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Charlestown ((コーンウォール語:Porth Meur), meaning ''great cove'') is a village and port on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, and in the civil parish of St Austell Bay. It is situated approximately south east of St Austell town centre.〔Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' ISBN 978-0-319-22938-5〕 The port at Charlestown developed in the late-18th century from the fishing village of West Polmear. Whereas other areas of St Austell have seen much development during the 20th century, Charlestown has remained relatively unchanged. == History == Charlestown grew out of the small fishing village of West Polmear (or West Porthmear), which consisted of a few cottages and three cellars, in which the catch of pilchards were processed. The population amounted to nine fishermen and their families in 1790. Before the harbour was built, trading vessels landed and loaded on the beach. Charles Rashleigh who moved to Duporth Manor, just outside the village, used plans prepared by John Smeaton to begin the construction of a harbour and dock in 1791. After building the outer pier, he excavated a natural inlet to form the main dock and a shipyard at its inner end that demolished when the dock was extended. The first dock gates were completed in 1799. To maintain water levels in the dock, a leat was constructed, which brought water from the Luxulyan Valley, some away. Rashleigh also planned the village, which had a broad road running from the harbour to Mount Charles. In 1793, a gun battery was built to the west of the harbour mouth, as a defence against possible French attacks. Volunteers from Rashleigh's estate formed an artillery company that lasted until 1860, when the original four 18-pound cannons were replaced by 24-pound models. The Crinnis Cliff Volunteers became the Cornwall Artillery Volunteers, and the battery continued to be used for practice until 1898. In 1799 the locals asked his permission to rename the place Charles's Town which became Charlestown. The port was built to facilitate the transport of copper from nearby mines. Crinnis Hill Mine to the east of the village exported some 40,000 tons of copper ore between 1810 and 1813. South Polmear Mine to the west and Charlestown United Mines operated from a site near Holmbush to the north. This enterprise was particularly prolific, employing 431 men, 120 women and 263 children in 1838. The 1851 census recorded 283 adults living in Holmbush, of whom ten were employed as miners and one was the mine agent. As the mines became exhausted and their output dropped, the port was used to export china clay from the region's quarries. Following the death of Charles Rashleigh in 1823 the fate of Charlestown was caught up in the financial problems of his estate. Joseph Dingle, once a servant and footman employed by Rashleigh, became superintendent of works when the construction of the harbour began, but had systematically embezzled money from the project. By the time the case reached the courts in 1811, he was thought to have embezzled around £32,000 (£}} as of ) Dingle was bankrupted and died a pauper; Rashleigh also was made bankrupt before his death. In 1825 Messrs Crowder and Sartoris, trading as Charlestown Estate, agreed to accept all the leasehold property in Charlestown in lieu of sums owed to them and purchased the rest of the estate from the Rashleigh family becoming the new owners of the port and the surrounding settlement. Despite competition from the port at Pentewan, which opened in 1826, and from Par, which opened shortly afterwards, Charlestown prospered from the rapid expansion in the export of china clay until the onset of the First World War. By 1911, its population had increase to 3,184. The harbour was designed for small sailing vessels, and an awkward turn was required to avoid the protruding end of the outer harbour. Following the widening of the entrance and the fitting of new gates in 1971, ships of up to 600 tons were able to enter the harbour, but could only do so at high tide, and a system of ropes was used to manoeuvre vessels through the gates. By the 1990s, the size of vessels used for the transport of china clay had outgrown the harbour, and the last commercial load of clay to leave Charlestown did so in 2000. Exports of china clay left Cornwall through Par or the deep water port at Fowey instead. In 1994 the harbour was bought by Square Sail as a base for their sailing ships.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Charlestown Harbour )〕 Much of Square Sail's business involves using the harbour and their ships as film sets such as the 2015 ''Poldark'' television series. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Charlestown, Cornwall」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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