St. Day Shopfront Study - CornwallThe Cahill Partnership - St. Day Shopfront Study 4 3 Shops in St. Day’s history The best way to see the changing scale of commerce and trade, its

St. Day ShopfrontStudy

A report to Kerrier District Councilby The Cahill Partnership

December 2001

Prepared for

Kerrier District Councilby

The Cahill Partnershipc o n s e r v a t i o n p l a n n i n g / h i s t o r i c b u i l d i n g s / r e s e a r c h

Tel: 01736 333659Fax: 01736 333319

E-mail: [email protected]

7 M e n n a y e R o a d , P e n z a n c e , C o r n w a l l , T R 1 8 4 N G

The Cahill Partnership - St. Day Shopfront Study 1

St. Day Shopfront Study

Contents1 Introduction .........................................................................................................................2

1.1 Background .......................................................................................................................21.2 Aims....................................................................................................................................21.3 Methodology .....................................................................................................................2

2 Brief history of St. Day......................................................................................................33 Shops in St. Day’s history.................................................................................................44 The character of St. Day’s shops ...................................................................................6

4.1 Historic...............................................................................................................................64.2 Current character..............................................................................................................64.3 Current statistics (See Index) ..........................................................................................7

5 The Issues .........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.5.1 Introduction ...............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.5.2 SWOT Analysis..........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

5.2.1 Strengths ............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.5.2.2 Weaknesses........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.5.2.3 Opportunities....................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.5.2.4 Threats ...............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

6 A Strategy...........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.6.1 Objectives ...................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.6.2 Actions ........................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.6.3 Summary of recommended actions for each shopfrontError! Bookmark notdefined.

7 Detailed Actions ..............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.7.1 Retain old shopfronts. ..............................................Error! Bookmark not defined.7.2 Repair and maintain ..................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.7.3 Encourage re-use. ......................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.7.4 Target key buildings. .................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.7.5 Change of use.............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.7.6 Replacement of modern shopfronts.......................Error! Bookmark not defined.7.7 Wider regeneration framework................................Error! Bookmark not defined.7.8 Grant schemes ...........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.7.9 Local authority role. ..................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

8 Design Guidelines...........................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.8.1 Shopfront design .......................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.8.2 Design guidelines.......................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

9 Useful Addresses .............................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.

Appendix 1: Location map of historic and surviving shopfronts in St. DayError!Bookmark not defined.Appendix 2: St. Day - historical shops audit .........................Error! Bookmark not defined.Appendix 3: Surviving shopfronts in St. Day........................Error! Bookmark not defined.


1 Introduction1.1 BackgroundThis report was commissioned in April 2001by Kerrier District Council in response toconcerns within the local community,expressed to the Council and at publicmeetings, over the apparent dereliction ofmany of the surviving historic shopfronts in St.Day. The District Council has already beenpromoting repair and maintenance in the townthrough a number of channels, includinginitiatives based on improving the housingstock, the poor state of which was revealed bya House condition Survey (1998) and aresidents’ survey of St. Day (2000).

It supplements established regenerationinitiatives in St. Day and the surrounding area(The Mining Villages Project) and a CornwallIndustrial Settlements Initiative reportproduced by The Cahill Partnership forCornwall Archaeological Unit.*

1.2 AimsThe report was commissioned to provide:

• an analysis of the quality of survivingshopfronts and whether they have adistinctive character

• good and bad examples of conversion

• suggestions how future uses, i.e. otherthan retail, might be accommodatedwithout compromising character

In addition, we have suggested a conservationstrategy, polices and other proposals for St.Day’s important legacy of historical shops andshopfronts.

1.3 MethodologyThe detailed and specialised research for thisreport follows on from the broad-basedresearch and characterisation done for the CISIproject, and was carried out in July and August2001.

The research was based on:

• fieldwork, during which every survivingshopfront and all known sites of formercommercial premises were recorded(externally only)

• historical photographs and illustrations,based on Paddy Bradley’s extensive

collection, copies of which were kindlylent by Eric Berry

• printed histories and maps and 19th andearly 20th century trade directories

• archaeological and historical building datakept within the County Sites andMonuments Record managed by CornwallArchaeological Unit.

• a discussion and walk-about survey wasundertaken with representatives of the St.Day Historical Society and the ParishCouncil in August 2001.

The data gathered during this survey andresearch phase was then used as the basis foranalysis of the surviving fabric, and forproposing a conservation strategy, polices andproposals for St. Day. These have beeninformed by discussion with Andrew Richards,Kerrier District Council’s ConservationOfficer, and examination of the Local Plan andstatutory planing guidance, in particularPlanning Policy Guidance Note 15 ‘Planningand the Historic Environment’.

The report has also been written with referenceto relevant policy, design and best practiceguidance produced by English Heritage, theEnglish Historic Towns Forum, nationalamenity societies, a wide range of localauthority-produced guides from across thewhole country, and an extensive surf throughInternet sources.

Finally, a number of local, national andEuropean regeneration and funding initiativeshave been examined to explore some possiblefunding avenues to make practical progress onthe ground.

* This is part of a county-wide programme, which attemptsto record and analyse the conservation resources, characterand potential of some 120 industrial settlements inCornwall. CISI was commissioned by a partnership ofEnglish Heritage, Cornwall County Council and the sixDistrict Councils


2 Brief history of St. DayA late medieval pilgrimage and market centre,also serving a well-established local tinindustry in the 16th- 17th centuries, St. Day hadexperienced decline by the early 18th century.With the growth of the ‘Copper Kingdom’ inGwennap from about 1750 onwards, St. Dayentered a period of growth as a market andservicing centre. After setbacks in theNapoleonic Wars period, the early 19th centurywas a boom period, especially the 1820s-30s.

The town was not industrial in the sense thatindustries located here – although mines cameright up to the edge of the settlement, mostminers lived in the surrounding hamlets. It wasshops, merchants and markets that dominatedthe town, serving the surrounding, incrediblyrich, mining industry. This gave rise to anunusual number of commercial businesses andproperties that survived to the First WorldWar, although the population, wealth andactivity in St. Day declined steadily from about1870 onwards and today there is lesspopulation than in 1841.

Commercial activity has created the physicalappearance and character of the core of thesettlement. The ancient chapel and marketplace at the west end of Fore Street had beensuperseded by the late 18th century by the newmarket at the street’s east end. At the sametime as the last vestiges of the chapel andtower were pulled down (1797/8) a newcovered market house was built with smallcottages and shops built around it. The centralrole of the market in the town wassymbolically marked by the building of theclock tower in 1821.

Side-by-side with the new market stood thenumerous buildings erected by the HarveyBrothers between 1805 and 1830 – theirbuildings dominated the town in the same wayas their business dominated its trade andpopulation. The Harveys’ huge fortune was notbased, however, on the well-known shop/storesthey operated in St. Day on the truck system inpartnership with the Williams-owned mines,but on

their role as major suppliers to, andshareholders in, the vast mining activityaround them. The scale of their propertyownership and commercial premises puts themin the same standing as other major mine-related mercantile interests in Cornwall such as

the (unrelated) Harveys of Hayle or the Foxfamily of Falmouth/Perranarworthal.

At the same time there was a growthindependent of the Harveys in a wide range ofgeneral, grocery, provisions and clothing shopsin St. Day as well as specialists (like WilliamWilton's mathematical instrument works).

The boom years, of the 1820s in particular,saw most of St. Day’s buildings built,especially those that still characterise thecentral core – the Harveys built a largeshop/counthouse, warehouses and stable yards,flour store, other shops and houses in andaround Fore Street, and their own large housesand ornamental grounds at Carew House andCedars. In addition, the clock tower was built,the new church and 3 new non-conformistchapels were all built in 1827/8 and thesurviving or former inns and public houses arelargely of this period. It is the survivingelements of this great phase of building whichestablished the character and appearance of St.Day throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, andprovides the historic character andtopographical framework within which allsubsequent development has been set. Thesurviving historic shops and shopfronts are anessential element of this crucial developmentstage.


3 Shops in St. Day’s historyThe best way to see the changing scale ofcommerce and trade, its rise and fall in St. Dayis through snap-shots of the 19th and early 20th

century trade directories.

Private residents, gentry, clergy andprofessional men, such as surgeons, mineagents, surveyors, poor law relieving officers,tax officers etc. have been left off this list.Their numbers followed the same broad trendsas that of the shops and trades listed in theadjoining table.

In the early 19th century, there were some 48businesses (many people doubling up on theirtrades, like the painter/glazier who also actedas an auctioneer), including Collin and JamesHarvey’s mercantile business, 2 doctors, 2chemists, several public houses, 2watchmakers/jewellers, ironmongers, grocers,blacksmiths, boot and shoe workers, and ascientific instrument manufactory (WilliamWilson and Son). There were markedly morespecialist shops than the surrounding villages,although also markedly few ‘industrial’businesses. Clothing and shoe-makingbusinesses were a major feature, and not onlysupplied the workaday needs of thesurrounding industrial areas but also served thepredilection of miners’ wives and bal-maidensin Cornwall for fine clothing - a feature oftennoted, and usually unfairly disparaged, bycommentators.

