1, 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 at the entrance to Coombe

Set on the corner at the entrance to the hamlet, No.1 Hawkers has its own little walled garden. The smaller of the two properties, No. 1 Hawkers features a window in the form of a cross in one of the bedrooms that is said to have been Robert Hawkers own study.

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 is said 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 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 1

Hawker's No 1 was in a rundown state when Landmark bought it in  1969.  

Extensive repairs and improvements were carried out in 1970:  the ground  was dug away at the back, an addition was made for a bathroom, the walls were re-plastered and limewashed, windows and doors repaired.  

The roof had to be completely re-thatched, because the under layer, which can usually be left, had  gone soft.  The existing tenants then moved back in and No 1 remained a  permanent home until 1985 when, after minor improvements to kitchen and  bathroom, and redecoration, it too became a Landmark.  The garden walls, porches and lychgates were repaired at the same time.