Charles Marriott was born in Bristol in 1869, one of the younger sons of William and Lucy Marriott, his father being a brewer and maltster of comfortable means. For many years he worked as Art Critic for The Times, writing numerous books and articles about the British arts and crafts [See Open Library for list of publications]. In 1889 he came to Cornwall for the first time, and the county began to gain hold of his interest and imagination. 

His 'Memories of Cornwall's Art Colonies' was published in the Cornish Review in Spring 1950, and at the time of writing the article he was living in Somerset, where he died (article reprinted in Hardie 2009). It was Charles Marriott who lived in Flagstaff Cottage, Lamorna, prior to moving to St Ives, thereby making way for the tenancy to be given to Samuel John Lamorna BIRCH, in whose family the house has remained to this day.

Marriott died in Somerset at Weston-super-Mare in 1957 (GRO).