Lescudjack Hill fort is the name given to the unexcavated Iron Age settlement located in

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

, Cornwall. It is positioned on the summit of a steep hill in the east of Penzance and consists of a single rampart enclosing an area of . The site has been damaged and contains allotments and an open area of land which has recently been cleared of thick undergrowth. It is reported that a small lead-copper mine was situated "just outside" the ramparts, however all trace of this appears to have vanished. In 2004 this land was purchased by

Penwith District Council Penwith (; kw, Pennwydh) is an area of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after o ...

and Penzance Town Council for £45,000 following a series of campaigns in the local community including a campaign conducted by the then Lescudjack Infants School (now part of the Pensans Primary School). According to Penwith District Council's website, a full archaeological survey is being conducted by Cornwall County Council's Historic Environment Servic

The site is also subject to a management plan jointly agreed by Penzance Town Council and Penwith District Council. The site traditionally was referred to as a castle and Castle Road which runs alongside the site was named after it. There are also several roads nearby named Lescudjack, two schools have used the name and the local Sure Start is called Lescudjac

The hill fort was formally handed over to public use on the 21st of December 2007 as part of the

Montol Festival The Montol Festival (often just Montol) is an annual festival in Penzance, Cornwall, United Kingdom, which has been held on 21 December each year since 2007. The festival is a revival or reinterpretation of many of the traditional Cornish midwint ...

. The fort's name might originate from the Cornish words ''lan'' (enclosure) and ''scosek'' (shielded)- shielded enclosurePool, P. A. S.: ''The History of the Town and Borough of Penzance'', p. 4. The Corporation of Penzance, 1974 or, more likely, "nans" (valley) and "cosek" (wooded); but compare: "lesky" (to burn), "cunnys" (fuel) and "ack" (a place where found) for "LESKInnick" terrace which is just below on the west side of the hill; therefore that could mean a "beacon place".

References

{{Cornwall, state=collapsed Buildings and structures in Penzance Penwith History of Cornwall Military history of Cornwall Hill forts in Cornwall Iron Age sites in Cornwall Former populated places in Cornwall