By 1873 there had been an increase in thenumber of shops and small businesses,especially amongst grocers, drapers, millinersand bootmakers in the town, as well as ageneral increase in the number of mine agents,surveyors, assay officers and otherprofessionals (including a town crier). Thiswas the peak period for all numbers of shopsand other business in St. Day, and may itselfhave been only a short boom linked to thegeneral recovery in mining in west Cornwall in1870-72.

Table 1 - Analysis of TradeDirectories, St. Day

183 1847 1873 1903 1930

Bakers 1 1 3Beer seller 2 4 1 1Blacksmith 3 2 2 1 2Bootmaker 4 3 11 3 1Brushmaker 1Builder 1 1Butcher 3 4 4 3Cabinet maker 1 1Carpenter 3 2 1 1Carrier 3 2Chairmaker 1Chemist 2 2 2 1 1Currier 1Cycle/motor works 1 1Draper 5 2 4 3Earthernware 2Fancy goods 1Fried fish 1Fruiterer 1Fustian cutter 1General dealer 2Greengrocer 2Grocer 10 7 12 5 5Hairdresser 2 1 1Hatter 2Ironmonger 1 1 2Linen/Wool sales 1Lodging house 1Mason 4 1Merchant 1 2Milliner/ hatter 3 1 4 1Outfitter 1 1Painter/Glazier 1 1 3 1Plumber/Glazier 1Post office 1 1 1Printer 1Saddler/Harness 1 1 1Shopkeeper 2 8 3 8 8Stationer 3 2Tailor 4 5 1Taverns/ inns 5 6 5 3 2Teadealer 3 1Watchmaker 3 3 1TOTALS 48 59 83 49 33

An 1859 directory additionally lists thefollowing trades: - Coal merchant,Confectioner, Maltster, Toyshop.

By the late 19th century, migration, althoughdepopulating the surrounding area, at leasthelped to maintain a certain level of incomethrough money sent back by miners andengineers working overseas (remittance), andconsequently the number of businesses and


shops in St. Day around 1900 was probably farin excess of what the local population wouldotherwise have needed.

The importance of remittance to St. Day hasnot been studied in detail, but muchcontemporary anecdotal evidence, and somegeneral modern studies, suggest that it playedan abnormally important part in maintainingthe town, and especially the clothing andluxury shops, also being invested in schools,chapels etc.

But this process was badly affected by theBoer War and the First World War, the growthof a skilled population out in the global miningfields themselves and the depression of the1920s/30s.

In 1911 the population of St. Day and itshamlets was down to 2,031, scarcely more thanit had been in 1801. By 1931 it had fallen to1,803. The shops could no longer besupported by the local population, a changeaccelerated by greater mobility and access tolarger towns (a bus service to Redruth beganoperating in 1910). In the 1870s tradedirectories there were some 90 shops andtradesmen in St. Day. In 1930 33, and by 1939there were 25, and those were all of arelatively standard type – grocers, butchers,bakers. There was none of the hatters,milliners, drapers, boot and shoemakers, minesurveyors and mathematical instrument makersetc. found in the previous century.

Since 1946, St. Day’s function as a shoppingand service centre has continued to decline, thesettlement is now almost entirely a residentialvillage.

The Cahill Partnership - St. Day shopfronts 6

4 The character of St.Day’s shops4.1 Historical characterThere are 54 identifiable shops revealed in theavailable evidence (maps/texts/photographs/personal memoirs etc.), but therehave probably been in excess of that number intotal (not including the 3 or 4 known to haveexisted at Vogue). There were in additionmany other commercial, trading or small-scaleworkshops or industrial buildings (privateoffices, 5 pubs, smithies, joiners’ workshops,boot manufacturer, brickworks, mathematicalinstrument makers, slaughterhouse,warehouses and stable yards etc.).

Many of these businesses would have had littleeffect on the outside appearance of thebuildings or the street scene – WilliamWilton’s premises and the former Market Innnext door to it in Church Street look now asthey always did just like simple cottage fronts.There are several instances in St. Day of a typeof shop front fairly common in west Cornwall,so-called ‘parlour shops’ where, rather than anattached timber shopfront, an enlarged, but stilldomestic-looking window, in the ground wasused as the shopfront – number 11 ChurchStreet is a good example.

The commercial buildings and workshops areonly indirectly relevant to a study ofshopfronts, but they do represent an importanttype of building in their own right (2 are listedin St. Day as buildings of special architecturaland historic importance) and are an importantpart of the historical character of the town.

Most of the commercial businesses in St. Daydid, however, rely on shops and shopfronts inwhich to present and sell their goods andservices. To contemporary visitors, apart fromthe church and chapels, St. Day seemedentirely given over to shops and commerce,serving the surrounding mining district. Thescale and quality of the local shops were alsoreflected in the scale and quality of some of thehouses and gardens in St. Day. The trade of thetown included some

unusual specialist and high quality shops, andproduced an elegant, high quality environmentthroughout the town. This was, in the jargon ofmodern planning guidance, the specialarchitectural and historic interest of thesettlement, and had been since the mid 18th

century, if not long before.

Historical photographs show just howimposing and dominant these shopfronts couldbe; many of the shops were very impressiveand ornate, the best having free-standingcolonnaded frontages projecting over thepavement.

4.2 Current characterAlmost without exception, all the historicaland surviving shopfronts in St. Day were ofwell-wrought timberwork. In this they contrastwith neighbouring centres like Redruth orCamborne, where the shops were more oftenof stone or stucco decorated in imitation ofstone – the only example in St. Day being thesimple rendered fascia sign (Hockey) to WestEnd House [54].

This high quality of early 19th century joinerywork in the town is reflected not only in thefortunate and very symbolic survival of acarpenter/joiners works, but also in the goodquality of joinery work on some of thecontemporary domestic buildings in St. Day(for instance at 1 & 2 West End, or VogueTerrace).

The majority of surviving historic shopfrontsare not of the grand, highly ornamented typetypical of the late 19th/early 20th centres. Thesewere always more expensive to maintain andwere generally attached to larger shop units, ofthe sort that were no longer required to servethe much reduced local demand by the mid20th century.

This has led to one of the most distinctivefeatures of St. Day’s surviving shops - whatsurvives is an unusually high proportion of theearlier, smaller shopfronts, including many thatmay be late 18th /early 19th century in date, in

contrast to most other local centres likeRedruth or Chacewater, where mid-late 19th

and early 20th century shopfronts are morecharacteristic.

The dependence on local joinery skills led to anumber of recognisably distinctive localdetails, such as:

• moulded details (mullions, pilasters, cillsetc.)

• a preponderance of narrow fascias withdeeply projecting cornices [6][9][23][27]etc.

• the use of diamond-pattern glazing (oftenwith coloured glass) in the upper parts ofshop windows (the transom lights) - a


surviving example is the Old Post Office[25]

• use of projecting bays [3][16][21]

Despite major losses to historic shopfronts inSt. Day, therefore, it still retains an important,and locally very distinctive, character, basedon its history and surviving historic fabric. Thesheer number of shops that once existed in St.Day, and to some extent survive, is unusual ina settlement of this size.

4.3 Current statistics (See Index)• 54 recorded sites (probably plus a number

of so-far unidentified ‘parlour shops’)

• 25 recognisable shopfronts (not allhistoric, some scarcely more thanboarded-up openings)

• of these, 14 are historical shopfronts, plusa number of ‘parlour shops’, e.g. no. 11Church Street is a good example

• 20 shopfronts still recognisably completeand capable of almost immediate re-use

• 8 premises are in use as working shops orcommercial premises

• 7 are vacant, boarded-up or appear fromthe street to be in some degree underuse

Th C hill P t hi St D Sh f t St d 8

5 The Issues5.1 IntroductionThe central and critical place that St. Day’sshops hold in defining the special historiccharacter of the town and its conservation areamust be fully recognised. The historic shopsand shopfronts of St. Day are a significant partof the cultural heritage of the area,irreplaceable elements in the history andmemories of the community.

They not only contribute to, but are essential tothe valuable and vulnerable sense of localdistinctiveness and to the special architecturaland historic interest of the conservation area.

It has already been recognised by thecommunity and the local authority that there isa problem with the condition and under-use ofshops and shopfronts in St. Day.

Restoring and maintaining the historic shopsand shopfronts in St. Day will not only bringcultural benefits; bringing underused buildingsback into full use will also result in visualbenefit and would be a major source ofregeneration - decaying buildings are a wastedasset, and no one enjoys living withdereliction.

Historic buildings also represent a significantinvestment in resources and embodied energywhich we cannot afford to lose. The repair andreuse of these buildings makes a significantcontribution to the wider objectives ofenvironmental conservation and sustainability.

To achieve this will require more than simplytreating the problem as one of repairingdecaying fabric. There needs to be anintegrated approach. Much has already beenachieved, of course, with the excellent MiningVillages Project, which is set to continue andto expand. Integrating the special issue of St.Day’s shops into this wider programme wouldbe the most obvious and desirable first step.The following broad SWOT analysis considerssome of the strengths, weaknesses,opportunities and threats in St. Day inparticular relation to its shopfront heritage.

