Helston

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Helston

Helston is a medium-sized market town in southwest Cornwall with a current population of between 8,000 and 9,000. It originated as a medieval market town, developing around its castle and church. It was granted a charter and became a borough in 1201 and was a ‘coinage town’ (for the taxation of tin produced in the region) by 1305. The town had jurisdiction over the port of Gweek on the Helford River. In the later historic period Helston became important as a commercial and market centre for nearby mining areas and the agricultural communities of the Lizard.

The town is particularly noted for its fine 18^th and 19^th century buildings and high quality streetscapes, and for the Flora Day celebrations held in May each year. It lies within the bounds of Kerrier District Council and is situated approximately 3 km inland from the east side of Mount’s Bay.

Downloads:
The downloads offered below represent the different elements of the CSUS Helston Report including the core text, seven illustrative figures and eight character area summaries.

Title	Description	Format	Size
CSUS Helston Report	REPORT text detailing the results of the historic character study for the town of Helston. Stef Russell, Historic Environment Service.		2277kb
Figure 1 - Location & Topography Map	Map showing the location of Helston and its immediate topography.		1.8mb
Figure 2 - Ordnance Survey 2nd Edition 1:2500 Map (c.1907)	Map showing the town of Helston in c.1907.		1.2mb
Figure 3 - Historic Development Map	Map showing the historic development and expansion of Helston.		2.8mb
Figure 4 - Historic Settlement Topography Map	Map showing the historic topography of Helston with key areas of historic activity.		2.6mb
Figure 5 - Surviving Historic Components Map	Map showing the surviving historic buildings of Helston.		2.6mb
Figure 6 - Urban Archaeological Potential Map	Map showing the areas and sites of archaeological potential in Helston.		2.4mb
Figure 7 - Character Areas Map	Map showing the seven character areas identified by the survey of Helston.		1.7mb
Character Area 1- Church Street & Cross Street	Fine residential area of Helston in terms of status and quality of buildings and 'greenery'.		329kb
Character Area 2 - Coinagehall Street	Historic east-west axis of planned medieval town and the 'heart' of Helston. Open with memorable views along the street and out to open countryside.		324kb
Character Area 3 - Central market area	Physical heart of Helston based on staggered cross-roads. Strong sense of enclosure.		325kb
Character Area 4 - Five wells area	Historic focus for industry, an area of narrow streets and lanes.		363kb
Character Area 5 : Post-Medieval expansion - Wendron Street	Part of medieval east-west axis, now predominantly post-medieval residential expansion.		324kb
Character Areas 6 & 7 : PM expansion - Meneage Street/Meneage Road	Historic route south to The Lizard peninsula, now busy commercial area.		389kb
Character Area 8 : River valley & St John's	Area of medieval settlement around the crossing-point on the Cober river. Low-lying area that has often been used for fairs, cattle markets and industrial activities.		220kb


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