The last of the lookouts
The building on Hain Walk is properly called the Baulking House. It is Grade II listed and one of only two huers' huts left in the United Kingdom.
Four hundred years, briefly
C.1650
Built into the rock
01
Earth mortar and local stone, laid on a shelf cut into the headland. The listing says early nineteenth century, but the construction suggests it could be far older.
1841
Mapped as a Fisherman's Beacon Station
02
The Tithe Map records it by name. Two floors, no internal stair, and a first floor reached only by a door in the back wall.
1904
Hains Shelters
03
Sir Edward Hain funded the south shelter and reshaped the headland. The ground raised behind the building has been soaking its rear wall ever since.
1908
The Last Enclosure
04
The final pilchard enclosure at St Ives. Sporadic use followed: squatters, a garden store, council storage. None of it kind to the fabric.
2026
A new future
05
Stage 1 is complete and the preferred option confirmed: repair the building, open the ground floor to the public for the first time, and put an artist and crafter in residence above.
what the huer actually did
why it matters
Two huers’ huts left in the whole country. This is one of them.
Mapped as a Fisherman’s Beacon Station. It may be far older.
The last pilchard enclosure at St Ives. The work stopped and the hut fell quiet.