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Saltash
| |
|---|---|
 Tamar Bridge and Royal Albert Bridge | |
  Saltash Location withinCornwall | |
| Population | 16,288 (Parish, 2021)[1] 15,435 (Built up area, 2021)[2] |
| OS grid reference | SX4257 |
| Civil parish |
|
| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | SALTASH |
| Postcode district | PL12 |
| Dialling code | 01752 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 50°24′29″N4°12′43″W / 50.408°N 4.212°W /50.408; -4.212 | |
Saltash (Cornish:Essa) is a town andcivil parish in easternCornwall, England. Saltash faces the city ofPlymouth over theRiver Tamar and is popularly known as "the Gateway to Cornwall".[3] Saltash’s landmarks include theTamar Bridge which connects Plymouth to Cornwall by road, and theRoyal Albert Bridge. At the2021 census the population of the parish was 16,288 and the population of the built up area was 15,435.
Saltash is the location ofIsambard Kingdom Brunel'sRoyal Albert Bridge, opened byPrince Albert on 2 May 1859. It takes the railway line across the River Tamar. Alongside it is theTamar Bridge, atoll bridge carrying theA38trunk road, which in 2001 became the firstsuspension bridge to be widened whilst remaining open to traffic.
Saltash railway station, which has a regular train service on theCornish Main Line is close to the town centre.
Stagecoach South West andGo Cornwall Bus operate bus services from Saltash, into Plymouth, Launceston, Liskeard, Looe, Polperro, Padstow, and Torpoint.
The grade II listed cottage[4] of Mary Newman, the mistress ofSir Francis Drake, is situated on Culver Road.
Nearby are the castles atTrematon andInce, as well as the nature reserve atChurchtown Farm. Burrell House near Saltash was built in 1621 and has a wing dated 1636. The entrance side was altered in the 18th century.[5]
The town expanded in the 1990s with the addition of the large new estate Latchbrook, and again with the more recent building of another housing area, Pillmere. In the summer of 2009, the Saltash postcode area was judged as the most desirable place to live in Great Britain in a survey that included statistics from school results andcrime figures.[6]
TheCharter of Incorporation refers to the place as 'Essa' (Latin for 'Ash'). However, the spelling of the town has changed over the years. For example, inEdward the Confessor's time, it was called and spelt 'Aysche'. In the 1584 Charter, it is stated thatEssa is now commonly called Saltash. A family called Essa lived in the twelfth century at their property near Ashtor Rock, where the Manor Courts were once held. The 'Salt' part of the name was added to distinguish it from other places called Ash.
Roger de Valletort sold out in 1270 toRichard, Earl of Cornwall andKing of the Romans whileEdward, the Black Prince, became the firstDuke of Cornwall, and a visitor to Trematon Castle.
In 1549 there was aCornish insurrection against the introduction of theProtestantliturgy, and the rebels underHumphrey Arundell, for which he was beheaded atTyburn, gained possession of Trematon Castle by treachery, capturingSir Richard Grenville, the elder, in the process. They then carried out acts of barbarity on their surprised visitors.
The arms of Saltash are Az. the base water proper in pale an escutcheon Or thereon a lion rampant Gu. within a bordure Sa. bezantee ensigned with a prince's coronet of the third on either side of the escutcheon an ostrich feather Arg. labelled Or. There are seals of Saltash: A three-masted ship with sails furled at anchor; and An escutcheon charges with a lion rampant within a bordure bezantee resting upon water surmounted by a coronet composed on crosses patee and fleurs-de-lis and either side an ostrich feather; with the legends "Sigillum aquate Saltash" and "Sigillum Saltashe" respectively.[7]Saltash Guildhall was built around 1780 and extended and restored in 1925.[8][9]
The population of Saltash was 1,541 in 1841.[10]
The history of Saltash is linked to thepassage, or ferrying place across the Tamar. Theoriginal ferry became established by fishermen for those passing to and from themonastery atSt Germans and toTrematon Castle.
