Harbour Walls At The 'Old Boat Yard'

The Harbour Walls at the ‘Old Boat Yard’ date to circa 1534 and represent an early and substantially intact example of harbour infrastructure. Constructed of horizontally coursed slate stone rubble, the two piers enclose a small dock situated at St Saviour’s Point and incorporate a later slipway on the south-west corner. Both piers curve inwards towards the land, providing a small opening to the dock. A walkway is protected from the sea by a seaward-facing shelter wall; a section of the south pier has been repaired using concrete blocks.

Padstow was an important port from the 13th and 14th centuries, described in 1584 by Norden as "the best haven on the north part of the shire." During the 16th and 17th centuries, the port exported fish, tin, cloth, and slates. Access to the port was improved in 1829 with the formation of the Padstow Harbour Association, which installed capstans at Stepper Point, followed by the Padstow Harbour Commission in 1844 to regulate and improve the harbour. Shipbuilding was a key activity at Padstow, and the slipways, constructed as a more economical alternative to dry docks, were important features. These harbour walls originally enclosed the Lower Yard, where the last ship, the Amaranth, was built in 1886. The yard continued to repair and refit schooners and ketches into the 1890s. In the late 1890s and early 1900s, an ice factory and a new fish packing shed were built within the Lower Yard.

The harbour walls are designated at Grade II for their significance as mid-16th-century harbour walls contemporary with other listed harbour structures in Padstow, forming part of a remarkably complete group. They are also valued for their survival as an early example and their association with Padstow’s historical shipbuilding industry.