5.2 SWOT Analysis

5.2.1 Strengths• good range of community facilities –

shops, doctor, school, sports centre,church/chapels, community centre

• Fore Street and its environs contain aunique collection of commercial andmercantile buildings, imposing, attractiveand set in a good streetscape with one ofthe best collections of historical pavingand surfacing materials in Cornwall,reflecting its historic role as a marketcentre

• very attractive residential area - manyattractive residential streets, full ofgardens, trees and well-looked afterhouses (Telegraph Street, Forth an Eglos)and historic buildings

• easy access through often beautiful pathsinto open countryside

• views and vistas both in and out of thetown add to the attractive picture and asense of discovery, as does anunderstanding of the complex history ofSt. Day

• low property values attract buyers

5.2.2 Weaknesses• low property values conversely make for

poor investment potential and indicatemarginal economic activity

• low income base for restoration, or formatch-funding for grant aid

• sources of employment within St. Day arenegligible

• opportunities for greatly expanding thesize of the village (currently about 1700population) are limited by its rural setting,poor road access and limited drainagesystem capacity

• central area typified by ‘hard’ enclosedstreetscape, poor modern shopfronts,boarded up older shopfronts, poorlymaintained buildings and the dominantpresence of parked vehicles

• there appears to be a lack of publicfacilities with little open or green space orusable public spaces

5.2.3 Opportunities• limited expansion and infill of housing in

and around the village

• upgrading of existing housing stock


• provision of communal facilities (such asthe recently completed and excellentsports ground facilities)

• promotion and interpretation of industrialand other elements of the heritage of thetown and area

• heritage-led regeneration schemesinvolving a relatively high level of grantaid and public funding

• Initiatives to make the best use of thosespecial features of the town that survive tocreate a sense of place and localdistinctiveness, perhaps especially thestock of unused or underused shops

5.2.4 Threats• these are most likely to result from failure

of development, and even regenerationschemes, to recognise or refer to St. Day’sspecial and locally distinctive character.uncoordinated, small-scale and piecemealproposals could seriously affect thehistoric character and current quality ofenvironment

• public schemes, such as market square,have sometimes not quite succeeded withsuch issues as historic paving, public v.private conflict

• demolition - there has been a curiouslylarge amount of loss of historic fabric inSt. Day. shopfronts have vanished by thedozen, in some ways the greatest loss,since it is difficult now to get an idea onthe ground of the great numbers, highquality and sheer size of some of theshopfronts seen in old photographs


6 A Strategy6.1 IntroductionA strategy for regeneration should be based onthe identification of new economic roles, or theintensification of existing ones. Such a strategyshould be both achievable and compatible withthe conservation of the area’s historic fabric,the inherent quality of which will often be amajor asset in attracting new investment.Halifax, and other major centres, have madereinvestment in shops a major basis of theirregeneration strategies. This will not work byitself in St. Day, but in conjunction with othermeasures might reverse visual decline and be aplatform to attracting other schemes andresources.

6.2 Objectives• Increase economic activity and reduce

vacant premises numbers

• Encourage greater investment in repairand maintenance of buildings

• Improve environment so St. Day isperceived as an historic location of highquality and local distinctiveness

• Raise volume of visits and spending bylocal resident and visitors

• Encourage use of traditional and localmaterials, and foster traditional and locallybased craft skills (e.g. in quality joinerywork)

6.3 Actions1. Retain old shopfronts of merit as a

fundamental principle.

2. Repair and maintain the existing stock ofhistoric shopfronts in St. Day.

3. Encourage the re-use of historicshopfronts in St. Day by promoting theirsuitability for a variety of new uses.

4. Target key buildings and reinstate missingelements of shopfronts as part oftownscape and streetscape improvements.

5. Ensure the most appropriate schemeswhen change of use and/or loss of existingshopfronts become inevitable.

6. Encourage the replacement ofinappropriate modern shopfronts witheither traditionally detailed shopfronts

based on historic evidence or withappropriately and well-detailed modernshopfronts.

7. Integrate shopfront scheme into a widerframework of regeneration measures

8. Establish and promote grant schemes andinvestment initiatives to repair and re-usevacant buildings.

9. Local authority to effectively exercisestatutory controls as well as enabling role.

Table 2 - Summary of recommendedactions for each shopfront

Indexno.

Address SuggestedActions

[1] 2, Chapel Street 2,4

[6] 9, Church Street 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9

[9] 3, Church Street 1,2,3

[11] 10, Church Street 6

[12] 12, Church Street 6

[16] Berlewen, Fore Street 1,2,3

[17] Fore Street 5,7

[18] Fore Street 5,7

[19] Pebbles, Fore Street 3,4,5,7,8,9

[20] Spar, Fore Street 4,6,

[21] Post Office, Fore Street 4,6

[22] Gull House, Fore Street 1,2,4

[23] Adj. St. Day Inn, Fore Street 1,3,4,5

[25] Old Post Office, Fore Street 1

[27] 5, Fore Street 1,2,4

[28] 5a, Fore Street 1,2,4

[32] 1, Scorrier Street 1,2,3,4,8

[42] 38, Scorrier Street 6

[43] 32, Scorrier Street 1,2,3,5,7,8

[48] 2, Scorrier Street 3,4,5,6,7,8,9

[51] 3, Telegraph Street 1,2,4

[52] 1, Telegraph Street 1,2,4

[54] West End House, West End 1,2


7 Detailed ActionsWork to a shopfront may require planningpermission, listed building consent orconservation area consent or buildingregulations approval, depending on thecircumstances. This may be so of completeremoval, alteration, restoration or even (in thecase of listed buildings) renovation of anexisting shopfront. Consult with the localauthority in all cases beforehand.

In the case of repairs, installation of newshopfronts and renovation of existing, youshould refer to the Kerrier Shopfront Guideand the local authority conservation officer.Any alterations, including quite minor ones,will need to be consistent with the age andstyle of the building, its neighbours and theconservation area.

7.1 Retain old shopfronts of meritas a fundamental principle.Wherever old shopfronts of merit surviveevery effort should be made to retain them intheir entirety, because:

• they give a strong sense of place,landmarks of local history and lifesuggesting continuity and stability in thechanging streetscene: they represent thefamiliar and cherished local scene

• they are a reservoir and showcase oflocally traditional materials, details andskills

• this applies to preserving details as well aswhole shopfronts - it is virtuallyimpossible to find a contemporarybuilding with the depth of interest, interms of materials and craftsmanship, tobe found in such historic buildings

• appearances can be deceptive; a run-downand vacant building may look so parlousas to completely obscure its possibilities,but there is often a ‘credibility gap’between this appearance and what isactually possible - the most alarmingdefects can sometimes turn out to beeasily remedied

• when the buildings are listed or in someother way make a positive contribution tothe character of the conservation area (asdo all the surviving historic shopfronts inSt. Day), applications to remove or alterthem will have to be carefully justified.

They will need to show ‘the extent towhich the proposed works would bringsubstantial benefits for the community, inparticular by contributing to the economicregeneration of the area or theenhancement of its environment’ –[PPG15, 3.5 (iv)].

• the destruction of historic buildings is….very seldom necessary for reasons ofgood planning, more often it is the resultof neglect or the failure to makeimaginative efforts to find new uses forthem…..’ [PPG15, 3.16].

Apply to:[6] 9, Church Street[9] 3, Church Street[16] Berlewen, Fore Street[22] Gull House, Fore Street [23] Adj. to St. Day Inn, Fore Street[25] Old Post Office, Fore Street[27] 5, Fore Street[28] 5a, Fore Street[32] 1, Scorrier Street[43] 32, Scorrier Street[51] 3, Telegraph Street[52] 1, Telegraph Street[54] West End House, West End

7.2 Repair and maintain theexisting stock of historic shopfronts inSt. Day.• Regular maintenance and repair are the

keys to the preservation of historicbuildings. Modest expenditure on repairskeeps a building weathertight, and routinemaintenance can prevent much moreexpensive work becoming necessary at alater date

• Repairs should usually be low-key, andnew work should be fitted to the old toensure the survival of as much historicfabric as is practical. Old work

should not be sacrificed merely toaccommodate the new.

• Policies and guidance on repair of historicbuildings can be found in a number ofcomprehensive guides, e.g.:–

– Buildings At Risk – A newStrategy, English Heritage, 1998


– The Repair of Historic Buildings– Advice on principles andMethods, English Heritage, 1995

– guides produced by EnglishHeritage, The Society forProtection of Ancient Buildings,The Georgian Group, TheVictorian Society etc.

– Kerrier Shopfronts and Signs,Kerrier District Council, 2001

– architectural and Surveyors’practices are experienced inestablishing and supervisingregular planned maintenanceprogrammes – the Church OfEngland’s Quinquennialinspection system is one of themost universally applied andsuccessful, and could be easilyadapted to a wide range ofbuildings.

• The local authority has a role to play:

– in giving general planning andconservation advice

– in the exercise of statutorycontrols (see below); much issummarised in EnvironmentCircular 02/98 – prevention ofDereliction through the PlanningProcess

– investigate new ways ofsponsoring maintenance ratherthan crisis management of oftenwasteful and destructive capitalrepairs programmes, throughadvice and grant aid programmesor

partnership agreements or directlabour. Legislation allows for grantaid for maintenance; in othercountries (such as the Netherlands)teams of trained maintenance workersvisit historic properties once or twicea year to do basic chores such ascleaning gutters and downpipes,fixing missing slates and tiles,replacing perished lead or zinc in thevalley gutters and inspecting the roofvoids for outbreaks of rot andwoodworm.

