There are over 80 hillforts in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

dating from the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

and post-Roman periods, with most showing evidence of occupation and re-occupation by the Cornish

Cornovii The Cornovii is the name by which two, or three, Iron Age tribes in Britain, tribes were known in Roman Britain. One tribe was in the area centred on present-day Shropshire, one was in Caithness in northernmost Scotland, and there was probably on ...

tribe. Two of the most impressive, at opposite ends of Cornwall, are

Chûn Castle Chûn Castle is a large Iron Age hillfort (ringfort) near Penzance in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The fort was built about 2,500 years ago, and fell into disuse until the early centuries AD when it was possibly re-occupied to protect the ...

, near

Penzance 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 west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...

and

Warbstow Bury Warbstow Bury is an British Iron Age, Iron Age hillfort about west of the village of Warbstow, in Cornwall, England. It is a scheduled monument. Location and description The site is above sea level, on a hill at the heads of two tributaries of ...

in North East Cornwall. Others can be found at Caer Bran,

Castle An Dinas Castle an Dinas is an Iron Age hillfort at the summit of Castle Downs, Cornwall, Castle Downs near St Columb Major in Cornwall, UK () and is considered one of the most important hillforts in the southwest of Great Britain, Britain. It dates fro ...

(

Goss Moor Goss Moor (, meaning ''moor of reeds'') is a national nature reserves in England, national nature reserve in Cornwall, England, south-west of Bodmin in the parishes of St Dennis, Cornwall, St Dennis, St Columb Major, Roche, Cornwall, Roche and ...

), Castle an Dinas (

), Castle Canyke,

Kelly Rounds Kelly Rounds, or Castle Killibury is an Iron Age hill fort in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated beside the A39 road#Atlantic Highway, A39 trunk road approximately two miles east of Wadebridge. The site is north of the village of ...

Cadson Bury Cadson Bury is an Iron Age hillfort about south-west of Callington, in Cornwall, England. It is owned by the National Trust,St Dennis, Gear fort, Lescudjack Hillfort,

Prideaux Castle Prideaux Castle 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 ''Pridea ...

, and

Castle Dore Castle Dore — or Castle Dôr — is an Iron Age hill fort (ringfort) near Golant Golant () is a village in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is on the west bank of the River Fowey and in the civil parish of St Sampson. Golan ...

Promontory fort A promontory fort is a fortification, defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the Rampart (fortification), ramparts needed. The oldest kno ...

s or cliff top forts were also common in the Iron Age and examples of these are at Trevelgue near

Newquay Newquay ( ; ) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is a civil parishes in England, civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries with an airport and a spaceport, and a fishing port on t ...

Maen Castle Maen Castle is an Iron Age promontory fort or 'cliff castle' close to Land's End in Cornwall. Description Maen Castle is one of only two fortified sites in Cornwall where Early Iron Age pottery has been found. Excavations took place in 1939 ...

near

Sennen Sennen () is a coastal civil parish and a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Sennen village is situated approximately west-southwest of Penzance.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' Sennen parish is bounded by ...

, St Michael's at

Rame Head Rame Head or Ram Head () is a coastal headland, southwest of the village of Rame in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is part of the larger Rame Peninsula. History and antiquities The natural site was used for a promontory ...

Dodman Point Dodman Point (Cornish: Penn Den Varow) near Mevagissey is the highest headland on the south Cornwall coast, measuring . It is also known by its earlier names of the Deadman and Deadman's Point. It hosts the remains of an Iron Age promontory fo ...

(near

Gorran Haven Gorran Haven () is a fishing village, in the civil parish of St Goran, on the south coast of Cornwall, England, UK. It is about south of Mevagissey and lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Overview The vil ...

Treryn Dinas Treryn Dinas is a headland near Treen, on the Penwith peninsula between Penberth Cove and Porthcurno in Cornwall, England. It is a scheduled monument, and is owned by the National Trust. It is the site of a promontory fort dated to the Iron ...

(site of

Logan Rock The Logan Rock (, meaning ''balanced stone'') near the village of Treen in Cornwall, United Kingdom, 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 ...

), Trereen Dinas (

Gurnard's Head Gurnard's Head (, meaning ''desolate one''; ) is a prominent headland on the north coast of the Penwith peninsula in Cornwall, England. The name is supposed to reflect that the rocky peninsula resembles the head of the gurnard fish. Geography ...

) and

The Rumps The Rumps (, meaning ''fort at Pentire'') () is a twin-headland promontory at the north-east corner of Pentire Head in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. ''The Rumps'' is attested as a name for the site from 1826 but is assumed to be s ...

(near

St Minver St Minver () is the name of an ecclesiastical parish, a civil parish and a village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The civil parish of St Minver is in Bodmin Registration District and is nominally divided into St Minver Highlands (t ...

). Payton, Philip (1996) ''A History of Cornwall''

Modern forts

In Tudor times the coastal defences were strengthened (as by

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

St Mawes St Mawes () is a village on the end of the Roseland Peninsula, in the eastern side of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth harbour, on the south coast of Cornwall, England. The village, formerly two separate hamlets, lies on the east bank of the Carri ...

) and also at the time when a Spanish invasion was expected in the 1580s. Polruan also has a

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

fortification that guards the entrance to the river Fowey, one of a pair — its partner being situated on the Fowey side of the river. Between the two blockhouses was strung a defensive chain to prevent enemy ships entering the harbour, the chain being lowered for friendly vessels. This was primarily used during the wars with the Dutch. Many Napoleonic

forts A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from ...

were built during the

Napoleonic War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

South East Cornwall South East Cornwall is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Anna Gelderd, a Labour politician. Boundaries 1983–2010: The District of Caradon, the Borough of Restormel wards of Fowey, Lost ...

to protect

Plymouth Sound Plymouth Sound, or locally just The Sound, is a deep inlet or sound in the English Channel near Plymouth in England. Description Its southwest and southeast corners are Penlee Point in Cornwall and Wembury Point in Devon, a distance of abo ...

and Plymouth's

docks The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engli ...

Devonport, Devon Devonport ( ), formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889. Devonport was originally one o ...

from attack: some are still in use today by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

References

*Pevsner, N. (1970) Cornwall, 2nd ed. Penguin Books; pp. 28–29 (Prehistory, by Derek Simpson)

Modern forts

References

See also