Carn Brea just after sunrise, 6 October. Seen across the bay from St Ives.
Image credit: A. Brookes (6.10.2017)
Images
The eastern slopes below the fort/enclosure.
Image credit: A. Brookes (27.6.2014)
The prominent hilltop from Carnkie to the south. The enclosure/hillfort stretches east (right) from the monument.
Image credit: A. Brookes (27.6.2014)
The prominent Carn Brea, seen from Reskajeage Downs to the northwest, near the Crane Castle cliff fort.
Image credit: A. Brookes (18.6.2012)
Another hut circle, looking west towards the monument
Hut circle in the dip between monument and castle...very near parking area.
This stone stands just to the north of the monument. It is thought to be a gatepost to the original neolithic hillfort.
I think it’s known as the Devils Chair...
From ‘Antiquities, Historical and Monumental, of the County of Cornwall’ 2nd Ed. (1769)
(I think I’ve put this in the right place...)
Image credit: William Borlase
The two stones as seen from a top the cairn.
The two stones photographed to show lineup with southern cairn of Carn Brea.
In a field at the southwest end of the carn stands two stones, about 4 to 5 ft high. The jury is out as to if they are ancient or just old gateposts or rubbing stones....I’m not sure...go have a look.
Another shot of the ‘gatepost’.
Many will tell you this is a gate post...and indeed it is!..but it is thought to be a gatepost to the hillfort on top of Carn Brea. It can be found beside the road up onto the carn from the south side.
Carn Brea – 1st October 2003 – from near the bottom of the hill, up to the castle area and Neolithic ramparts
Image credit: Martin Bull
Carn Brae – 1st October 2003 – Looking at the south side of the hill, back to the castle – I think this is the mythical sacrificial rock to the right. And St.Agnes Beacon is in the far background on the left
Image credit: Martin Bull
Er, not actually a prehistoric building this one, but on the site of the old hillfort nevertheless and interesting enough IMHO as one edge of the building is built “balanced” on this natural rock pile.
Closer view of weathered rock.
Image credit: Hamish
Strange weathered rock formations at the summit.
Image credit: Hamish
This building houses a restaurant.
Image credit: Hamish
Articles
Visited 14.4.10.
The road up to the hillfort is signposted from Carnkie – Carn Brea Castle. Follow the lane right up to the top where there is a parking area. The track itself continues onto Carn Brea Castle which is now a restaurant. Opposite the parking area there appears (to my untrained eye) to be the remains of a couple of stone dwellings? There are good views to be had in all directions – although I couldn’t see anything obvious to show the defences of the hillfort. There is a huge stone monument on the top of the hill which can be seen for miles around.
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Carn Brea – 1st October 2003
Carn Brea is a great big hill just outside Redruth, and is currently the second oldest excavated and dated occupation site in the county.
After hauling my ass up to the top of this hill, I discover a track/road and parked cars on the other side of the summit. Well, I do like walking uphill so I won’t complain, but if you want to take the easy way up, I guess the top can be reached by car from Carnkie.
I noticed a car park on the map at the south side of the hill (at the bottom – around SW681412). I couldn’t see any road signs towards it so I drove via Carn Brea Village and the furthest I could get was a small layby at SW686412, which already had one burnt out car in it. But it is a decent (but not signposted) place to park because two paths up the hill start from close by. One path is wide and goes around and up the east side of the hill and the other is more overgrown and goes up the hill into the middle of the Neolithic enclosure, through what is believed to be the ancient entrance.
It’s not easy to see much of the ancient bits on the hill though (even with the detailed drawing in Cornovia), but is well worth it for the view and the vibe. Not surprisingly the view from the top is amazing, including a good view across to St.Agnes Beacon.
Is this too confusing or what? Not only are there two Carn Breas, they are both near wells connected with St Uny / St Eunius.
At the foot of Carn Brea Hill, and not far from the Church of Redruth, is a well dedicated to St. Eunius. A stone cross formerly stood near to it.
Now it is a rugged little well, with no regular building. A moor-stone covers it, and round it is a sort of curb of rough granite, with an iron bar running along. At the back is a newer stone, bearing the date 1842.
There used to be ascribed to the water the virtue that whoever was baptised in it would never be ignominiously hanged; but now no recollection of this exists, nor reverence for its sanctity. The water is much used, because it is considered better than “pumpen” water.