Apply to:[1] 2, Chapel Street

[6] 9, Church Street


[16] Berlewen, Fore Street

[22] Gull House, Fore Street

[27] 5, Fore Street

[28] 5a, Fore Street

[32] 1, Scorrier Street


[51] 3, Telegraph Street


[54] West End House, West End

7.3 Encourage the re-use of historicshopfronts in St. Day by promotingtheir suitability for a variety of newuses.‘Each historic building has its owncharacteristics which are usually related to anoriginal or subsequent function. These shouldas far as possible be respected when proposalsfor alterations are put forward….Localplanning authorities should attempt to retainthe characteristics of distinct types of building,especially those that are particular to theirarea.’ [PPG15, Annex C2].

• the best way of securing historic buildingsis to keep them in use, new or continuinguses will often entail some alteration oradaptation, so that range of acceptableuses is a consideration

• judging best use is difficult, it requiresbalancing the economic viability ofpossible uses against the effect of anychanges they entail in the specialarchitectural and historic interest of thebuilding or area in question and it isnecessary to asses the elements that makeup special character (decorative facade,internal features, layout, archaeological ortechnological interest)

• in principle the aim should be to identifythe optimum viable use that is compatiblewith the fabric, interior, and setting of thehistoric building


• the best use will very often be the use forwhich the building was originallydesigned and the continuation orreinstatement of that use should certainlybe the first option when the future of abuilding is considered

• achieving proper balance can be done ifreasonable flexibility and imagination areshown by all parties and local authoritiesapply planning/building control legislationflexibly, or if an applicant is willing toexploit unorthodox spaces rather than set astandardised requirement. –buildingregulations, fire safety and disabledaccess provision should be enforcedsympathetically to the requirements of thehistoric fabric

Apply to:[6] 9, Church Street


[16] Berlewen, Fore Street

[19] Pebbles, Fore Street

[23] Adj. to St. Day Inn, Fore Street




7.4 Target key buildings andreinstate missing elements ofshopfronts as part of townscape andstreetscape improvements.Restoration/enhancement schemes shouldlocate and focus on some of the importantfocal points – the closing buildings to vistas, asalong Fore Street’; the buildings around focalpoints like the old market cross; shopfrontsshould be restored or improved where theyhave this extra townscape character.

It is important to preserve the best survivingexamples of the shopfronts themselves, notonly as quality artefacts in their own right, butas a vital element of St. Day’s history. Insome cases, restoration of a lost shopfrontcould have considerable visual benefits for thewhole centre. Number 2 Scorrier Street facingdown Fore Street, for instance, is so importantto the streetscape that a good case could be

made for creating a facsimile shopfront, sinceit would in many ways lift the whole of ForeStreet and create some element of that sense ofplace as the commercial heart of the townwhich is otherwise still on the decline, with theongoing conversion of former shopfronts stillrunning riot in St. Day and in Fore Street inparticular.

Apply to:[1] 2, Chapel Street



[20] Spar, Fore Street

[21] Post Office, Fore Street

[22] Gull House, Fore Street


[27] 5, Fore Street

[28] 5a, Fore Street





7.5 Ensure the most appropriateschemes when change of use and/orloss of existing shopfronts becomeinevitable.There is very little available guidance on howto deal with redundant shopfronts, either fromstatutory bodies, Cornish local authorities, orindeed nationally. Virtually all publishedshopfront guides deal with repairs, alterationsor designs of new shopfronts, not why or howto keep redundant shopfronts beyond generalstatements, typical of which is this fromBirmingham City Council ‘consideration mustbe given whether a shop-like appearanceshould be retained, or whether an appropriateand sympathetic alternative design solution ispossible. The general presumption will be infavour of retaining the shopfront wherepossible’.

Even initiatives like Living Over The Shop(LOTS) are more concerned with usingunderused parts of existing commercialpremises rather than preserving unusedshopfronts.

It is necessary, therefore, to go back to basicprincipals, and particularly the statutory


guidance produced by the Government (PPG15), as well as such guides as ConservationArea Practice, produced by English Heritage.These suggest the following broad principles:

• changes of use generally will bepermitted where they areconsistent with maintaining theviability and historic character orappearance of the area

• but proposals must take accountof the significance of the buildingtype, and give substantial weightto this in

St. Day because of theimportance of shops to the town.

• retention of old buildings shouldnot be a slavish exercise inpreservation for its own sake –those with architectural quality inthe facades should be adapted;where replacements must bemade, they should be carried outin harmony with the rest of thebuilding

• don’t overlook the contributionbuildings make to theirneighbours, a group or thestreetscape, the building’s settingand its contribution to the localscene where it shares particulararchitectural forms or details withother buildings nearby

See also section 8 below on design guidelines


[17] Fore Street

[18] Fore Street





7.6 Encourage the replacement ofinappropriate modern shopfronts witheither traditionally detailed shopfrontsbased on historical evidence or withappropriately and well-detailed modernshopfronts.The designs and appearance of shopfronts andof their projecting blinds can have particularimpact and should be related to the characterof the building and to their location….Unsympathetically designed shopfronts arelikely to detract from the appearance of areas

of character. The use of standardised companytype shopfronts with large areas of plate glass,plastic, metallic or tile finishes are unlikely toharmonise with their surroundings and wouldcertainly be unacceptable on listed buildingsor within areas of character and visualamenity. Kerrier Local Plan, p. 87

• Extensive guidance on the principles ofshopfront design are to be found in theKerrier Shopfronts and Signs, KerrierDistrict Council, 2001, to which referenceshould always be made.

• This suggested programme should beintegrated with the concentration ontargeting key buildings and streetscapeelements as outlined in 7.4 above.



[20] Spar, Fore Street

[21] Post Office, Fore Street



7.7 Integrate shopfront scheme intoa wider framework of regenerationmeasuresThere are many existing initiatives which maybe relevant, whether national, regional or local:

• The government is currently vigorouslypromoting and pursuing ruralregeneration. The Countryside agency inparticular has been actively promoting anew strategy – to deal with the followingpressures and issues:

– environment


– quality of life, including closureof pubs/shops/local services

– challenges to enterprise andbusiness: transport, market townsand employment, new technology(the ITC

revolution is lagging behind inthe countryside)

• economic regeneration, small businesses,rural development etc. should all beconsidered in addition to buildings-basedregeneration schemes, e.g. MiningVillages, Kerrier Empty homes schemes,Vital Villages programme (CountrysideAgency)

• the impact of traffic management,environmental enhancement schemes andallocation for car parking will have to beexamined

• positively targeting local businesses orthose making enquiries in the area andencouraging them to relocate to St. Day bymeans of financial, administrative orplanning concessions should be pursued,perhaps by co-ordination withorganisations and agencies outside boththe District and Cornwall (SWERDA,small business confederations, etc.)

• this report is based on an area-basedBuildings At Risk style survey - this willneed to be followed by a more detailedassessment of the major structural andexternal elements of some or all of thebuildings concerned to provide a realisticindication of the level of expenditurenecessary to bring the physical fabric backinto good repair. This will supplement theexisting 1998 Housing Condition surveyand 2000 St. Day Residents’ Survey


[17] Fore Street

[18] Fore Street




7.8 Establish and promote grantschemes and investment initiatives torepair and re-use vacant buildings.• the local authority is best placed to co-

ordinate, through conservation/ planning,economic development and housingsections, a complex package of grantssuch as is likely to be required; there is awell-established experience at KerrierDistrict Council at putting togethersources of funding for heritage-basedregeneration packages, which could bringin funding from some surprising quarters –especially those funds managed by theCountryside Agency

• there is a wide range of funding sourcesthat will tackle specific parts of the sort ofmeasures that may be appropriate in St.Day. A sensible time-scale must beprogrammed to co-ordinate such apackage – the regeneration package forBodmin for instance took 3 years to get toimplementation stage, a not uncommontime-scale

• as has already been suggested (7.2), thereis a need to look at different ways offunding, especially those that will providerevenue funds, both to make new businessviable, and for a new approach tomaintenance grants

• the best overall source for information onheritage grant aid schemes is Funds forHistoric Buildings in England and Wales -A Directory of Sources, Published by theArchitectural Heritage Fund. The 2000edition costs £24.50 or £17.50 forregistered charities (including postage andpacking: Architectural Heritage Fund,Clareville House, 26/27 Oxendon Street,London SW1Y 4EL)

The most likely fund schemes to be relevantare:

• public/governmental grant aid

– County, District and ParishCouncil funding

– (those for historic buildings andareas under section 57 of thePlanning (Listed Buildings andConservation Areas) Act 1990


allow for grants or loans for bothrepair and maintenance

– housing improvement grants –building on existing HouseCondition Surveys (1998) andpromotion of repair schemes inSt. Day

– regional government sources(SWERDA)

• Objective One

This programme can fund not onlyphysical fabric, but also smallbusiness, especially encouraging ruralbusiness /diversification (businessesas well as farms)/ conversion ofvacant/redundant buildings etc. forspecial uses

• Mining Villages

– an existing local partnershipscheme that actually combinesmany of the above sources offunding

– integrated into an Objective 1package promoting localdistinctiveness, this scheme hasalready led to property grantsschemes

• Heritage Economic Regeneration schemes(English Heritage)

– HERS concentrates onneighbourhood businesses, highstreets and corner shops -employment-generating activitieswhich form the focus forcommunity life and prosperity,and where area-based assistancewith building repairs andenhancement will help tomaintain local employment,provide new homes andencourage inward investment

– buildings particularly eligible forassistance are: significant groupsof Grade II buildings inconservation areas, unlistedbuildings in conservation areaswhich make a major contributionto local character and providetownscape focus for localcommunities

– Kerrier District Council hasalready implemented this type ofscheme in the District.

