Black Head is a

headland A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...

at the western end of St Austell Bay, in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, England. It is owned by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

Description

It is the site of an

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age (Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age (Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostly appl ...

promontory fort. There are two parallel ramparts, up to high, with ditches of depth ; slight remains are visible of a further rampart beyond. The fort is a

scheduled monument In the United Kingdom, a scheduled monument is a nationally important archaeological site or historic building, given protection against unauthorised change. The various pieces of legislation that legally protect heritage assets from damage and d ...

. There are also the remains of a rifle range, built in the 1880s and modified in later years. A memorial stone for the Cornish writer A. L. Rowse is situated on Black Head. In retirement he lived in the nearby hamlet of

Trenarren Trenarren ( kw, Dinaran) is a hamlet northeast of Pentewan in mid Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.Ordnance Survey ''Landranger 200; Newquay, Bodmin & surrounding area, 1:50 000''. 1988 A. L. Rowse the historian lived in his retirement in Trenarr ...

. The stone includes the inscription "This was the land of my content"."Walk - Black Head & Castle Gotha"
''

South West Coast Path The South West Coast Path is England's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Because it rises a ...

''. Retrieved 10 October 2020.

References

{{Iron Age hillforts in England Hill forts in Cornwall Headlands of Cornwall Iron Age sites in Cornwall Scheduled monuments in Cornwall National Trust properties in Cornwall