Prideaux Castle
50°22′08″N 4°43′50″W / 50.3689°N 4.7305°W Prideaux Castle /ˈprɪdɪks/ is a multivallate Iron Age hillfort situated atop a 133 m (435 ft) high conical hill near the southern boundary of the parish of Luxulyan, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is also sometimes referred to as Prideaux Warren, Prideaux War-Ring, or Prideaux Hillfort. The site is a scheduled monument[1] and so protected from unauthorised works by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
Physical description
The remains of the first and second circular ramparts are quite distinct, although overgrown with trees on the north and east sides. They appear to be constructed of earth and rubble. The third rampart is only fragmentarily represented, but easily traced, due to the vegetation. A fourth, outermost wall is discerned on aerial photographs,[2] or on the 1888 Ordnance Survey map.[3] This outermost wall is in the form of an incomplete "D" shape, extending to the west and south on the downhill slope of the site. There are two entrances, typical of the small hillfort,[4] located on the eastern and northern side (i.e., opposite the fourth wall), where it is most wooded. There is no evidence of dressed stones. The palisade and any internal structures would have been of wooden construction and must have perished without trace.
The enclosed area is level and described from the ground as being somewhat elliptical, although from aerial photographs it appears nearly circular.
The word castle has long been employed colloquially to designate prehistoric remains of this general type throughout Great Britain. Prideaux Castle has also been known as Prideaux Warren. Adjacent to the fort are two extents of forest, one named "Prideaux Woods," the other "Warren Woods." Even after centuries of deforestation these join to another forest, "North Slope Woods," covering the south side of Luxulyan Valley. Some of this forestation has been backfilled during recent periods; other parts are known to be ancient.
Prideaux Wood (SX0655) near St Blazey is the site of a disused quarry. Around a quarter of this woodland is of ancient origin; the remainder being coniferous and planted in the 1960s. The conifers are gradually being removed, with care being taken not to disturb the numerous greater horseshoe bat colonies which roost here.
Etymology
Cornish etymology
Most of the authorities
A derivation from Cornish bre "hill" + Cornish dinas "castle; fort" → *bredinas may be suggested. A development from this otherwise plausible form would have to account for the initial devoicing, as well as the loss of the nasal.[citation needed]
"Near the waters"
Several fanciful etymologies have been proposed, based on the assumption of French origin. For example, the 18th century Cornish historian Thomas Tonkin derived it from the French phrase près d'eaux "near [the] waters":
...for the sea formerly flowed up as high as this place, till the (tin) stream works choked up its entrance, any one that views the high cliffs under this place, and those on the opposite side of the valley in Tywardreath, must needs be convinced of....
This etymology is somewhat implausible for a hilly location at an elevation of some 135 metres located several kilometres from the sea.[citation needed]
Prehistory
Bronze Age
The earliest occupation in the vicinity of the site dates from the Bronze Age. Cornwall has functioned continuously since high antiquity as a centre of tin mining and trade, tin being an essential ingredient of bronze. The fort is situated not far from the ancient trade route which later became known as the Saints' Way; from here tin was traded as far as the Levant.
The central role of
Iron Age
Without datable artifacts, the hillfort is nonetheless assigned to the
History
Domesday
There are at the present time three inhabited places arranged in an arc or line a few hundred metres to the north of the Castle. On the 1888 map
Pridis (Prideaux) stannary tithing
The economy of Prideaux may have been based in part on the stannary. Britain, specifically Cornwall was famous for tin, a key ingredient of bronze and thus an important trade item during the Bronze Age.
In 1201
Pridis (which is near the Cornish original of Prideaux) is listed as one of the eight tithings of the Blackmoor stannary.
See also
- List of hill forts in England
- List of hill forts in Scotland
- List of hill forts in Wales
- Cornish Bronze Age
- Mining in Cornwall and Devon
References
- ^ Historic England. "Prideaux Castle (1006663)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
- ^ a b Aerial Photo of Prideaux Castle
- ^ a b c Grid Ref: 205948,55622 Archived 2006-07-21 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ a b Monuments Protection Programme: Small Multivallate Hill Forts Archived 2006-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Prideaux Wood at The Ancient Tree Forum (ATF) and the Woodland Trust Ancient Tree Forum Archived 2006-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ R. M. Prideaux, "Prideaux: A Westcountry Clan".
- ^ The original Cornish language form of "Prideaux"
Bibliography
- Bartlett, J. 1856. "The History of St Blazey: a lecture". Online; accessed 2006-06-30.
- Maclean, Sir John. 1873. The Parochial and Family History of the Deanery of Trigg Minor in the County of Cornwall. Bodmin: Liddell & Son.
- Pearce, Rob. [1990?] "Luxulyan Church and the Stannaries". Online; accessed 2006-06-27
- Polsue, Joseph. 1867–1872. Parochial History of Cornwall, vols 1—4. Truro: W. Lake,
- Polwhele, Richard (1760–1838), The History of Devonshire (3 vols. 1797–1806, reprinted 1977 by Kohler and Coombes, Dorking, 1977).
- Prideaux, R[oy] M. 1989. Prideaux: a Westcountry clan. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. ISBN 0-85033-674-0.
- Rowe, John. [1990?] "A Short History of Luxulyan Parish and The Parish Church of St. Cyriac and St. Julitta". Online; accessed 2006-06-27