• Townscape Heritage Initiative Schemes(Heritage Lottery Fund)

– aims to make possible thecontinued viable use of thebuildings that make up thespecial architectural character ofhistoric urban areas, especiallythose that play a key role indefining the character of aconservation area or are focalpoints within such an area

– includes reinstatement of historicfeatures

– will also fund general townscapeenhancements

– Kerrier District Council hasalready implemented this type ofscheme in the District

• Building Preservation Trusts

– Quite a number of endangeredbuildings have been saved bylocal people who have set up abuilding preservation trust,acquired the building, restored itand sometimes resold it. Suchtrusts can obtain special lowinterest loans from theArchitectural Heritage Fund, andgrants from the Heritage LotteryFund and English Heritage. Theremay already a local trust inexistence.

– The AHF now also offers a rangeof other financial packages tohelp BPTs, such as feasibilitystudy grants.

• LOTS

– it is estimated by the Living Overthe Shop Project (a nationalprogramme based in York) that atleast half a million and possiblyup to one million new homescould be created in empty orunderused upper floors above orbehind shops. Thisaccommodation suits the smallerone or two person householdsthat make up the bulk of thepredicted extra 4 million homes


needed by 2016 and is located byits very nature in the centre ofsettlements, reducing reliance onroad transport. Bringing peopleback into the centre of St. Daywould help to sustain shops andschools and other services

– the opportunities for such ascheme may be limited in St. Day(where the shops themselves a remore often the underused orvacant element), but Kerrier hasexperience elsewhere ofsuccessful LOTS schemes, and itmay be appropriate to someextent

• Local Heritage Initiative (CountrysideAgency)

– This is less applicable tostraightforward building repair(although this can form part ofwider scheme)

– It is more concerned with theinterpretation/ promotion ofawareness of local heritage andplans to investigate explain orcare for it. This could be a usefuladjunct to the Mining VillagesProject and the interpretationcentre

at the old Holy Trinity Church todevelop detailed study andinterpretation of St. Day’s uniquetrading and commercial history.

• Vital Villages

– there are 38 Rural CommunityCouncils (RCC) in England, whichprovide a wide range of support andhelp to local people living in ruralareas. They also provide servicesthrough agreement with theCountryside Agency, including helpfor those communities wishing toapply for grant aid under the newVital Villages grant scheme

– the scheme will fund capital, one-offcosts and initial revenue support,where needed but not longer termrevenue costs. The sorts of projectswhich are eligible for grant aidinclude:

- establishing servicesrun by the community,

such as communityshops, local childcareprovision etc.

- locating new servicesinto existing premises,such as putting a villageshop into a public house,providing space for childcare

- the installation andset-up costs of ICT basedservices, such as a cashmachine into a villagehall

- helping independentretail enterprises whichprovide a service to localpeople, such as existingvillage shops, pubs andgarages to upgrade,

modernise or expand toenhance their viabilityand meet local needs

- business advice forshops, pubs and garageson a range of issues

- advice and training forcommunities in supportof all the above such asIT, bookkeeping etc.

- alteration/extension ofvillage halls or othercommunity buildingswhere this provides anew or extended serviceto the community

- To increase theviability of rural services,whether commercially orcommunity run.

- To encourageinnovative solutions tothe delivery of services,for example through thesharing of facilities byservice providers,

- the use of IT, or by thecommunity runningservices, especiallywhere this sustainsservices that wouldotherwise fold.


• Mortgages

• the number of mortgagesavailable for empty anddilapidated buildings has doubledin the last year. But that onlyappears to bring the grand totalup to two:

• the Ecology Building Societywill lend money on derelict butsound houses:-

18 Station Road, Cross Hills,Near Keighley, West

Yorkshire BD20 7EH

0845 674 5566 (local rate)

http://www.ecology.co.uk/

• Norwich and PeterboroughBuilding Society offers theBrown Mortgage for buildingswhich need to be repaired:-

Principal Office: PeterboroughBusiness Park, Lynch Wood,Peterborough PE2 6WZ

01733 372372

http://www.norwichandpeterborough.co.uk/

• Private sector finance

• The likely scale of private sectorinvestment capability in the areahas to an extent been assessed bythe Residents’ Survey (2000),although more detailedassessments may be required.

• Nearly all the grant schemesoutlined above assume a varyinglevel of private money inpartnership with the grant aid,although some (especially thosefrom the Countryside Agency)can sometimes be matched byother grant sources, or grant aidup to 100% of certain types ofprojects.






7.9 Local authority to effectivelyexercise statutory controls as well asenabling role.The success of any strategy depends entirelyon the local community agreeing and adoptingthese proposals, while the local authority mustplay a continuing role in enabling action by:

• regular monitoring to identify vulnerablebuildings before they become at risk bymeans of simple, regularly updatedcondition surveys

• establishing links with and maintainingeffective partnerships between localauthority and owners, local community,amenity societies, Mining Villages Projectetc.

• prioritising action

• establishing grant schemes to underwrite asignificant proportion of irrecoverablecosts; programme of grant aided works torepair and re-use vacant buildings

• produce detailed technical step by stepguide to re-use/conversion/repair (therehave already been moves to publicisehousing repair/maintenance)

• grant aided repair and restoration projectsshould be carefully conditioned toencourage sustainable sources andpractices and develop local skills and theuse of local materials, suppliers andcraftsmen

• effective use of statutory powers as wellas enabling role to ensure the preservationand enhancement of the special characterof the conservation area, listed buildings,and the historic built environment ingeneral and to ensure owners maintainbuildings adequately:

– normal exercise of planingcontrols - the emphasis oncontrolled and positivemanagement of change

– special planning controls inconservation areas, including

control of demolition and use ofArticle 4 Directions


– listed building controls

– urgent works/repairs notices

– amenity notices – Section 215 ofTown and Country Planning Act1990

– new or additional planningpolicies may be required, whichmay initially take the form ofSupplementary PlanningGuidance, but which should beincorporated into the statutorylocal plan at the next possibleopportunity. (See alsoEnvironment Circular 02/98 –Prevention of Dereliction throughthe Planning System).





8 Change of Use andRedundant Shopfronts -Design Guidelines8.1 Shopfront designBy the later 18th century shopfronts wereexecuted largely in good quality joinery givinga rich overall texture of fine details, and reliedon classical design traditions, fundamentalprinciples of proportion and the classicalorders. These were adopted to form aframework for the shopfronts, which were alsooften designed as an integral and unified partof the complete building.

By the later 19th century, new influences indesign led to more inventive shopfront design,matched by increasing levels in craftsmanshipand skill in the use of cast and machinedmaterials. Overall proportions were not sostrictly governed by classical rules anddetailing changed to become bolder and moreornamental, and often larger.

8.2 Design guidelinesDespite policy controls and the best efforts oflocal communities to resist it, shops dosometimes close down. Where a change toother uses is permitted, for instance offices orresidential use, careful thought has to be givenas to what happens to the shopfront.

• The general presumption will be in favourof retaining the shopfront where possible.This is especially so if it is a goodexample in itself, or is on a listed buildingor in a conservation area and even more soif the building was designed from theoutset to incorporate a shopfront.

• Where a building has retained the overallintegrity of its design, reinstatement ofmissing elements could be considered

Having a well-lit room and attractive frontagefor the new office or home can be verybeneficial – a typical alteration to manytraditional buildings in and around St. Day hasbeen the enlargement of

domestic-scale windows or the insertion of baywindows. Both are usually inappropriate insuch a context, but are clearly desirable tohouseholders, and perhaps are seen to increaseproperty values – the existence of an old shopfront can provide just exactly this sort of

feature, and yet all too often its possibilities inthis respect are ignored.

If the glazed area is felt to be too great forcomfort, it is possible to screen off parts of theinterior of a converted shop:

• by the use of curtains and blinds

• by internal secondary glazed screens orsolid screens disguised externally bycurtains/obscured or etched glass (in smallareas only)

• and/or by placing ornamental objects anddisplays in the window itself.

• the use of curtains and screening in thisway has a long tradition of its own, and isseen to good effect in places such asPenryn, or more locally, Chacewater,where the shops face directly onto a busyroad, and are subject to much greaterlevels of noise, fumes and pedestriantraffic than virtually any property in St.Day is likely to be.

In other cases an appropriate and sympatheticalternative might be possible:

• while leaving the timber frame of theshopfront unaltered, it may be possible tomake alterations to the glazed areas tocreate sash windows rather than plateglass, rather like a traditional butcher’sshop (but not by filling-in most of theglazed area with masonry or render)

• in extreme cases, it may prove acceptableto carefully reconstruct the ground floor tomatch the rest of the building

• where a shopfront can be demonstrated tobe a later, and perhaps not entirelysympathetic, alteration to an earlierbuilding, removal might be morejustifiable. By and large, however, theshops in

St. Day were built as part of thecommercial core, and built from the outsetto be an integral part of the buildings inwhich they stand. This makes theirretention all the more important tounderstanding the architectural and socialhistory of the town.

