Gurnard's Head
Gurnard's Head (
Geography and geology
Gurnard's Head is the site of
It is north of the hamlet of
History
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.
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]
References
- ISBN 978 0 319 24116 5.
- ^ Pool, Peter A S. The Place-Names of West Penwith (Second ed.). Heamoor: Self published. p. 89.
- ^ Charlotte, Becquart (14 January 2021). "Cornwall's volcanoes that were active hundreds of millions of years ago". Cornwall Live. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
- ^ "The Gurnard's Head". EATDRINKSLEEP. Retrieved 18 November 2016.
- ^ Craig Weatherhill Cornovia: Ancient Sites of Cornwall & Scilly (Alison Hodge 1985; Halsgrove 1997, 2000)
- ISBN 0 903686 04 X.
- ^ "Gurnards Head Mine". Pastscape. Historic England. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- ^ 1:10,000 Sheet Gurnard's Head. Ordnance Survey.
- ^ Anon (April 1872). "Spring Meeting 1871". Journal of the Institute of Cornwall. XIII.
- ^ Anon (24 October 1878). "The Harvest of the Sea". The Cornishman. No. 15. p. 4.
- ^ "Sales by Auction. Gurnard's Head, Zennor, June 28". The Cornishman. No. 102. 24 June 1880. p. 1.
- ^ "Gurnard's Head, Zennor". The Cornishman. No. 95. 6 May 1880. p. 1.
- ^ "Penzance". The Cornishman. No. 99. 3 June 1880. p. 4.
External links
- Trereen Dinas promontory fort site page on The Megalithic Portal
- Gurnard's Head cliff fort site page on The Modern Antiquarian
- The Gurnard's Head pub