2, Hawkers Cottage

The cottage of Robert Hawker

Whilst Hawkers Cottages were once upon a time a single dwelling, it is clear that the different ends were built at different times. No. 2 is the older of the two, having been built at some point in the middle of the 17th century, with No. 1 being a mid to late 18th century addition. In the original layout of the building the living accommodation appears to have been on the first floor, whilst the ground floor was occupied by a workshop or perhaps even a byre. By the 1820s the building served as a gentleman's residence as it became occupied by writer, poet and the Vicar of Morwenstow, Robert Hawker. Architecturally, it has much in common with the nearby Ford Cottage with two foot thick walls and a pegged collar rafter roof being amongst the shared features of both these properties

Thatched cottage with sheltered pretty garden

No. 2, the larger of the two cottages, boasts a handsome living room, a slate floor as well as a particularly noticeable cupboard, made by the carpenter at Coombe. Just like the other cottage, No. 2 enjoys the pleasure of having its own sheltered garden. Coombe hamlet consists of The Hawkers Cottages, a watermill and several other Landmarks and the parish lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Cornwall provides a diverse range of places to see and things to do. The beaches at Duckpool and Sandymouth provide a stunning walk and great surf 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 many family groups return year after year.

See all our Landmarks at Coombe

Here, however, the living accommodation seems to have been on the first floor with a workshop or even a byre on the ground floor. The half that now forms No. 1 was probably added in the mid to late 18th century.

By the 1820s this Coombe farmhouse enjoyed a short phase as a gentleman’s residence, home to Robert Hawker, famous as the writer and poet, the Vicar of Morwenstow. Hawker’s own writings and many anecdotes about him provide much local colour and it was he who built King William’s Bridge over the stream to replace a smaller one that often flooded. A succession of tenants passed through the cottage through the 19th century, including some ubiquitous Tapes, sometimes as one, sometimes in two households. Once Landmark became involved, our custodians lived in No. 1 until 1985.

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 12 and 15 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 30 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.

Hawker's No 2

Hawker's No 2 was made ready for letting as soon as it was acquired by Landmark in 1968, but improvements were made to it over the following  winter.  These consisted mainly of redecorating, and improving the kitchen (then in the wing on the front; it was moved to its present position in the  former sitting room in 1993) and bathroom - a new door was made into the  latter, which before that could only be reached from outside.  

The lean-to  roofs were tidied up, but the main roof of thatch had been renewed not long  before by John Tape. The Tapes had also dug the ground away at the back, to  make the cottage less damp. This had left two doors stranded in mid air, which  were now turned into windows.  Inside, little was changed, particularly in the sitting room with its polished slate floor, and the grand old dark pine press, which has been in the room as long as any one can remember.