• Proposals to remove a modern shopfrontto restore an elevation to its previousdesigned appearance matching the rest ofa terrace can usually be encouraged, butshould be viewed with caution in caseswhere the shop front is of interest in itself.


• Don’t overlook the contribution buildingsmake to their neighbours, a group or thestreetscape, i.e. the building’s setting andits contribution to the local scene where itshares particular architectural forms ordetails with other buildings nearby.

• Loss of shopfront and replacement withmasonry may mean the increased use ofrender, which is already

inappropriately dominant in St. Day – it hasbeen used to hide a number of conversions,and in consequence texture and detailing onthe whole building and streetscene hassuffered, not just the shopfront.

Th C hill P hi S D Sh f S d 22

9 Useful AddressesThe first point of contact will usuallybe Kerrier District Council:

Kerrier District Council,Dolcoath Avenue,Camborne TR14 8SX01209 614000

The Council’s conservation officer is in thePlanning Department. Other local and regionalagencies can be reached through KerrierDistrict Council (including the CountyCouncil, English Heritage, the HeritageLottery Fund etc.:

Cornwall County CouncilCounty Hall,Truro, TR1 3AY

The Countryside Agency,John Dower House,Crescent Place, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire,GL50 3RA.01242 521381www.countryside.gov.uk

(Specific teams deal with:

Local Heritage Initiative: www.lhi.org.uk,Vital Villages: National Vital Villages Team inBristol. Tel: 0117 974 6265.)

English Heritage, Central Office23 Savile Row, London, W1X 2ETTel: 020 7973 3000 Fax: 020 7973 3001Website: www.english-heritage.org.uk

English Heritage, Southwest Regional Office29, Queen Square,BristolBS1 4NDTel: 0117 975 0700

Lottery Heritage Fund (TownscapeHeritage Initiative)020 7591 6042/3/4/5

Other useful contacts include:The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF)Clareville House,26/27 Oxendon St,London SW1Y 4ELTel 0171 925 0199

Fax: 020 7930 0295Website: ahfund.org.ukEmail: [email protected]

The Association of Building PreservationTrusts (APT)Clareville House, 26/27 Oxendon St, LondonSW1Y 4ELTel 0171 930 1629

Cornwall Rural Community Council,9a River Street, Truro, Cornwall, TR1 2SQTel: 01872 273952 Fax: 01872 241511

Development Trusts Association (DTA)20 Conduit Place, London, W2 1HZTel: 020 7706 4951Website: dta.org.uk

The Prince's Foundation19-22 Charlotte RoadLondonEC2A 3SGTelephone: (+44)(0) 20 7613 8500Fax: (+44) (0) 20 7613 8599Email: [email protected]

Th C hill P hi S D Sh f S d 23


Appendix 1: Location map of historic and surviving shopfronts in St. Day

Key:-

= Existing shop (historic or modern shopfronts)

= Surviving historic shopfront (in other use)

= Evidence of former shopfront

42 = Index reference number of property



Appendix 2: St. Day - historical shops auditStrategyActions

(see section 7)

Ref. Street no. Street Shopfront

(Surviving)

Description/Evidence listed Use/Condition/ Action Viability/Policy

2,4 1 2 Chapel Street YES This is a wonderfully simple shopfront in scalewith its use as a local general store.

Use

General store.

Condition

Good

Action

Not required - a simple painted timber fasciaboard could be provided without problem sincethe shop has no fixed signage at all at present

A well – used easily accessible shop withlittle competition on this side of St. Day andserving the extensive residential area downto Vogue.

2 23 Church Street Evidence in surviving fabric of former shopfront No Action

3 21 (part) Church Street The deep cornice and narrow fascia withmoulding beneath survive, as do the pilasters oneither side of the door. Otherwise the conversionof what was evidently a prominent and imposingprojecting shopfront is poor - the shopfront hasbeen completely taken out and replaced with arendered wall pierced by two large windows thatdo not relate to the building’s history as a shop orto the rhythm of the sash windows on the firstfloor.

Use

Residential

Condition

Maintenance required

Action

The shopfront could be restored (with internalscreening) below fascia level, but this isunlikely. A better design of ground floorwindows to accord with the rest of the buildingand the surviving moulded cornice etc. shouldbe sought in any future proposals to replace theexisting windows.

One of the larger units in the street, but withno rear servicing, limited street parking. Noinformation on internal layout. It is unlikelyto be converted back from residential use,although this would be possible without lossof historic character or appearance.


StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)


4 17 Church Street Elevation treatment (asymmetrical, enlargedwindow) indicates former shopfront.

II No Action

5 11 Church Street 19th c. photographic evidence of use of existingground floor as shop window

No Action

1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9

6 9 Church Street YES Although in a poor condition most of thisshopfront survives intact and could be restored. Ithas a deep, simply moulded cornice with flushnarrow fascia beneath supported by two squarecut pilasters. The stall riser is timber with beadedpanels with plinth below. The double doors arerecessed to the left with rectangular fanlightabove decorated with the name Mutton in goldleaf. The window is subdivided with slendermullions capped by plain solid spandrels. There isone slender centrally located glazing bar.

Use

Residential/storeroom.

Condition.

Very poor, but all the original components arethere and could be restored or reconstructed atsome cost.

Action

The ideal use would be retail, although anemployment use would also be suitable.

Always a small shop, this is unlikely to beviable separate from the houseaccommodation unless as a very specialiseduse. No rear access, limited on-streetparking, but in good location close toexisting shops, church/school/communitycentre/new visitors centre at old church etc.If converted to residential, it is essential thatthe shopfront remains unaltered the glazingfully restored and the painted nameretained, but this is unlikely to be achievedby private finance/householder alone. Asuitable candidate for grant aid.

7 7 Church Street 19th c. photographic evidence/ evidence insurviving fabric

No Action

8 5 Church Street 19th c. photographic evidence No Action


StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)


1,2,3 9 3 Church Street YES Similar to 9 Church Street [6]. Deep, simplymoulded cornice with narrow flush fasciabeneath. Of special interest is the presence in situof the canopy frame. The door is centrallyrecessed, with a beaded ceiling to the ingo. Themullions are slender, topped with plain solidspandrels – the windows with a simple, centrallylocated glazing bar. Unlike [6] the stall riser isgranite. The door on the left to the cottage iscontained within the fascia line, and with arectangular fanlight over; part of the shopfrontdesign and should be considered as such in anyfuture proposal.

II Use

Residential

Condition

Simple maintenance

Action

Shopfront should be retained for itsarchitectural and historical interest.

The building itself is of dressed and coursedgranite, virtually impossible to reproduceeconomically today, so that removal of theshopfront would leave a scar on the buildingwhich could only be disguised by rendering thewhole front - this would be unacceptable for anelevation of this quality.

Current use as domestic store room unlikelyto threaten shopfront. The shopfront isintact; the former shop within remains as aseparate room/space from the house(connected), and there is a separate accessto the living quarters. The house/unit is oneof the larger ones in this group on west sideof Church Street, but has no rear access andno front parking.

The shop is capable of re-use, but bulkgoods/frequent deliveries/passing tradeunlikely -specialist user possible likeantiques, or as small tea-rooms/café etc.The quality of the shopfront itself could bemajor factor in promoting this sort ofimage.

10 6/8 Church Street 19th c. photographic evidence – the whole groundfloor was a large timber shopfront

No Action


StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)


6 11 10 Church Street YES Perspex fascia over two plate glass windows witha flush fully glazed door between, the wholeoffset to the right. Separate access doors toaccommodation to left and to right.

Use

laundrette/butchers

Condition

In good condition.

Action

There is nothing of value or interest in theshopfront. The building is slate-hung, and theshopfront could be removed, and a well-designed and detailed ground floor constructedto match the upper floor. A replacementshopfront would be equally valid andwelcomed, historical evidence available to aidreconstruction

As a minimum, the solid area on the left shouldbe restored as glazing.

Providing specialist service (laundrette),although there is another butchers in St.Day. Potential rear accesses, on-streetparking, proximity to new heritage/visitorattraction at the old Church, school/villagehall/church etc. all give this unit somepotential. Together with adjoining [11],separate access to upper floor makespotential LOTS improvements viable


StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)


6 12 12 Church Street YES Projecting Perspex fascia over large subdividedplate glass windows in stained timber. The stallriser is plain render.

Use

Charity shop (former grocers)

Condition

In good condition.

Action.

There is nothing of value or interest in theshopfront

The building is rendered, and the shopfrontcould be removed, and a well-designed anddetailed ground floor constructed to match theupper floor. A replacement shopfront would beequally valid and welcomed, historical evidenceavailable to aid reconstruction. Prominentposition in street scene makesrestoration/reconstruction of shopfrontattractive, although not necessary.

Still a shop, although unlikely to be valid asa grocers/general store (St. Day probablyhas sufficient elsewhere for its needs). Oneof the largest surviving units in St. Day, rearaccess potentially (there has been somerecent development to rear), on-streetparking, proximity to new heritage/visitorattraction at the old church, school/villagehall/church etc. all give this unit somepotential. Together with adjoining [11],separate access to upper floor makespotential LOTS improvements viable.

