Gurnard's Head (Cornish : Ynyal, meaning desolate one; grid reference SW432386 ) is a prominent headland on the north coast of the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall, England. [1] The name is supposed to reflect that the rocky peninsula resembles the head of the gurnard fish. [2]
Gurnard's Head is the site of basaltic pillow lavas, formed by underwater volcanic eruptions up to 400 million years ago. [3]
It is north of the hamlet of Treen in the parish of Zennor, 1 mile (1.6 km) to the west of Zennor Head. Almost entirely owned by the National Trust, the headland is within the Aire Point to Carrick Du SSSI, and the 630 mi (1,010 km) South West Coast Path crosses the southern part of the headland. The area is designated as part of the Penwith Heritage Coast and also designated as part of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. A pub and hotel on the B3306 coast road shares a name with the headland. [4]
The headland is the site of an Iron Age promontory fort known as Trereen Dinas [5] (not to be confused with Treryn Dinas). On the cliff-edge, above Treen Cove are the remains of Chapel Jane, which could have been a guild chapel of local fisherman. The earliest pottery dates from AD 1100 to 1150, but the original simple structure of the chapel is comparable with the tiny chapels of St Helen's and Teän, on the Isles of Scilly. An association with the adjoining stream which according to local, 19th-century, tradition was regarded as a holy well, could indicate an earlier, possibly 8th-century founding. [6]
To the east of the headland is an engine house belonging to a copper mine, originally known as Treen Copper Mine (before 1821) and later renamed Gurnard's Head Mine. [7]
There are two small coves to the east of, and sheltered by Gurnard's Head; Treen Cove and Rose-an-Hale Cove. [8] In 1870, the Gurnard's Head seine fishery was worth an estimated £800 per year and employed 24 men with 10 boats and two seines. [9] The pilchards (Sardina pilchardus) were sold locally as fresh pilchards rather than salted and sold as fumadoes for the Mediterranean market. [10] The Western Fishing Company was dissolved and their assets were auctioned on 28 June 1880. Included were the Account-house furniture, cellars, lofts and buildings used in the pilchard fishery as well as a launching platform in the cove. There were 14 boats (senn boats, loaders and followers), a capstan, chain blocks and gear, large crane, stage and winch, two seans (seines nets), tuck net and stop net, and circa 50 tons of French salt. [11]
The headland was popular with tourists during Queen Victoria's reign. The freehold of the Gurnard's Head Inn was put up for sale by auction on 27 May 1880, at the Western Hotel, Penzance. The Inn was part of the Nicholls' Tenement and there was also rights of common on Treen Cliff and 12 acres (4.9 ha) of "fertile arable lands and improvable enclosed Crofts and Moors". [12] The reserve was £975 and the highest bid was £730 and the property was not sold. [13]
Land's End is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the Penwith peninsula about eight miles (13 km) west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is the English Channel, and to the west the Celtic Sea.
Penzance is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about 64 miles (103 km) west-southwest of Plymouth and 255 miles (410 km) west-southwest of London. Situated in the shelter of Mount's Bay, the town faces south-east onto the English Channel, is bordered to the west by the fishing port of Newlyn, to the north by the civil parish of Madron and to the east by the civil parish of Ludgvan. The civil parish includes the town of Newlyn and the villages of Mousehole, Paul, Gulval, and Heamoor. Granted various royal charters from 1512 onwards and incorporated on 9 May 1614, it has a population of 21,200.
Penwith is an area of Cornwall, England, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after one of the ancient administrative hundreds of Cornwall which derives from two Cornish words, penn meaning 'headland' and wydh meaning 'at the end'.
Towednack is a churchtown and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish is bounded by those of Zennor in the west, Gulval in the south, Ludgvan in the west and south, and St Ives and the Atlantic Ocean in the north and east. The church is about two miles (3 km) from St Ives and six miles (10 km) from Penzance.
Treen is a small village in the parish of St Levan, in the far west of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is about 3 miles (4.8 km) inland from Land's End on a short unclassified spur road from the B3315. Treen overlooks the Penberth Valley and sits about 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) inland from Treryn Dinas, an Iron Age promontory fort, or cliff castle, with five lines of fortification. On the headland is the Logan Rock and to the west is Pedn Vounder tidal beach, which is popular with naturists. Treen Cliff is to either side of Treryn Dinas. The village has a popular pub, The Logan Rock Inn, a village shop, cafe and campsite with views to both Logan Rock and nearby Porthcurno.
Dinas may refer to:
Zennor is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish includes the villages of Zennor, Boswednack and Porthmeor and the hamlet of Treen. Zennor lies on the north coast, about 6 miles (10 km) north of Penzance, along the B3306 road which connects St Ives to the A30 road. Alphabetically, the parish is the last in Britain. Its name comes from the Cornish name for the local saint, Saint Senara.
