The Old Ways

To build in Cornwall is to build with the earth itself. The old ways were not born of convenience, but of necessity—forged to withstand the fierce Atlantic gales and salt-laden air. Here, we document the materials and methods that give the Cornish landscape its enduring character.

Engine Houses & Chimneys Monuments of Tin and Copper

Scattered across the rugged moors and cliff edges, the ruins of Cornish engine houses and their towering chimneys stand as testaments to the 18th and 19th-century mining boom. These chimneys, tapering elegantly into the sky, were masterpieces of structural engineering.

Constructed primarily from locally quarried granite and killas stone, the corners (quoins) were heavily dressed granite to provide immense structural integrity against high winds. The mortaring relied entirely on traditional lime, expertly mixed to allow the immense structures to flex ever so slightly and breathe out moisture. Today, preserving these chimneys requires a profound understanding of how to carefully rake out failed joints and reintroduce lime mortar without compromising the delicate, centuries-old equilibrium of the stonework.

Killas & Granite The Bones of the County

Cornwall rests on a complex geological bed. The two primary building stones tell two very different stories.

Granite is igneous, born of ancient magma. Incredibly dense and impervious to water, granite blocks (often used as quoins and lintels) do not absorb moisture. This means the mortar around them must do all the heavy lifting in managing water.

Killas, however, is a metamorphic sedimentary rock. It is heavily stratified, meaning it has distinct layers or "beds." Historically, a master mason knew that killas must always be laid in the wall matching its natural geological bed. If laid "edge-on" (face bedded), water penetrates the layers, freezes, and causes the face of the stone to delaminate and blow off. We meticulously source and lay reclaimed killas exactly as the earth intended.

Hot Lime The Breath of the Building

Before 1919, Portland cement was rarely used in domestic construction. Buildings were constructed using lime. The magic of a traditional lime mortar is its vapor permeability—it acts like a lung. When rain lashes a stone wall, the lime absorbs it; when the sun emerges, the lime exhales it back into the atmosphere.

We specialize in "hot mixed" lime. This ancient, volatile process involves slaking quicklime (burnt limestone) directly with sand and water. It produces immense heat and results in a highly sticky, incredibly durable, and intensely breathable mortar. Slapping modern, rigid, waterproof cement onto old stone traps moisture inside, forcing it through your interior plaster. Lime is not an aesthetic choice; it is a structural necessity.

Cornish Cob Earth, Straw, and Time

Many of Cornwall’s oldest cottages aren't built of stone at all, but of the earth beneath them. "Cob" is a traditional building material composed of a highly specific matrix: subsoil (rich in clay), aggregate (shillet or gravel), agricultural straw, and water. Historically mixed by the treading hooves of oxen, cob walls were built up in "lifts" and left to dry in the wind.

A famous Cornish saying goes: "A cob wall needs a good hat and a good pair of boots." As long as it has a solid stone plinth (the boots) to keep it off the damp ground, and a good overhanging roof (the hat) to keep the rain off its head, a cob wall will last forever. Our restorations involve sourcing local subsoils to carefully stitch and patch historic cob that has been damaged by modern cement renders.