13 14 Church Street 19th c. photographic evidence (small, welldetailed timber shopfront) / evidence in survivingfabric

No Action

14 16 Church Street 19th c. photographic evidence (fine corner timbershopfront) / evidence in surviving fabric –although a well detailed conversion

No Action


StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)


15 1 Fore Street 19th c. photographic evidence (large, flat timbershopfronts on Fore Street and Church Streetelevations)

II No Action

1,2,3 16 Berlewen Fore Street YES This shopfront stands proud of building line. Thedeep cornice has dentil string beneath and anarrow flush fascia. Slender mullions divide thewindows with arched heads, all in timber. Thedeep stall riser is plain rendered white aboveblack. Half glazed left-hand accommodationaccess door and central shop door later; fanlightabove is now solid.

II Use

Residential

Condition

Good

Action

A listed building, there is little scope foralteration, apart from replacing doors with moreappropriate design.

In a good location, with on-street parking, arelatively large building with separateaccess to accommodation, there is potentialfor re-use, perhaps as specialist shop, likeantiques, or as small tea-rooms/café etc.The quality of the shopfront itself could bemajor factor in promoting this sort ofimage.

5,7 17 Fore Street YES This unit and the neighbouring (item 18) areboarded up and in process of reconstruction withdomestic details to match the upper floor, whichwill remove all traces of the shopfronts (whichsurvive now only in the shape and scale of theopenings).

Use

Residential

Condition

Work still in progress at time of survey

Action

The shopfront is boarded up –the adjacentproperty in course of reconstruction with ablockwork wall with new windows built tomatch the rendered elevation above; the sametreatment intended for this property.

Given current removal of shopfront, this isunlikely to revert to commercial use.


StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)


5,7 18 Fore Street YES This unit and the neighbouring (item 17) areboarded up and in process of reconstruction withdomestic details to match the upper floor, whichwill remove all traces of the shopfronts (whichsurvive now only in the shape and scale of theopenings).

Use

Residential

Condition

Work still in progress at time of survey

Action

The shopfront has recently been totallyremoved, a blockwork wall with new windowsbuilt to match the rendered elevation above.

Given current removal of shopfront, this isunlikely to revert to commercial use.

3,4,5,7,8,9 19 Pebbles Fore Street YES The fascia sits flush to the wall with only abeading above rather than a cornice. Thewindows consist of two pairs of 18 pane sasheson either side of a central pair of large doors eachwith 12 panes.

II Use

Residential/store. Shop and restaurant recentuses.

Condition

Painting/maintenance required; repair worksneeded to the sills and doors in particular.

Action

Fascia/signage will require careful design andapplication Important to keep glazing pattern.

One of the most important historicalbuildings in St. Day. Built as a store /shop/counthouse, retention of this appearance ifnot use is essential to the historic characterand appearance of the building. One of thelarger units in St. Day, and in primelocation; on-street parking, could be one ofkeys to regeneration of town. Capable offuture commercial/retail use and conversionto residential should be resisted.

StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)



4,6, 20 Spar Fore Street YES A deep Perspex fascia with no cornice but a full-length trough light which caps a modernshopfront complete with brick panel located off-centre upon which there are advertising boards.There is nothing of interest.

.

Use

Small supermarket.

Condition

Good.

Action

A replacement shopfront would greatly benefitthis property and contribute to the street scene.Ideally it should be coupled with appropriatewindow replacement (sashes) on the first floor

One of the largest units in St. Day, with rearyard and storage, on-street parking in thecentre of St. Day. One of the mostsuccessful shops in the town, it is unlikelyto change use. Investment in the future ofthe town would be symbolised no betterthan by investment in a quality shopfrontand restoration of this prominent shop andhistoric building.

StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)



4,6 21 Post Office Fore Street YES This shopfront has some intriguing aspects, sinceit has obviously undergone extensive alterationyet manages to retain some key features. Thecornice/fascia and the projecting plan survivefrom the C19 shopfront. These are characteristicdeep cornice and narrow fascia, both in goodcondition. Beneath this, though, crude unpaintedbricks have been used to replace what werepossibly rotten pilasters and this treatment hasbeen extended to the stall riser. The timberframing is plain and almost certainly dates fromthe time of the brickwork with a special mullioninserted just for the post-box which is of interestin itself being inscribed GR. The door is amodern PVCu/aluminium insert.

Use

Post Office

Condition

Good

Action

Painting the brickwork would go some way toreducing its impact in the short term.Reconstructing a quality traditional shopfrontbelow the existing cornice would be a simpleand very effective enhancement of the streetscene. The post-box must be retained.

A large unit, with rear yard, on streetparking and a prominent position, this isone of the most viable unit in St. Day. Assuch a prominent site in the community, itcould be targeted as a show-piecereconstruction project –although theexisting shopfront is in excellent condition.

StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)



1,2,4 22 Gull House Fore Street YES The shopfront is unusual in St. Day; it has abowed central multi-paned window over a simplerendered stallriser, with doors flanking to left andto right – both are late C20 full-glazed doors. Allare under a single bowed cornice, flattened overthe flanking doors, with a relatively shallowfascia. No surviving pilaster, brackets etc., simpledoor frames. The unusual bowed front (shown inlate C19 photographs) goes well with therendered front of the building, with mouldedsurrounds to the upper windows, and is in amatching late regency style, common in some ofthe larger towns of Cornwall (Truro, Falmouth,Penzance) but rare in the smaller settlements.

Use

Residential.

Condition

Requires maintenance (woodwork, mainlyrepainting).

Action

The shop window seems to have been welladapted to residential use. It would be a simplematter to reinstate simple and well detailedpilasters to the door frames (if evidence isforthcoming that there were any). Mostimportantly the doors are inappropriate not onlyon the shopfront, but in any building of this ageand quality in the heart of the conservation area,and merely replacing these would go a long wayto restoring the elegant appearance of thisfrontage, unusual as it is in St. Day.

Although only a narrow frontage, this islarge building, in the heart of the town,adjacent to the post office and Sparsupermarket and opposite the central publichouse, with rear access and nearby on-streetparking. It is important in any case to retainthe shopfront (unique to St. Day), and thepotential re-use of the shop is practical,reinforcing the need to retain the shopfront.

StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)



1,3,4,5 23 Property nextto St. Day Inn

Fore Street YES In the St. Day style with a simply moulded timbercornice over the narrow flush fascia. The door isto the left, rebated between two slender square cutpilasters. The door and fanlight above wereboarded over at the time of survey. The mainwindow was also boarded over but there is aplain, probably later sill. The stall riser isrendered and was probably previously timber,with a plinth.

Use

In process of renovation –residential?

Condition

Works being carried out to the building atpresent.

Action

The shopfront remains boarded during buildingwork. It is a small shopfront, what is visible ingood condition, the window and door onlyrequiring attention.

This is a very small, but extremely well-detailed and important shopfront (one of theearlier surviving in St. Day in an extremelyimportant focal position). The unit isrelatively large in a good position, and withrear yard. Its future use is uncertain giventhe current works, but it would be easilyretained in any residential conversionbecause so small. It has been retained in situduring current works, so its immediatefuture seems assured, but details of doorand glazing need to be controlled.

24 Chysair Fore Street 19th c. photographic evidence/ evidence insurviving fabric

No Action

StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)



1 25 Old PostOffice

Fore Street YES Dual aspect shopfront with central angled doubledoors with deep fanlight above (now solid). Deepcornice over narrow flush fascia. Patterned stainglass fanlight above 15 pane windows; elevationonto Market Square altered to include top-opening lights. Plain rendered stall riser withplinth below; plain pilasters.

Use

Residential.

Condition

Good

Action

This shopfront has been recently restored, andnothing is required in foreseeable future

Given recent reconstruction of shopfront,unlikely any future change of use oralteration of appearance is likely in nearfuture. An exemplar of what can beachieved elsewhere in St. Day.

26 Property nextto 1 Scorrier

St.

Fore Street 19th c. photographic evidence shows smallprojecting timber shopfront.

No Action

1,2,4 27 5 Fore Street YES A deep cornice overhangs narrow flush fascia.The corner door is timber with frosted glass andtwo pressed panels; opening plain fanlight above.The right hand door is a later braced stable typedoor with bubble glass window. Both door casessurvive with pilasters topped with inset roundels.The window is wide with six panes; late C19photos show a multi-paned window. The stallriser is plain render.

II Use

Residential

Condition

Good

Action

Replacing the right hand door for a moreappropriate style should be considered.

A relatively small unit, but in a prominentposition with rear access; no on-streetparking. A listed building, alteration andloss of this shopfront is unlikely, use as ashop possible but not necessary. Minorimprovements (door) required.

StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)



1,2,4 28 5a Fore Street YES This is an unusual small dual aspect shopfront.Later than the adjacent [27], it projects forward ina flat roof extension. A plain narrow fascia isshown in late C19 photos with a small canvasprojecting blind. It sits over an 8-pane windowfacing West End and a 4-pane window facingFore Street. The stall riser is plain granite withplinth below. The front door, which is stainedwith applied ‘leaded’ lights, is a modern insertion.

Use

Residential

Condition

Good

Action

The shopfront is in need of some repair to theplain pilasters. Replacing the door in a moreappropriate style would benefit the shopfrontand the street scene.