After theNorman Conquest,Robert, Count of Mortain, who held the castle and manor at Trematon, took the market from the canons at St. Germans and established it at Saltash. The Count granted Trematon and other manors to the de Valletorts, who had then to provide for the ferry boat. Around the start of the 13th century, Saltash was made aborough; at that time it was the only seaport betweenDartmouth andFowey to be a borough. This fact has given rise to the Saltash saying,Saltash was a borough town, whenPlymouth was a fuzzy down ('fuzzy' = 'fursy' i.e. covered in gorse), as the town of Plymouth and its seaport did not exist in 1190. In medieval times the ferry was part of the manor of Trematon, held by the Valletorts.[11]
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The Antony Passage Ferry, which is mentioned in documents as early as 1324, was situated within the St Stephens suburb of Saltash civil parish.The ferry belonged to the Daunay family in the 14th Century, in 1450 it passed to the Carew family, and by the end of the 18th century it was taken over by the Crosley family, who operated the ferry for several generations until it fell into disuse in the early 1950s. The route linked Jupiter Point (part of the Antony Estate), Antony Passage and Passage Point (both part of Saltash).
Officially the Antony Passage Ferry is still in existence since, as a public ferry, an Act of Parliament would be necessary to terminate it, and it still appears on Ordnance Survey maps.[12]
Theparish church of Saltash was, until 1881,St Stephen's by Saltash, one mile from the town. Though of earlier foundation, the structure of the building is largely the 15th century: there are two aisles and the tower is west of the north aisle. Thefont isNorman.
This church was probably founded in Norman times by the lords of Trematon Castle. Like the castle it belonged later to the Earls and Dukes of Cornwall; in 1351 King Edward III appropriated it to the Deanery of Windsor so that the benefice became a vicarage. In medieval times there was a chapel at Saltash and private chapels at Shillingham ((1318), Trehan ((1332), Earth (1413) and Trevalward (1395). The chapel at Saltash was dedicated toSaint Nicholas andSaint Faith and became the parish church of the town in 1881.[13]
St. Nicholas & St. Faith's Church has an unbuttressed tower adjoining the former north transept which remains from the original Norman church. The blocked south door is Norman, as is; most of the masonry of the chancel, the nave, the south transept, and the west wall. A north chancel chapel was added in the 14th century. In the 15th century, a north aisle was added to the nave; the wagon roofs of the north aisle and the nave are of the same date. The font is probably Norman and is of an unusual vague shape. There is a monument to three naval officers, John and James Drew, and J. W. Drew, who were drowned in 1798 and 1799.[14]
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There are two tiers of local government covering Saltash, atparish (town) andunitary authority level: Saltash Town Council andCornwall Council. The town council is based atSaltash Guildhall on Lower Fore Street.[15]
Saltash historically formed part of theancient parish ofSt Stephens, in theEast Wivelshirehundred of Cornwall. The parish was also known as St Stephens by Saltash to distinguish it from other parishes of the same name in Cornwall, includingSt Stephen-in-Brannel andSt Stephens by Launceston.[16]
Saltash was made aborough during the reign ofKing John (reigned 1199–1216), when it was granted its firstcharter by Reginald de Valletort, thelord of the manor.[17][18] In 1547 the borough also became theSaltash parliamentary borough (constituency). The constituency was abolished under theReform Act 1832.[19]
From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under thepoor laws, in addition to their original ecclesiastical functions. In some cases, including St Stephens, the civil functions were exercised by subdivisions of the parish rather than the parish as a whole. In St Stephens, poor law functions were administered separately for the area of Saltash borough and the rest of the parish.[20] In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so Saltash became a separatecivil parish from St Stephens.[21]
Saltash was reformed to become amunicipal borough in 1885.[17] The borough was enlarged in 1934 to take in the area of the civil parish of St Stephens, which was abolished.[22] The borough of Saltash was abolished in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, when the area became part of the newCaradon district.[23][24] Asuccessor parish called Saltash was created at the same time covering the area of the abolished borough, with its parish council taking the name Saltash Town Council.[25]
Caradon was in turn abolished in 2009. Cornwall County Council then took on district-level functions, making it a unitary authority, and was renamed Cornwall Council.[26][27]
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Primary schools in Saltash include Burraton CP School, Bishop Cornish (V.A) Primary School, Brunel School (previously Longstone Infant School and Saltash Junior School) and St Stephens School.[28]
Thesecondary school in Saltash was designated as a Science and Mathematics & Computing Specialist College in September 2004, and renamed Saltash.net community school. The school is now known asSaltash Community School. Saltash.net sought out links with Microsoft under the headship of Isobel Bryce and during her tenure, the school was rated as ‘good’ by OFTSED. In recent years, there has been a decline in the progress outcomes achieved by students at the school and, partially linked to this, OFSTED have judged the school to be ‘requires improvement. Whilst the school was rated as ‘requires improvement’ in 2019 and has recently (2022) been given the same rating, there is a new framework in place which is more challenging than that under which the school was previously judged. There is evidence within the report that school is moving in the right direction.
