Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
Location | Cornwall |
---|---|
Grid reference | SV885160 |
Coordinates | 49°57′48″N6°20′40″W / 49.9632°N 6.3444°W |
Interest | Biological and Geological |
Area | 58.1 hectares (0.581 km2; 0.224 sq mi) |
Notification | 1971 |
Natural England website |
Castle Down is a windswept plateau of maritime heath in the northern part of the island of Tresco, Isles of Scilly. The area has a number of designations including Castle Down (Tresco) Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI); is part of the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty; part of the Isles of Scilly Heritage Coast; and part of Plantlife's Isles of Scilly Important Plant Area. The Castle Down Site of Special Scientific Interest is entirely owned by the Duchy of Cornwall [1] . There are a number of Schedule Ancient Monument's ranging in age from Bronze Age cairns (or burial places) to castles built in the 16th and 17th centuries to protect the anchorage of New Grimsby harbour.
There is a long history of human habitation with 66 cairns (usually burial sites) dating to the Bronze Age. [2] In addition, within 100 m (328 ft) of the southern boundary of the SSSI, there is an Iron Age field system, associated hut circles and large middens covering 3 ha (7.4 acres). The huts are 5 m (16 ft) to 20 m (66 ft) apart and have diameters ranging from 5 m (16 ft) to 7 m (23 ft) while the middens are up to 11 m (36 ft) long, 10 m (33 ft) wide and 1 m (3.3 ft) high. (grid reference SV 888156 ) The field system was reused in the 19th century. [3]
The artillery fort on the highest point of the west side of Chapel Down, and now known as King Charles's Castle (grid reference SV882161 ), was built between 1548 and 1554 in the reign of King Edward VI (1537–53). It was built to guard the northern, deep water approach, to New Grimsby harbour, although it proved to be badly sited to fire on ships below, or to withstand attack from the landward side. For a short time it was the main stronghold in the islands but was replaced by Star Castle on the Garrison, St Mary’s in the 1590s. It was later used as a quarry for the building of the nearby fort known as Cromwell’s Castle. The name, King Charle's, comes from the occupation by Royalist forces – the Parliamentarians took Tresco in 1651 by landing on the other side of the island. [4] In March, 1651 a Dutch fleet arrived off the islands demanding reparations from Royalist privateers. The Dutch threat was countered by Admiral Robert Blake who captured the islands from the Royalists in June. The round tower of Cromwell's Castle (grid reference SV881159 ), built on the site of a previous blockhouse, was completed the following year to guard the deep water approach to New Grimsby harbour. It was updated around 1740 with a platform built for cannon on the seaward side. [5]
In 1652 the Parliamentary Survey of Scilly reported a row of shallow pits and spoil heaps (grid reference SV884164 ) following, in part the line of a tin lode. The pits were mostly 1.8 m (6 ft) to 2.4 m (8 ft) deep with some shafts to 7.3 m (24 ft). At the western end was an adit. The mining started in the 1640s and ended by 1652 and was said to be of no value. [6]
Piper’s Hole is a deep cavern reached by scrambling down the north coast cliff. The cave consists of a 20 m (66 ft) long boulder–filled passage leading to an underground pool. With the arrival of tourism in the 19th century a punt was kept there and was used to take tourists to the inner chamber. [7]
Castle Down is the name given to the northern part of the island of Tresco and is a 35 m (115 ft) plateau of coarse–grained Hercynian granite. The southern edge of the Late Devensian ice sheet probably reached the northern islands of the Isles of Scilly about 18,000 years BP (before present) and there are glacial outwash gravels on the northern part of the downs with erratic pebbles. [7] Raised beach deposits are exposed on the cliffs between Cromwell’s Castle and Grimble Porth. The thin skeletal podzolic soils and extreme exposure to salt laden winds have led to the development of a wind–pruned, lichen–rich, “waved” maritime heath dominated by heather ( Calluna vulgaris ).
