Camills Farm, Camels, Veryan, Cornwall - Heritage Assessment

This report presents the results of a Heritage Statement that was carried out by South West Archaeology Ltd. (SWARCH) for the construction of a new building for community projects at Camills Farm, Camels, Veryan, Cornwall. The Cornwall and Scilly HLC characterises the fields as Medieval farmland (part of Anciently Enclosed Land) with a high potential for Prehistoric and Romano-British archaeological remains. During WWII the site was used as a camp for RAF personnel who were stationed at the radar station on Manare Head, and 10 structures are shown on the 1946 RAF aerial photograph. A small concrete-block structure survives to roof height in the south-western corner of the field, but otherwise all that remains of these structures are two concrete floors, a path, and a truncated fragment of concrete floor. The two larger floors probably belonged to a Handcraft Hut, a type of temporary structure that was extensively used by the RAF during WWII. There is a Modern steel portal-framed shed to the north-western side of the field, built in 2012-15. The truncated concrete floor, path, and one of the larger surviving concrete floors would be destroyed in order to construct the new building. That being said, the other floor and standing structure would remain, and standing examples of these buildings survive at the former radar station. The harm could be offset by an appropriate programme of recording and monitoring. In terms of the potential for harm to the setting of designated heritage assets, there are no designated heritage assets within the visual envelope of the building, with screening provided by the terrain and by the intervening hedgerows and trees.