The Carpenter's Shop

From workshop to popular Landmark

Whilst the first reference to Coombe dates back to 1520, the local area was lived in long before this. The Carpenter's Shop was initially a workshop for the Tape family, who lived in Coombe for generations, the last leaving in 1968. It is likely that the family were able to build the workshop because they worked on the nearby Stowe estate. Its roughly dressed stone, flat brick arches, vertical bars and overlapping glass are typical of early 19th century workshops and industrial buildings. The restoration process meant we could retain the building's simple character yet also create a comfortable and practical Landmark.

Coombe Hamlet

The doors of the Carpenter's Shop open out to an old orchard which leads down to the pretty stream running through Coombe. There are a watermill and several other Landmarks nearby. The parish lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which has a diverse range of places to see and things to do. There are walks and surfing along the beaches at Duckpool and Sandymouth respectively. The surrounding area is steeped in mystery and local folklore whilst nearby Tintagel Castle reputedly to be the birthplace of King Arthur.

All of the properties are available to rent either individually or in any combination and we find that many family groups return year after year.

See all our Landmarks at Coombe

The first known reference to Coombe is in 1520, but the mile of sheltered valley running inland from Duckpool has been lived in continuously from very early times. A decayed earthwork in Stowe Woods at the head of the valley is an Iron Age fort and the hidden site of the hamlet is typical of ancient habitations in Cornwall. Although the earliest of the existing houses date only from the 17th century, they are likely to stand on older sites. The hamlet stands lies on the southern edge of the parish of Morwenstow. It was until recently divided between two landowners. The land west of the stream belonged from the 1540s until 1922 to the Duchy of Cornwall, as part of the manor of Eastway. The land east of the stream was originally part of the manor of Northleigh, or Lee, which until the Elizabethan period was owned by the Coplestone family, but soon afterwards passed to the Grenvilles of Stowe on the hillside above. It remained part of the Stowe estate until 1949.

Coombe is listed as one of the ‘principal villages’ of the parish of Morwenstow by Daniel Lysons in Magna Britannia Vol. III, published in 1814. This makes it sound quite big and indeed it was once much larger: in the middle of the 19th century there were between twelve and fifteen households here, but by 1891 these had shrunk to just three. By the beginning of the 20th century Coombe had become a favourite stopping place for walkers, gaining a mention in most Cornish guidebooks from the 1890s onwards. Official recognition of its landscape came in 1930 when the Council for the Protection of Rural England recommended that the whole Coombe Valley, along with the coastal path, should be preserved as a place of outstanding natural beauty. It was another thirty years before this hope was realised, but in 1960 the National Trust acquired the first of several holdings, on the south side of the valley. Between 1966 and 1969, the hamlet itself was bought by the Landmark Trust, as part of a joint scheme with the National Trust to preserve it and its exceptional setting. 

To read the full history album for The Carpenter's Shop please click here.

The Carpenter's Shop

Unlike the mill with all its machinery, The Carpenter's Shop was  just an empty structure and was therefore a good candidate for conversion.  

Paul Pearn, our architect, wrote of his proposals, all of which were followed:    

"I have tried to retain the functional industrial character of the elevations - you will see that the existing type of window [the big workshop windows with their overlapping glass] is suggested and that the opening sashes would be similar to those now installed. Unfortunately the majority of the frames will have to be replaced because the wood is rotten but I have told the builders that when the time comes to work on the building, the existing windows must be copied."

The same approach was taken to the arrangement of the interior: by tucking the bedrooms at either end, reached by a new cast iron spiral stair and a gallery, it was possible to keep something of the feeling of space which the old workshop had.

Work started in 1968 and was finished in 1969. The roof, which had originally been slate but had been repaired with corrugated iron, was now re-done in slate. The bargeboards and fascias, and doors, were painted the rusty colour found on the old doors, painted with red lead or iron oxide. The main door opened onto the road, which would have made the living room both awkward and draughty, with the back door opposite.  So it was blocked  with old bricks salvaged from Dunsland, near Holsworthy, a manor house with Jacobean and Restoration plasterwork which was tragically burnt down while work at Coombe was in progress. A door from the orchard as anyway safer and more private, so the small addition was made at the north end, to double as porch and bathroom. In the main room, the old forge provided a fireplace.