Hensbarrow Beacon is a

hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not a ...

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,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. It is situated a mile north-west of

Stenalees Treverbyn is a civil parish and village in mid-Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The church of St Peter is modern as the medieval chapel was closed at the time of the Reformation. The parish was formed from part of St Austell parish in 1847. ...

village at . It is the highest natural point of the

Hensbarrow Hensbarrow is a natural region in the county of Cornwall, England, UK, that has been recognized as National Character Area 154 by Natural England. Hensbarrow is an upland region covering an area of just under 12,000 hectares immediately north o ...

uplands, a

natural region A natural region (landscape unit) is a basic geographic unit. Usually, it is a region which is distinguished by its common natural features of geography, geology, and climate. From the ecology, ecological point of view, the naturally occurring fl ...

and national character area. The natural summit of Hensbarrow Beacon is 312m high and is marked by a

trig point A triangulation station, also known as a trigonometrical point, and sometimes informally as a trig, is a fixed surveying station, used in geodetic surveying and other surveying projects in its vicinity. The nomenclature varies regionally: they a ...

Ordnance Survey , nativename_a = , nativename_r = , logo = Ordnance Survey 2015 Logo.svg , logo_width = 240px , logo_caption = , seal = , seal_width = , seal_caption = , picture = , picture_width = , picture_caption = , formed = , preceding1 = , di ...

1:50,000 ''Landranger'' map series. The trig point sits atop a 5.4m tall round cairn that was later used as a

beacon A beacon is an intentionally conspicuous device designed to attract attention to a specific location. A common example is the lighthouse, which draws attention to a fixed point that can be used to navigate around obstacles or into port. More mode ...

, it 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 ...

. It can be reached by a short walk from the road to the west. However, the summit is overtopped by several large

spoil heap A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quan ...

s from the nearby

china clay Kaolinite ( ) is a clay mineral, with the chemical composition Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4. It is an important industrial mineral. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet of silica () linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedra ...

workings, the highest of which rises to 355 m, therefore creating an 'artificial' summit 43 metres higher than the natural one. Geographically, the hill is also the highest point of the St Austell Downs, a large region of downland to the north-west of

St Austell St Austell (; kw, Sans Austel) is a town in Cornwall, England, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. St Austell is one of the largest towns in Cornwall; at the 2011 census it had a population of 19,958. History St Austell wa ...

. The large degree of separation between it and Bodmin Moor to the north-east gives it enough

relative height In topography, prominence (also referred to as autonomous height, relative height, and shoulder drop in US English, and drop or relative height in British English) measures the height of a mountain or hill's summit relative to the lowest contou ...

to make it a natural Marilyn, although the official Marilyn has been moved to the top of the highest

spoil tip A spoil tip (also called a boney pile, culm bank, gob pile, waste tip or bing) is a pile built of accumulated ''spoil'' – waste material removed during mining. These waste materials are typically composed of shale, as well as smaller quant ...

.''Hensbarrow Downs''
at the Database of British and Irish Hills. Accessed on 24 Aug 2018 (its parent is

Brown Willy Brown Willy (possibly meaning "hill of swallows" or meaning "highest hill") is a hill in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The summit, at above sea level, is the highest point of Bodmin Moor and of Cornwall as a whole. It is about northwest ...

). The medieval Blackmoor

Stannary A stannary was an administrative division established under stannary law in the English counties of Cornwall and Devon to manage the collection of tin coinage, which was the duty payable on the metal tin smelted from the ore cassiterite mine ...

was centred at Hensbarrow Beacon, with its records stored at the church in

Luxulyan Luxulyan (; kw, Logsulyan), also spelt Luxullian or Luxulian, is a village and civil parish in mid Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village lies four miles (6.5 km) northeast of St Austell and six miles (10 km) south of Bodmin. ...

Geodesy

Hensbarrow Beacon was the origin (meridian) of the 6 inch and 1:2500 Ordnance Survey maps of Cornwall.

References

{{Cornwall, state=collapsed Hills of Cornwall Marilyns of Cornwall Scheduled monuments in Cornwall