The northern part of Tresco is designated as the Castle Down (Tresco) Site of Special Scientific Interest for its waved maritime heath, its lichen flora, a breeding colony of Common Tern ( Sterna hirundo ) and for its geology. The SSSI was first notified in 1971, re–notified in 1986 and covers most of the higher land and cliffs to the north of the inhabited area of the island. [8]
Due to the thin, low nutrient podzolic soils and exposure to salt laden winds the vegetation is pruned into a low growing, ankle height, heather carpet. Waved heath is so called because the plants form ‘waves’. On the windward side of the plant there is bare ground and exposed roots with the leaves and flowers concentrated on the sheltered side. The heath is species poor with western gorse ( Ulex gallii ) and some bell heather ( Erica cinerea ), which becomes dominate on the southern side of the area. Other species found on the heath are common bird’s-foot trefoil ( Lotus corniculatus ), English stonecrop ( Sedum anglicum ), heath bedstraw ( Galium saxatile ), lousewort ( Pedicularis sylvatica ) and tormentil ( Potentilla erecta ). Forty five species of lichen have been recorded including rare Heterodermia communities. The only European sites for H. propagulifera are in the Isles of Scilly. [7] [8] [9]
Peter and Myrtle Ashmore investigated Piper’s Hole in 1993 and amongst the cavernicolous fauna found a springtail new to Britain, Onychiurus argus , a troglophile species known from caves in Belgium, France and Spain. [7]
Tresco is the second-biggest island of the Isles of Scilly. It is 297 ha (1.15 sq mi) in area, measuring about 3.5 km (2.2 mi) by 1.75 km (1.09 mi).
Bryher is one of the smallest inhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly, with a population of 84 in 2011, spread across 134 hectares (1.34 km2). Bryher exhibits a procession of prominent hills connected by low-lying necks and sandy bars. Landmarks include Hell Bay, famous for shipwrecks in the 18th and 19th centuries, Shipman Head, which was fortified in the Iron Age and where the tumbled ramparts of an Iron Age castle remain, and All Saints' Church, originally constructed in 1742. The island has two quays, Church Quay and Bar Quay.
Annet is the second-largest of the fifty or so uninhabited Isles of Scilly, one kilometre west of St Agnes with a length of one kilometre and approximately 22 hectares in area. The low-lying island is almost divided in two by a narrow neck of land at West Porth which can, at times, be covered by waves. At the northern end of the island are the two granite carns of Annet Head and Carn Irish and three smaller carns known as the Haycocks. The rocky outcrops on the southern side of the island, such as South Carn, are smaller. Annet is a bird sanctuary and the main seabird breeding site in Scilly.
Gugh could be described as the sixth inhabited island of the Isles of Scilly, but is usually included with St Agnes with which it is joined by a sandy tombolo known as "The Bar" when exposed at low tide. The island is only about 1 km (0.62 mi) long and about 0.5 km (0.31 mi) wide, with the highest point, Kittern Hill at 34 m (112 ft). The geology consists of Hercynian granite with shallow podzolic soils on the higher ground and deeper sandy soils on the lower ground. The former Gugh farm is just north of the neck across the middle of the island between the two hills. The two houses were designed and built in the 1920s by Charles Hamlet Cooper.
Cromwell's Castle is an artillery fort overlooking New Grimsby harbour on the island of Tresco in the Isles of Scilly. It comprises a tall, circular gun tower and an adjacent gun platform, and was designed to prevent enemy naval vessels from entering the harbour. The castle was built in two phases; Sir Robert Blake constructed the tower between 1651 and 1652 in the aftermath of the Parliamentary invasion of the islands at the end of the English Civil War, and Master Gunner Abraham Tovey added the gun platform during the War of Jenkins' Ear around 1739. The tower fell into disuse soon afterwards, and in the 21st century is managed by English Heritage and open to visitors.
King Charles's Castle is a ruined artillery fort overlooking New Grimsby harbour on the island of Tresco in the Isles of Scilly. Built between 1548 and 1551 to protect the islands from French attack, it would have held a battery of guns and an accompanying garrison, designed to prevent enemy vessels from entering the harbour. The castle is polygonal in design, constructed from granite stone, with the gun battery at the front, and a dining room, kitchen and living accommodation at the rear. An additional defensive earthwork was constructed around it during the 17th century. The design of the castle is unusual for the period, and is only seen elsewhere in blockhouses along the River Thames.
St Helen's is one of the fifty or so uninhabited islands in the archipelago of the Isles of Scilly and has an approximate area of 0.1885 square kilometres. On the south side of the island is one of the earliest Christian sites in Scilly, an early medieval religious complex, which is thought to be the remains of St Elidius Hermitage, an 8th-century chapel lived in by Saint Lide,. There are also the remains of an isolation hospital used to quarantine sailors with plague. The island is the major part of a Site of Special Scientific Interest and some features have been given the designation of scheduled ancient monument. Access to the island is through chartered or private boat, although there are some season trips throughout the summer. St Helen's is currently managed by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust.
The Isles of Scilly are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. One of the islands, St Agnes, is over four miles further south than the most southerly point of the British mainland at Lizard Point.
