Castle Pencaire Hillfort View all content for Castle Pencaire

Mentioned by Craig Weatherhill, in “Cornovia: Ancient Sites of Cornwall & Scilly” (Cornwall Books - 1985, revised 1997 & 2000) - “The two concentric stone ramparts of this Iron Age fort are tumbled and dilapidated, damaged by past quarrying, yet they are still imposing. The fort is oval, 125m from north to south, by 109m. It is best preserved on the west side where the outer rampart reaches a height of 2.7m. A war memorial stands atop the inner rampart on this side. Parts of the outer ditch can still be traced, and an inturned entrance on the south-west may be original. There were formerly as many as twenty round houses inside the fort and some may still survive, virtually indistinguishable from the many small circular quarry pits which pock the central enclosure. Castle Pencaire may be the Loban Rath to which fifth and sixth century Irish missionaries are said to have fled under threat from the pagan King Teudar. It may also be the ker hyr (long fort) after which Kerrier is named. On the north slope of the hill are two well preserved rounds. Both are oval, with diameters of about 90m and 80m, and are defined by single ramparts each of which reaches a height of 2.6m. The round at SW602303, north-east of the hill fort, has an outer ditch 2.4m deep, but its north side has suffered from ploughing. The other round at SW603300, is surrounding by a ditch up to 1.5m deep; two round houses are visible against the inside of the rampart in the north-west quadrant. Others have been traced, including a central hut recorded in 1932. A clearly traceable road, lined by low banks, runs from this round’s south-east facing entrance through the remarkable field system which covers this flank of the hill right up to the hill fort itself.”

Posted by pure joy 27th May 2003ce

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