Ancient and Holy Wells of Cornwall by M and L Quiller-Couch (1894). The church of St Euny is easy to pick out from an old map, but not the well. But there are the interesting sounding watery features of “Giant’s Well” and “House of Water” on the hill.
Connected with Carn Brea Castle (the relic of which, now standing, bears but the shadow of the name), there has been, from a remote period of Cornish history, handed down from father to son, a legend [...] to the following effect:-
“I, John of Gaunt,
Do give the graunt
Of all my land and fee;
From me and mine-
To thee and thine-
Thou Basset of Bumberlie.”
This “John of Gaunt” was believed to be about the last of the giants (whether mystical or real) who once peopled Cornwall, and he resided in the Castle on the “Brea.” He could stride –
“From Carn Brea Castle to Tuckingmill Stile,”
a distance of several miles.
[There is] a well dedicated to St. Euinus, about sixty yards from the church of Redruth, at the foot of Carn Brea hill; and within the recollection of persons now living a stone cross stood near it. The peculiar virtue ascribed to this well was that whoever should be baptized by its water would be preserved from being ignominiously hanged.
p74 in Ancient Crosses, and Other Antiquities in the East of Cornwall By John Thomas Blight (1858). (readable online at Google Books). This is also known as St Euny’s Well, and is at SW690413.
..old John of Gaunt is said to have been the last of [the giants in Cornwall] and to have lived in a castle on the top of Carn Brea (a high hill near Redruth). He could stride from thence to another neighbouring town, a distance of four miles. I do not know if he is supposed to be the one that lies buried under this mighty carn, and whose large protruding hand and bony fingers time has turned to stone. Here, too, in the dark ages, a terrific combat took place between Lucifer and a heavenly host, which ended in the former’s overthrow.
From: Cornish Folk-Lore. Part II [Continued], by M. A. Courtney, in The Folk-Lore Journal, Vol. 5, No. 2. (1887), pp. 85-112.
Craig Weatherhill and Paul Devereux, in ‘Myths and Legends of Cornwall’ (Sigma Leisure, 1994) write that the Giant’s “sightless petrified head is said to protrude from an outcrop at the eastern end of this impressive hill, while his hand, also turned to stone, can be found at the opposite end of the great system of prehistoric earthworks which surround two of it’s three summits. Later tradition gives this giant the unlikely name of John of Gaunt.”
They add that Carn Brea has one of the most remarkable examples of a mythical sacrificial rock (at SW683407)...“a huge oval boulder studded with basins and which has the name of the ‘Giant’s Crocks and Kettles’.” I think this is the rock pictured by Hamish, and to a lesser extent in one of my pics.
The reason that Carn Brea is covered in stones whilst St.Agnes Beacon is not, relates to the legend of Bolster (the giant of St.Agnes) feuding with the giant on Carn Brea and throwing all the rock around the Beacon at Carn Brea.
Like Trencrom Hill and St.Agnes Beacon, there is a legend of a Giant of the hill. The giant feuded with the giant Bolster at St.Agnes Beacon, which is 10km (6miles) to the north.
The Carn Brae giant has several natural rocks named after him on the hill, such as The Giant’s Head, Hand, Couch and Cradle.
According to folklore, a giant called John of Gaunt lived on this ancient site. The giant had a rivalry with another local giant called Bolster.
The two would often engage in battle and throw boulders at each other. The many large erratics found in this area are supposed to be remnants of their battles.
Nighthawking – not a recent phenomena (since morons have always existed). I liked his restrained anger:
The hearths and benches of this interesting [hut] circle, which I left complete in the evening, were destroyed before 5.30 the next morning – no doubt by some of those who, fancying that no one could be foolish enough to dig unless he was finding treasure, haunted us during the whole summer, and destroyed much that would otherwise have been of permanent interest. One day I found they had removed the turf from another circle, for the sake of destroying the cooking-hole – a procedure that almost justifies language that would relight the fire.
From the Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall v13 (1895-8) – in an article by Thurstan Collins Peter.
