Just beyond a deep bend in the tidal reaches of the River Tamar and close to the picturesque grounds of Pentillie Castle is a quiet, forgotten quay. Once a hive of activity Halton Quay now seems to idle in peace and tranquillity, especially when the water is high, lapping gently at the granite walls and the only other sound is the puff of passing geese on the wing.

Today you will find little to see there besides what has to be one of the smallest chapels in Cornwall but that was not always the case.

A couple of hundred years ago this place was one of the main trading quays on the River Tamar with goods coming and going from far-flung places piled high on barges, sailing ships and then later steamers.

During the 15th century lime kilns appeared on the quay, although the industry may date back even further, records show that lime from Halton was used in the mortar during early repairs to Launceston Castle. During the 1830s and 1840s a merchant called Samuel Lang ran his business from here, also selling lime. This industry was continued by Trehane, Perry, Spear & co. into the 1860s when there were large warehouses storing lime and manure on the quay. An advert appeared in the Cornish Times in 1863 promoting the company’s “Best Peruvian Guano” for sale from Halton Quay.

But it is some of quay’s earlier history, and some tales I have teased from it, that gives a fascinating glimpse into the forgotten past of this hidden corner of Cornwall.

Historic Halton House

It is unclear when the first quay or landing place was built at this point on the river but the settlement of Halton first appeared in the Domesday Book in 1086, so it seems likely that there has been a community here, utilising these navigable waters since the earliest time.

Halton House (now Halton Barton Farm, I believe) was once a grand home, purchased by John Rous during the reign of Elizabeth I. During that period it is thought that the owners and their guests would often come and go via the quay. Travel by river, rather than road, even to this isolated backwater of Cornwall, would have been by far the easiest mode of travel.

The antiquarian Richard Carew of Antony mentions Halton House and its then owner Sir Anthony Rous (1555 – 1620), nephew of John, in his 1602 Survey of Cornwall. He describes the house as a “pleasant and commodious dwelling” and goes on to praise Rous’ “kind and uninterrupted” hospitality to any and all that happened to be fortunate enough to stay with him.

During that time the banks of the river around Halton were said to be covered by cherry orchards, surely adding to the overall impression of it as a lush, fertile rural idyll. However, one rather famous individual was said to have less than fond memories of the place.

Sir Francis Drake is said to have been friends with Rous, who was simultaneously High Sheriff of Cornwall, MP for East Looe and one of the richest landowners in Cornwall, with some 10,000 acres to his name. And it is thought that Drake and his wife stayed with him at his house at Halton.

But unfortunately, according to John Neale in his book Discovering the River Tamar, Rous and Drake had a some kind of serious disagreement at Halton.

It seems that Rous was “an admirer of his [Drake’s] wife”, Mary, supposedly a Cornishwoman originally from Saltash. How exactly this argument came about and what it was over isn’t clear but the mention of Mary implies that there may have been some connection to her.

Whatever the circumstances it was serious enough that it seems Drake never visited again.

In a small but fascinating connection to major historic events, Anthony’s youngest son, Francis Rous, succeeded in making himself rather unpopular in Royalist Cornwall during the Civil War. He was a Parliamentarian, Speaker of the House of Commons and a member of Cromwell’s council . . . and he was also elected Commissioner for Cornwall. In this role Francis was responsible for expelling at least 72 Cornish clergy from their livings – men that Cromwell deemed “scandalous and ignorant ministers”.

These ejections were often carried out in a harsh and sometimes violent manner, leaving many clergymen homeless and penniless and reliant on their parishioners for food and shelter. Understandably Francis’ actions created a great deal of bed feeling and an already tense and divisive period in Cornwall’s history.

A Tale of Two Richards

Another curious episode in the area’s history occurred at Halton in the 19th century.

Two Richards, Richard Hill and Richard Nattle, were both baptised in St Dominick parish and in 1798 these two men went to work together at Halton Barton.

In 1802 the two Richards both married in St Dominica church – their wives were two sisters, Elizabeth and Maria Wilson, who were also servants at the house.

The two Richards then continued to work together at Halton Quay for the next thirty years, their two families sharing their lives in the tiny backwater. Then, in another bizarre coincidence, the two men both became ill and died on the same day.

The two Richards were then buried side by side on the 13th February 1850 at St Dominica church.

In a sad twist to this already strange tale in December 1857, seven years after Richard Nattle’s death, his wife, Maria, was found by their daughter, Elizabeth, lying on her kitchen floor with a serious head injury. Suspicion immediately fell on the couple’s son, William, who lived with his mother and was known to be a bad tempered drunk.

When Maria died William was charged with her murder, some reports say he was apprehended by authorities at Halton Quay. The trail was then held at the Lent Assizes in Spring 1858. A post-mortem was carried out on Maria by a surgeon called William Bowden and he concluded that it was more likely that her injuries were the result of a violent attack than her falling and hitting her head.

However, despite the evidence the jury could not agree and rather strangely and much to the judge’s frustration came back with a verdict of ‘Manslaughter’ rather than murder. The judge told them that that outcome was not available to them – William had been charged with murder, so they must find him either guilty or not guilty of that charge.

The jury deliberated again and eventually returned a ‘Not Guilty’ verdict and William walked free.

St Indract’s Chapel

In June 1959 a tiny building on the quay that had variously been used as a custom’s house, a coal merchant’s office and a clerking office was reincarnated as a chapel.

The chapel is dedicated to St Indract, said to have been the son of an Irish king who arrived in Cornwall in the 7th century (c689 AD) along with his sister St Dominica.

Legend has it that the pair landed at Halton Quay, decided to settle here on the banks of the Tamar and built a chapel, now lost to the tides of time, and holy well nearby.

More than 200 people attended the consecration of the new chapel by the Archdeacon of Bodmin, the Venerable W. H. Prior, in 1959. The vicar of St Dominick’s was also there, as were a party of W.R.N.S (or Wrens) who had paddled to the quay by canoe all the way from Plymouth!

The plan was for the little building to provide a space for a Sunday School for the local children and this it did, although in 1962 it was reported that it might have the smallest congregation in Cornwall when just 3 children attended the Mothering Sunday service!

Still used today for Evensong services during the summer months St Indract’s became what is perhaps the tiniest church in Cornwall, with space to seat just 10 persons on its pews.

Final Thoughts

You can hardly get more tucked away in this already little visited region of Cornwall than Halton Quay. I stumbled upon this place while visiting Pentillie Castle and could hardly believe how peaceful and beautiful it was on that misty morning.

But the varied and eventful history of this tiny patch of ground not only reminds me that the Tamar River was once an important highway for goods and people, and that so many industries that once seemed so vital and necessary can quickly vanish, but also that Cornwall is a just constant source of interest!

You just never know the stories attached to the most unassuming of places!

Further Reading:

The Tomb of Sir James Tillie, Pentillie Castle

Borderlands – Crossing the River Tamar

Burial Place of Theodore Paleologus – Soldier, Assassin & Descendant of the Last Byzantine Emperor

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