is free. Just come for a visit to appreciate a rare, surviving treasure as the castle is. From June 28, 2012 to March 28, 2013, the castle is open for visits as long as you come at a reasonable time. The schedule beyond the given one will only be posted when the period is already near. For now, you can arrange a visit to the area, possibly with family and friends.