John Wesley (the preacher) wrote the following about the site in 1770 –
“I took a walk to the top of that celebrated hill, Carn-Brae. Here are many monuments of remote antiquity, scarce to be found in any other part of Europe: Druid altars of enormous size, being only huge rocks, strangely suspended one upon the other; and rockbasins, hollowed on the surface of the rock, it is supposed, to contain the holy water. It is probable these are at least co-eval with Pompey’s Theatre, if not with the Pyramids of Egypt. And what are they the better for this? Of what consequence is it either to the dead or the living, whether they have withstood the wastes of time for three thousand, or three hundred years?”
Carn Brea was long presumed to be an Iron Age hillfort, but discoveries proved it to have been originally fortified in the early Neolithic. And things weren’t as peaceful in the Neolithic as one might imagine. In 3800BC the occupants raised a massive stone wall to defend the settlement. It seems like they needed it: in 3500BC they were furiously attacked (as evidenced by all the arrowheads found) and the village was destroyed by fire.
(Roger Mercer’s research described by Ronald Hutton in ‘Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles’ 1991)
Topics
Sites within 20km of Carn Brea
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Four Lanes barrows
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Carvannel Menhir
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Maen Cadoar
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Hangman’s Barrow
photo 7 description 4 -
Nine Maidens (Troon)
photo 27 description 9 -
Carnmenellis
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Nance
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Carwynnen Quoit
photo 48 ondemand_video 1 forum 4 description 16 link 3 -
Trebowland Round
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Tehidy Round
photo 6 -
Calvadnack Settlement
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Crane Castle
photo 16 description 1 -
The Hood
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Crowan Beacon
forum 1 description 1 -
Burras Menhir
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Stithians Cupmarked Stones
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Stithians Menhir
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Tregear Round
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Gear Round
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Hudder Down
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Two Burrows
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Connor Downs
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Wendron Mortar Outcrop
photo 4 description 1 -
Men Amber
photo 7 forum 1 description 4 -
Drym Round
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Three Burrows
photo 1 description 1 -
Prospidnick Longstone
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Tubby’s Head
photo 7 description 1 -
St. Agnes Beacon
photo 19 description 9 -
Little Regarded Farm
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Tolmen Stone (Constantine)
photo 2 description 7 -
Godrevy Barrow
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Pendown
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Four Burrows
photo 2 description 4 -
Higher Spargo
photo 1 description 1 -
Mabe Church
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Castle Kayle
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Eathorne Menhir
photo 3 forum 1 description 3 link 1 -
Phillack Towans
photo 4 description 1 -
Trewardreva Fogou
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Callestick Vean
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Crasken Round
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Callestick
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Carnsew
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Godolphin Hill
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Tolvan Holed Stone
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Boskenwyn Down
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Castle Pencaire
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Allet
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Tregonning Hill
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Tresawsen
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St Erth Round
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Garland Round
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The Fairy Well
photo 6 description 3 -
Caer Dane
photo 4 description 2 -
Round Wood
photo 1 description 1 -
Caer Keif
photo 2 description 1 -
Carbis Bay Longstone
photo 5 description 4 -
Mawgan Cross
photo 4 -
Beersheba
photo 14 description 5 -
Gear
forum 1 description 1 -
The Bowl Rock
photo 4 description 4 -
Treveneague Fogou
forum 1 description 2 -
Camel Rock
photo 5 description 1 -
Bishop’s Wood (Truro)
photo 2 description 1 -
Cregou Barrow
photo 1 description 1 -
Trewavas Cliff
photo 14 description 3 -
Caer Vallack
description 1 -
Piran’s Round
photo 8 description 6 link 1 -
Giant’s Well
photo 1 description 1 -
Rosehill Farm
description 1 -
Trencrom Hill
photo 43 ondemand_video 1 description 13 -
Halliggye Fogou
photo 42 description 11 link 1 -
Trencrom Hill Well
photo 3 description 1 -
Trink Hill
photo 5 description 4 -
Little Dennis
photo 8 description 1 -
Higher Boden Roundhouse
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Higher Boden Fogou
photo 12 description 3 link 5 -
Rosewall Hill
photo 6 description 3 -
Cudden Point
photo 1 description 1 -
Ligger Point
photo 8 -
Towednack Double Armed Cross
photo 2 description 2 -
Halzephron Cliff
photo 3 description 2 -
Penhale Point Cliff Castle
photo 11 description 3 -
Cubert Stone
photo 2 description 2 link 1 -
St. Michael’s Mount
photo 17 forum 1 description 10