The former Cornwall College Campus is now Fountain Head House School.
Local TV coverage is provided byBBC South West andITV West Country. Television signals are received from theCaradon Hill TV transmitter.[29] The town is served by bothBBC Radio Cornwall on 95.2 FM andBBC Radio Devon on 95.7 FM. Other radio stations areHeart West on 97.0 FM,Greatest Hits Radio South West on 106.7 Fn, and Liskeard Radio, a community statio that broadcast online.[30] Its local newspaper is theCornish Times.
Saltash hosts a number of annual festivals: Saltash Mayfair takes place in and around Fore Street during early May, and Saltash Town Regatta brings music and entertainment to the Waterside area in the summer. On the water there are intense Gig races with the best teams taking part, along with Flashboat rowing and dinghy racing, and the now infamous 'England and back' race between local organisations. For 2008 a new five towns challenge has been added to the list of events, pitting Saltash againstLiskeard,Callington,Looe andTorpoint. Ashore you will find many stalls, music, and marquees. See the Regatta and Mayfair websites listed below for more information.
The local cottage hospital (the Home of St Barnabas (convalescent) ) was provided by theSociety of Saint Margaret, an Anglican sisterhood.[31] More recently it has been part of the National Health Service and was operated byPeninsula Community Health for a number of years.
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Saltash is home toSaltash United F.C. who play in theWestern Football League, at the ninth tier of theEnglish football league system. The town is also home to CaradonPilot Gig Rowing Club.
Livewire Youth Project, a music-themed youth club, is located on the banks of the River Tamar. The club boasts a recording studio, band practice rooms, and a 300-person capacity music venue. Well known bands such asThe Damned andThe Hoosiers have played at the project. Social, romantic and sexual health advice and support is offered by Livewire as well.[36]
A cycling club is situated at Tamar view industrial estate. Regular rides take place throughout the year. The cycling club has all levels and abilities.
Saltash Leisure centre provides a leisure pool, gym and fitness facilities. Not far to the north is the China Fleet Country Club which has an 18-hole championship standard golf course, a swimming pool with spa and other fitness facilities.
The Saltash Sailing Club caters for all ages with over 100 cadets out on the water on a Friday night. There are dinghy races on Tuesday and yacht races on Thursday. And additional activities organised for those less competitive.
A BMX and skatepark are available in the Saltmill Park along with pieces of public art. Saltmill is also home to an all-weather pitch available to local organisations.
Saltash Tennis Centre, which is located behind the Leisure centre. The tennis centre consists of two grass courts and two hard courts, along with a clubhouse with male and female changing. The club currently has three men's team in the Plymouth and District league (P&D league) and a women's team in the associative ladies P&D league. The club also has two junior teams in the U19 P&D leagues.
Saltash has heldCornish wrestling tournaments for centuries, including hosting such famous wrestlers as Parkyn and Gundry.[37] Venues for tournaments included the Recreational Field.[38][39]
There have been both real and fictitiousRoyal Navy ships namedHMSSaltash. "Saltash" is also a popular traditional Cornish tune. AtBrunel University, Uxbridge, one of the halls of residence is named Saltash because of Brunel's Royal Albert Bridge. British saxophonistJohn Surman's 2012 album (produced by ECM) is namedSaltash Bells.[40]
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