This small unit is unlikely by itself to beviable – in conjunction with [27] adjacent itmay be viable, but residential use as presentseems OK (an overlarge entrance porch ineffect). It is an unusual, rare and interestingincident in the street scene and should beretained.

29 CommunityCott

Fore Street Evidence in surviving fabric (large blockedwindow opening in west elevation)

No Action

30 1 MarketSquare

19th c. photographic evidence/ evidence insurviving fabric – former chemist shop (see TownTrail)

No Action

31 5 MarketSquare

Evidence in surviving fabric No Action

StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)



1,2,3,4,8 32 1 ScorrierStreet

This is an unusual small shopfront. It projectsforward in a shallow canted bay with a deeplyrecessed central doorway, dentil cornice, simplefascia and thin pilasters. Early 19thc., possiblylate 18th c (see the similarity with the other bayshopfront in Fore Street (item 22). The doorglazing and fenestration are 20th century. Above itis a good early 20th c. projecting bay

Use

Residential

Condition

Good

Action

The door is acceptable – etched glass might beof benefit to both the occupiers and the streetscene; glass areas could be broken up withsmaller panes.

This unit could be viable, relatively largeunit, with access in Scorrier Street forresidential unit good visible position at roadjunction; poor on-street car parking

It is an unusual, rare and interesting incidentin the street scene and should be retained –surviving details could provide template forrestoration of item 22.

33 7 ScorrierStreet

19th c. photographic evidence/ evidence insurviving fabric

No Action

34 9 ScorrierStreet

19th c. photographic evidence (projectingshopfront)/ evidence in surviving fabric

No Action

StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)



35 17 ScorrierStreet

YES This is a solid mid C20 shopfront with a cantedtimber fascia with applied plastic letters. It is alate replacement for an earlier shop-front withheavy crudely detailed mullions and sills above apebble dashed stall riser with plinth. Thewindows consist of four two light sashes with tiltand turn fanlights above. Late C19 photos show alarge, canted- bay shopfront. The building hasbeen rendered since then (early-mid C20?)

Use

Butcher’s

Condition

Good

Action

There is opportunity, through the replacementof the sashes with plain glazing forimprovement to the style of the shopfront.

A relatively thriving business, with littleconservation input required



No Action


19th c. photographic evidence No Action


19th c. photographic evidence (very large andprominent shopfront on large building)/ evidencein surviving fabric (heavily altered)

No Action





No Action



No Action

StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)



6 42 38 ScorrierStreet

YES A modern insertion of a flush fascia with nocornice and dark stained timber below with nosill. There is an internally illuminated box sight tothe left.

Use

Fish and chip shop.

Condition

Good.

Action

There is nothing of quality in the shop front,except perhaps its simplicity. The building hasbeen rendered and lost much of its historictexture and quality. Any future replacementshould seek to lower the sill level and considerreturning to the frontage to full width, andimprove the whole frontage.

A specialist provider, the unit is sufficientfor its current use; limited on-street parking,peripheral location, but with rear access(allowing separate access to livingaccommodation), relatively larger buildingoverall. Very simple alterations to shopfrontand elevation could make significantcontribution to street scene.

StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)



1,2,3,5,7,8 43 32 ScorrierStreet

YES Deep flat cornice over narrow fascia, extends toencompass the very good ¾ glazed door on rightto the upstairs accommodation. The shop windowis subdivided into 20 panes – not likely to be anoriginal feature and the stall riser beneath hasgone. It was probably timber to match thepanelled ingo walls. The door is a modernreplacement.

Use

Residential/store.

Condition

The lower part of the shopfront and stallriser isin very poor condition (badly rotted), and thewindow glazing bars are in poor condition.

Action

The ideal use would be retail, although anemployment use would also be suitable.Significant repair should be carried out in thenear future in association with improvements tothe general facade (replacement of 1st floormetal windows). The window glazing could bereplaced with simple mullions in a style tomatch others in St. Day.

Not a large unit, but with rear access,separate access to accommodation, limitedon-street parking, and potential forspecialist use. The whole of this buildinghas been badly affected by rendering,inappropriate window insertion, alterationof openings et. Removal of the shopfrontwithout improving these other elements willactually increase the negative impact thebuilding has on the street scene and theconservation area.



No Action



No Action



No Action

StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)


47 4 ScorrierStreet

19th c. photographic evidence (prominent, welldetailed timber flat shopfront)/ evidence insurviving fabric

No Action


3,4,5,6,7,8,9 48 2 ScorrierStreet

The partially surviving shopfront appears to beearly-mid C20. Deep canted fascia in poorcondition - earlier fascia central fanlight maysurvive beneath. Central double glazed doors, twolarge picture windows; plain rendered stall riser.Stained door to left hand side, all in thin poorlydetailed timber surrounds.

Use

Residential/partially vacant

Condition

Both shopfront and (formerly slate-hung) firstfloor elevation are in need of complete renewal.

Action.

The first floor was previously slate hung.Structurally there is no solid ground floor. Theshopfront could be removed and replaced withrendered/slate hung elevation matching scaleand detailing of first floor and adjoininggranite-fronted cottages. Equally valid would bea re-construction of a good quality shopfrontbased on historical evidence of the moreimpressive shopfront that was originally here.

The importance of this shopfront as thefocal point of views along Fore Streetmakes it a priority in terms of restoration -required anyway due to the very poor stateof the frontage. While removal of thecurrent shopfront is desirable, this could bea showpiece reconstruction, acting as anexemplar and pump-primer. This is a largeunit, with rear access, with separate accessto the living accommodation, in a veryprominent position, and is potentially asviable as any existing shop in St. Day. Thepotential amount of domesticaccommodation may make it suitable for aLiving Over the Shop scheme. Actionshould also be taken to clearaway/rationalise and re-design highwayclutter at this important site (telegraph pole,wastebin/street signs)

49 4 TelegraphStreet


No Action

50 10 TelegraphStreet


StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)



1,2,4 51 3 TelegraphStreet

The broad framework of this relatively early 19th

c. shopfront survives – the well- detailed pilasters,cornice and shallow fascia, and the generallayout, although the doorway to the side has beenrendered over. The shop is still glazed, althoughwith a modern three-pane window.

II Use

Residential

Condition

Good

Alterations

A shopfront could be easily reinstated (thereinstatement of a door, even if blockedinternally, would almost completely reinstatethis shopfront) with no adverse effect on thestructural or historic integrity of the buildingand given the listed status of the building, sucha reinstatement could be a considerableenhancement to the building and streetscene.

A middling-sized unit by St. Day standards,a good location, rear access and separateresidential access, poor on-street parking.Unlikely to be reconverted to shop use, butcould still be a viable specialist shop.

StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)



1,2,4 52 1 TelegraphStreet

The essential framework of this relatively early19th c. shopfront survives – the well- detailedpilasters, cornice and shallow fascia, and thegeneral layout with the doorway to the side. Late20th c. door, shopfront and stallriser replaced byrender and central sash window.

.

II Use

Residential

Condition

Good

Action

A shopfront could be reinstated with no adverseeffect on the structural or historic integrity ofthe building and given the listed status of thebuilding, such a reinstatement could be aconsiderable enhancement to the building andstreetscene – the current conversion sitsuncomfortably within this listed building.

A middling-sized unit by St. Day standards,a good location, rear access but poor on-street parking. Unlikely to be reconverted toshop use, but could be a viable specialistshop.

53 The Cot West End 19th c. photographic evidence (front range ofbuilding removed by early 20th c. road widening)

II No Action

StrategyActions

(see section 7)


(Surviving)



1,2, 54 West EndHouse

West End YES Unusually for St. Day this is a shopfront that isdominated by its solid framework of pressedrender panels that form the pilasters and stallriser. In place of the fascia there is a projectingband with the word Hockey inscribed. Thecurrent user has hung a simple sign written timberboard beneath. The shopfront has frosted transomlights with plain glazing beneath with a thick sill.The half-glazed door is centrally recessed and hadvertical boarding. It has a deep plain squarefanlight above.

Use

Retail workshop

Condition

Good

Action

The door is in need of some repair but overallthe shopfront and the building frontage onlyneeds some redecoration.

The existing use is the best use for theproperty as it combines retail and workshopuse that maximises the building’s potential–good size, rear yard/access, out of centre,easier access especially for larger deliveries

Th C hill P hi S D h f 49

Appendix 3: Surviving shopfronts in St. Day(Descriptions and Buildings-at-Risk style assessment)

Note on standard English Heritage Buildings at Risk assessment: -

The assessment is based on a combination of vacancy/under-use and condition. The same techniqueshave been used to assess shopfronts in St. Day, although not with the computer-based grading systemused in the full BAR analysis.

The categories of risk are as follows: -

Very bad – structural failure/instability/significant loss of roof/fire etc.

Poor – deteriorating masonry/covering/leaking roof/defective rainwater goods/rot outbreaks/generaldeterioration of most of fabric/joinery/fire etc. affecting part of structure only

Fair - structurally sound, in need of minor repair or showing signs of a lack of general maintenance

Good - structurally sound, weathertight, with no significant repairs needed

Documents

St. Day Shopfront Study - CornwallThe Cahill Partnership - St. Day Shopfront Study 4 3 Shops in St. Day’s history The best way to see the changing scale of commerce and trade, its