Scheduled Monuments›England›Promontory fort at Black Head

Promontory fort at Black Head

England

List entry 1004391

Nation

England

The designation

Reference

List entry 1004391

Authority

Historic England (NHLE)

Status

Scheduled Monument

Scheduled area

3.35 hectares

Grid reference

SX0393348001

Boundary

Scheduled area

Overview

History & significance

Promontory fort at Black Head is a prehistoric coastal hillfort located in Cornwall, England, situated on a promontory that projects into the sea. The fort is defined by substantial defensive earthworks, including a substantial bank and ditch system that cuts across the headland to create an enclosed defensive position, a characteristic design of Iron Age promontory forts. The site dates to the Iron Age period and represents an important example of coastal defensive settlement in southwestern Britain, exploiting the natural topography of the promontory to enhance its defensive capability. The fort would have served functions relating to settlement, storage, and control of maritime activity along the Cornish coast during the Iron Age.

Promontory fort at Black Head is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1004391. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is Promontory fort at Black Head?

Promontory fort at Black Head is a prehistoric coastal hillfort located in Cornwall, England, situated on a promontory that projects into the sea. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1004391.

Who is responsible for protecting Promontory fort at Black Head?

Promontory fort at Black Head is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by Historic England (NHLE) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in England. The official designation reference is 1004391.

What other scheduled monuments are near Promontory fort at Black Head?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Round called Castle Gotha (2 km), Chapel Well, Towan (2.6 km), Wayside cross 35m south of Heligan House (4.3 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about Promontory fort at Black Head

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of Promontory fort at Black Head's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:

Overview

An interactive map of the location with every monument and battle plotted, and a plain-language history built only from what the record holds.

Monuments

The legally protected scheduled monuments around the location, each with its period, type and significance.

Battlefields

The battles and sieges fought on this ground, mapped and set on a timeline of the wider conflict.

Roman Britain

The Roman roads, forts and towns near here, and the Iron Age people who held the land before Rome arrived.

Domesday

The settlement's entry in the 1086 Domesday Book: who held it, what it was worth, and the people who worked the land.

Civil War

The Civil War fighting, garrisons and recorded militaria in this area, woven into the arc of 1642 to 1651.

Geology

The bedrock beneath the site, its age and rock type, reaching back hundreds of millions of years.

LiDAR

Laser-scanned terrain that reveals earthworks hidden under fields and woodland, with likely features flagged.

Local Names

What the street and field names around here actually mean, and the history buried inside them.

Historical Maps

Ordnance Survey maps from the 1800s, layered over the location as it stands today.

Literature

The books, county histories, charters and archives that mention this place, quoted with their sources.

Legal

The protected sites nearby and the metal-detecting, access and treasure laws that apply to this ground.

Spotlight

A deep dive into the most remarkable, lesser-known history of the place, traced back to the record.

Target Zones

For detectorists: the most promising ground to search nearby, ranked by confidence, with what to expect.

Timeline

The whole story of the location told era by era, from prehistory to the present day.

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Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.

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Nearby

Other scheduled monuments within 10 km

Round called Castle Gotha

2 km

Chapel Well, Towan

2.6 km

Wayside cross 35m south of Heligan House

4.3 km

Medieval wayside cross base 550m WNW of Lanhadron Farm

5 km

Part of a mining complex at South Polgooth Mine

5.3 km

Bowl barrow 875m SSE of Bodrugan Barton

5.6 km

Defensive enclosure at Castle Hill

5.8 km

Sticker Camp later Prehistoric-Roman round

5.9 km

The ground beneath

The bedrock under Promontory fort at Black Head

Promontory fort at Black Head stands on Devonian claystone, bedrock that formed in the Devonian. The rock here is claystone.

The wider landscape

Around Promontory fort at Black Head

Battle of Lostwithiel 31 August - 1 September 1644Battle (1644) · ~6.3 miles Battle of Lostwithiel 21 August 1644Battle (1644) · ~9.4 miles Battle of Braddock Down (1643)Battle (1643) · ~12.6 miles

Domesday entry for Pentewan, Cornwall →

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