White Island is one of the larger unpopulated islands of the Isles of Scilly, part of the United Kingdom, and lies off the coast of the northernmost populated island of the group, St Martin's, to which it is joined by a tidal causeway, or isthmus. The island is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and a Geological Conservation Review site and is managed by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust on behalf of the Duchy of Cornwall.
New Grimsby is a coastal settlement on the island of Tresco in the Isles of Scilly, England. It is located on the west side of the island and there is a quay, as well as a public house, The New Inn, and a small art gallery.
Wingletang Down is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) on the southern side of the island of St Agnes in the Isles of Scilly, England, UK, which is noted for its biological characteristics. All of the land designated as Wingletang Down SSSI is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. The site is managed by the Isles of Scilly Wildlife Trust and is within the Isles of Scilly Heritage Coast and the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is the only site in Great Britain and Ireland for the small fern, least adder's–tongue. As of 11 September 2009 the SSSI was considered to be in ″unconditional recovering″ condition because European gorse and bramble are at unacceptable levels.
The Eastern Isles are a group of twelve small uninhabited islands within the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, part of the Scilly Heritage Coast and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) first designated in 1971 for its flora and fauna. They have a long period of occupation from the Bronze Age with cairns and entrance graves through to Iron Age field systems and a Roman shrine on Nornour. Before the 19th century, the islands were known by their Cornish name, which had also become the name of the largest island in the group after the submergence of the connecting lands.
The Norrard (Northern) Rocks are a group of small uninhabited granite rocks in the north–western part of the Isles of Scilly, to the west of Bryher and Samson. In 1971 they were designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for their breeding seabird colonies and they are permanently closed to landings from boat passengers. The vegetation on the islands is limited by the extreme exposure and only six species of flowering plants have been recorded.
Peninnis Head is the southernmost point of St Mary's, Isles of Scilly. The headland is within the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and part of the Heritage Coast. It is also a Geological Conservation Review site for its Quaternary geomorphology and was first designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in 1971 for both its biological and geological interests. All of the land designated as Peninnis Head SSSI is owned by the Duchy of Cornwall. On the tip of the headland is a squat lighthouse built in 1911 by Trinity House as a replacement for the 17th century lighthouse on St Agnes.
Cornish promontory forts, commonly known in Cornwall as cliff castles, are coastal equivalents of the hill forts and Cornish "rounds" found on Cornish hilltops and slopes. Similar coastal forts are found on the north–west European seaboard, in Normandy, Brittany and around the coastlines of the British Isles, especially in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Many are known in southwest England, particularly in Cornwall and its neighbouring county, Devon. Two have been identified immediately west of Cornwall, in the Isles of Scilly.
The Old Blockhouse, also known as the Dover Fort, is a 16th-century fortification on the island of Tresco in the Isles of Scilly. It was built between 1548 and 1551 by the government of Edward VI to protect the islands against French attack.
Oliver's Battery is a ruined artillery battery on the island of Tresco in the Isles of Scilly off of Cornwall, England. It was built by the Parliamentarian admiral, Sir Robert Blake, after he invaded Tresco in April 1651 during the years of the interregnum. It was used to bombard the neighbouring island of St Mary's, which was still held by an opposing Royalist army, and forced its surrender several weeks later. The battery comprised a triangle of ramparts, constructed using earth and rubble, which, combined with the natural stone features on the site, produced a substantial, if crude, fortification. It is now ruined, and owned by the Duchy of Cornwall.
Tresco is a civil parish in the Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, England. The parish contains 16 buildings that are recorded in the National Heritage List for England as designated listed buildings. Of these, two are listed at Grade II*, the middle grade, and the others are at Grade II, the lowest grade. The largest island in the parish is Tresco, and the parish also includes Round Island with its listed lighthouse. The oldest listed building consists of the ruins of a Benedictine priory dating from about 1300.T he island had a strategic importance and this is reflected in its three listed fortifications. In the 19th century, a country house, Tresco Abbey, was built close to the ruins of the priory, and its grounds have been transformed into Tresco Abbey Gardens. Listed buildings in addition to those mentioned above include houses, farm outbuildings, a church, a monument, and the wall of a former kelp pit.
Harry's Walls are the remains of an unfinished artillery fort, started in 1551 by the government of Edward VI to defend the island of St Mary's in the Isles of Scilly. Constructed to defend the harbour of Hugh Town from possible French attack, the fortification incorporated Italianate-style bastions with protective orillons and would have been the most advanced design in the kingdom at the time. It was not completed, probably due to a shortage of funds and the passing of the invasion threat, and only the south-west side remains. In the 21st century, Harry's Walls are managed by English Heritage and open to visitors.