Scheduled MonumentsEnglandSt Piran's Round

St Piran's Round

England
List entry 1016168
Nation
England
The designation
Reference
List entry 1016168
Authority
Historic England (NHLE)
Status
Scheduled Monument
Scheduled area
0.51 hectares
Grid reference
SW 77891 54476
Boundary

Scheduled area

© Mapbox · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Boundary data © Historic England (NHLE)

Overview

History & significance

St Piran's Round is a Cornish playing place or theatre of medieval date, located near Perranporth in Cornwall. The monument comprises a circular earthwork with a raised circular platform at its centre, surrounded by a substantial bank and ditch that would have accommodated spectators during performances of mystery plays and other dramatic productions. Dating to the fifteenth century or possibly earlier, it represents one of the few surviving physical examples of the theatrical venues that were integral to medieval Cornish cultural life. The site demonstrates the sophisticated organisation required to stage such performances and provides valuable archaeological evidence for understanding medieval entertainment practices in the Celtic west of Britain.

St Piran's Round is a scheduled monument protected by Historic England under reference 1016168. View the official record →

About this monument

Questions & answers

What is St Piran's Round?

St Piran's Round is a Cornish playing place or theatre of medieval date, located near Perranporth in Cornwall. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by Historic England (NHLE) under reference 1016168.

Who is responsible for protecting St Piran's Round?

St Piran's Round 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 1016168.

What other scheduled monuments are near St Piran's Round?

Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Bowl barrow 125m south of St Peter's Church at Three Burrows (8.1 km), Bowl barrow 425m north west of Little Regarded Farm (8.1 km), Hillfort 225m north east of Bosvisack (8.2 km).

Unlimited access

Everything a full report reveals about St Piran's Round

This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 15 strands of St Piran's Round'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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The ground beneath

The bedrock under St Piran's Round

St Piran's Round stands on Middle Devonian (Undifferentiated), bedrock that formed in the Middle Devonian. The rock here is mudstone, siltstone and sandstone.