Outer Walls And Gateway

The outer walls and gateway of St. Mary's are significant bastion walls and a gateway that were initiated by Francis Godolphin shortly after 1601. The construction of the batteries and walls encircling the peninsula occurred between 1716 and 1746 under the direction of Abraham Tovey, the Master Gunner. The facing walls are made of dressed granite with turf and granite coping, and the 18th-century walls are particularly well-crafted. The batteries, which are primarily angular in shape, are located mainly at Morning Point, Woolpack Point, and south of Steval Point. Embrasures for gun emplacements are created using large dressed granite slabs.

On the rampart to the east of the gateway, there is a stone sentry box featuring a segmental-arched doorway and a ball finial atop a pyramidal roof. The gateway itself has a label mould over a moulded arched doorway with sunk spandrels. Above the gateway, there is an 18th-century bellcote that features a plaque with the date 1742 and a GR monogram, along with a plaque displaying the monogram AT. The 18th-century batteries are largely restorations or rebuilds of mid-17th-century structures, following a report on the state of the defences by Colonel Christian Lilley in 1715. This site is part of an important fortification centered on Star Castle and is scheduled as an Ancient Monument.