St Levan is a civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish is rural with a number of hamlets of varying size with Porthcurno probably being the best known. Hewn out of the cliff at Minack Point and overlooking the sea to the Logan Rock is the open-air Minack Theatre, the inspiration of Rowena Cade in the early 1930s.
The Logan Rock near the village of Treen in Cornwall, England, UK, is an example of a logan or rocking stone. Although it weighs some 80 tons, it was dislodged in 1824 by a group of British seamen, intent on showing what the Navy could do. However following complaints from local residents for whom the rock had become a tourist attraction and source of income, the seamen were forced to restore it. Today the Logan Rock still rocks, but with much less ease than it did in the past. The South West Coast Path, which follows the coast of south-west England from Somerset to Dorset passes by on the cliffs to the north.
Penberth is a valley, coastal village and cove on the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall, England. It is approximately 7 miles (11 km) southwest of Penzance. Most of the village is within the parish of St Buryan and the boundary with St Levan follows the Penberth river.
Treryn Dinas is a headland near Treen, on the Penwith peninsula between Penberth Cove and Porthcurno in Cornwall, England.
Treen Cove is a tidal beach on the north coast of the Penwith peninsula, Cornwall, England, UK. It is about half a mile northwest of the hamlet of Treen, and nestles between Lean Point to the east and Gurnard's Head to the west. The name of this cove is from the Cornish 'tre' and 'din' (fort), referring to the adjacent Iron Age promontory fort at Gurnard's Head.
Gwennap Head is a headland on the south coast of the Penwith peninsula, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is within the parish of St Levan and approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Land's End, and less than 1 mile (1.6 km) north-west of Porthgwarra, the nearest village. The area of Gwennap Head is designated as part of the Penwith Heritage Coast and also designated as part of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The South West Coast Path closely follows the coastline around the headland.
Pedn Vounder is a tidal beach on the south coast of the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall, England. It is immediately to the west of the Logan Rock headland, below Treen Cliff. The name is from the Cornish 'pen' and 'an vounder'.
Treen is a hamlet in the parish of Zennor, on the north coast of the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies along the B3306 road which connects St Ives to the A30 road. At Gurnard's Head nearby on the coast is one of the many cliff castles on the Cornish coast which was formerly a Coastguard Lookout. To the east of Gurnard's Head is Treen Cove. The area is owned by the National Trust.
Fishing in Cornwall, England, UK, has traditionally been one of the main elements of the economy of the county. Pilchard fishing and processing was a thriving industry in Cornwall from around 1750 to around 1880, after which it went into an almost terminal decline. During the 20th century the varieties of fish taken became much more diverse and crustaceans such as crab and lobster are now significant. Much of the catch is exported to France due to the higher prices obtainable there. Though fishing has been significantly damaged by overfishing, the Southwest Handline Fishermen's Association has started to revive the fishing industry. As of 2007, stocks were improving. The Cornwall Sea Fisheries Committee is one of 12 committees responsible for managing the corresponding Sea Fisheries District. The Isles of Scilly Sea Fisheries Committee is responsible for the Scilly district.
Treen Cliff is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) located on the Penwith Peninsula in Cornwall, England, UK, 6 miles (9.7 km) south-west of Penzance. First notified in 1951, with a revision in 1973, and a further notification on 1 July 1986, it is 49.3 hectares in area, stretching from grid reference SW387220 to SW402225. Designated for both for its biological and geological interest, part of the site, Treryn Dinas, is a Scheduled Ancient Monument consisting of a "cliff castle" with four ramparts and ditches and the Logan Rock. It is within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), the Penwith Heritage Coast and is part owned and managed by the National Trust.
Zennor Head ; is a 750-metre (2,460 ft) long promontory on the Cornish coast of England, between Pendour Cove and Porthzennor Cove. Facing the Atlantic Ocean, it lies 1 kilometre north-west of the village of Zennor and 1.6 kilometres east of the next promontory, Gurnard's Head. The granite (Killas) cliffs rise over 200 feet (60 m) from the sea and the highest point of the headland is 314 feet (96 m) above sea level, with an Ordnance Survey triangulation station. Zennor Head is on the South West Coast Path, which follows the cliff edge closely, skirting the entire perimeter of the headland. The promontory is part of the Penwith Heritage Coast, and is the largest coastal feature in the United Kingdom that begins with the letter "Z". It gets its name from a local saint, Senara. Zennor Head was mined for copper and tin in the Victorian Era. There is no longer any residential or commercial occupancy on the headland, but it is occupied by a variety of coastal animals and plants, such as kestrels and gorse.
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.
Presented below is an alphabetical index of articles related to Cornwall:
