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The Lizard ( kw, An Lysardh) is a
peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...
in southern
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...
, England, United Kingdom. The most southerly point of the
British mainland Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is d ...
is near Lizard Point at SW 701115;
Lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia altho ...
village, also known as The Lizard, is the most southerly on the British mainland, and is in the
civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
of Landewednack, the most southerly parish. The valleys of the River Helford and
Loe Pool The Loe ( kw, An Logh), also known as Loe Pool, is the largest natural freshwater lake () in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The earliest recorded appearance of this simple name form was in 1337, when it was called "La Loo", but is mentioned as 'the ...
form the northern boundary, with the rest of the peninsula surrounded by sea. The area measures about . The Lizard is one of England's
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 ecological point of view, the naturally occurring flora an ...
s and has been designated as a National Character Area 157 by
Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...
. The peninsula is known for its
geology Geology () is a branch of natural science concerned with Earth and other Astronomical object, astronomical objects, the features or rock (geology), rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology ...
and for its rare plants and lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The name "Lizard" is most probably a corruption of the Cornish name "Lys Ardh", meaning "high court". The Lizard's coast is particularly hazardous to shipping and the seaways round the peninsula were historically known as the "Graveyard of Ships" (''see below''). The
Lizard Lighthouse The Lizard Lighthouse is a lighthouse at Lizard Point, Cornwall, England, built to guide vessels passing through the English Channel. It was often the welcoming beacon to persons returning to England, where on a clear night, the reflected lig ...
was built at Lizard Point in 1752 and the
RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...
operates The Lizard lifeboat station.


Etymology

The name "Lizard" is most probably a corruption of the Cornish name "Lys Ardh", meaning "high court"; it is purely coincidental that much of the peninsula is composed of
serpentinite Serpentinite is a rock composed predominantly of one or more serpentine group minerals, the name originating from the similarity of the texture of the rock to that of the skin of a snake. Serpentinite has been called ''serpentine'' or ''s ...
-bearing rock. The peninsula's original name may have been the
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...
"Predannack" ("British one").


History

There is evidence of early habitation with several burial mounds and stones. Part of the peninsula is known as the
Meneage The Meneage ( kw, Menaghek or ''Manahek'') is a district in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. The nearest large towns are Falmouth and Penryn. (''Note: the coordinates above are the approximate centre of the Meneage district.'') The meaning of ...
(land of the monks).
Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map ...
, the nearest town to the Lizard peninsula, is said to have once headed the estuary of the River Cober, before it was cut off from the sea by Loe Bar in the 13th century. It is speculated that Helston was once a port, but no records exist. Geomorphologists believe the bar was most likely formed by rising sea levels, after the last ice age, blocking the river and creating a
barrier beach Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything from a ...
. The beach is formed mostly of flint and the nearest source is found offshore under the drowned terraces of the former river that flowed between England and France, and now under the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
. The medieval port of Helston was at
Gweek Gweek ( kw, Gwig, meaning ''forest village'') is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately three miles (5 km) east of Helston. The civil parish was created from part of t ...
, possibly from around 1260 onwards, on the
Helford river The Helford River ( kw, Dowr Mahonyer) is a ria (flooded river valley) in Cornwall, England, fed by small streams into its many creeks. There are seven creeks on the Helford; from west to east these are Ponsontuel Creek, Mawgan Creek, Polpenwit ...
which exported tin and copper. Helston was believed to be in existence in the sixth century, around the River Cober (''Dowr Kohar''). The name comes from the Cornish "hen lis" or "old court" and "ton" added later to denote a Saxon manor; the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
refers to it as Henliston (which survives as the name of a road in the town). It was granted its charter by King John in 1201. It was here that tin ingots were weighed to determine the duty due to the
Duke of Cornwall Duke of Cornwall is a title in the Peerage of England, traditionally held by the eldest son of the reigning British monarch, previously the English monarch. The duchy of Cornwall was the first duchy created in England and was established by a r ...
when a number of stannary towns were authorised by royal decree. The royal manor of Winnianton, which was held by King William I at the time of the
Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...
(1086), was also the head manor of the hundred of Kerrier and the largest estate in Cornwall. It was assessed as having fifteen hides before 1066. At the time of Domesday there was land for sixty ploughs, but in the lord's land there were two ploughs and in the lands held by villeins twenty-four ploughs. There were twenty-four villeins, forty-one freedmen, thirty-three smallholders and fourteen slaves. There was , eight square leagues of pasture and half a square league of woodland. The livestock was fourteen unbroken mares, three cattle and one hundred and twenty-eight sheep (in total 145 beasts); its value was £12 annually. 11 of the hides were held by the
Count of Mortain The County of Mortain was a medieval county in France centered on the town of Mortain. A choice landholding, usually either kept within the family of the duke of Normandy (or the king of France) or granted to a noble in return for service and fa ...
and there is more arable and pasture and 13 more persons are recorded: Rinsey,
Trelowarren Mawgan-in-Meneage is a civil parish in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated in the Meneage district of The Lizard peninsula south of Helston in the former administrative district of Kerrier. The parish population at the 2011 census wa ...
, Mawgan-in-Meneage and seventeen other lands are also recorded under Winnianton.
Mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...
has the 15th century church of St Mellanus, and the Old Inn from the 16th century. The harbour was completed in 1895 and financed by Lord Robartes of Lanhydrock as a recompense to the fishermen for several disastrous pilchard seasons. The small church of St Peter in Coverack, built in 1885 for £500, has a serpentinite pulpit. The
Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
operated a road motor service to The Lizard from
Helston railway station Helston railway station was the terminus of the Helston Railway in Cornwall, United Kingdom, which opened on the 9 May 1887 and during its time of operation was the most southerly railway station on the UK mainland. The line was operated by the ...
. Commencing on 17 August 1903, it was the first successful British railway-run bus service and was initially provided as a cheaper alternative to a proposed
light railway A light railway is a railway built at lower costs and to lower standards than typical "heavy rail": it uses lighter-weight track, and may have more steep gradients and tight curves to reduce civil engineering costs. These lighter standards all ...
. The
Solar eclipse of 11 August 1999 Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate t ...
departed the UK mainland from the Lizard. The transatlantic record run of the unaccompanied one hand sailor Thomas Coville within less than 5 days in his sailboat ''Sodebo Ultim'' from New York, USA, to Europe landed here on 15 July 2017.


Nautical

The Lizard has been the site of many maritime disasters. It forms a natural obstacle to entry and exit of Falmouth and its naturally deep estuary. At Lizard Point stands the
Lizard Lighthouse The Lizard Lighthouse is a lighthouse at Lizard Point, Cornwall, England, built to guide vessels passing through the English Channel. It was often the welcoming beacon to persons returning to England, where on a clear night, the reflected lig ...
. In fact, the light was erected by Sir John Killigrew by his own expense: It was built at the cost of "20 nobles a year" for 30 years, but it caused an uproar over the following years, as King James I considered charging vessels to pass. This caused so many problems that the lighthouse was demolished, but was successfully rebuilt in 1751 by order of
Thomas Fonnereau Thomas Fonnereau (27 October 1699, in London – 20 March 1779) was a British merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1741 and 1779. Fonnrereau was the eldest son of Claude Fonnereau, a wealthy Huguenot merchant who ...
and remains almost unchanged today. Further east lie The Manacles, near
Porthoustock Porthoustock ( kw, Porthewstek) is a hamlet near St Keverne in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the east coast of Lizard Peninsula. Aggregates are quarried nearby and Porthoustock beach is dominated by a large concrete stone silo that ...
: of jagged rocks just beneath the waves. * In 1721 the ''Royal Anne Galley'', an oared frigate, was wrecked at Lizard Point. Of a crew of 185 only three survived; lost was Lord Belhaven who was en route to take up the Governorship of
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...
. * A 44-gun frigate, , was wrecked at Loe Bar in 1807. Although it wrecked close to shore, many lost their lives in the storm. This inspired Henry Trengrouse to invent the rocket-fired line, later to become the
Breeches buoy A breeches buoy is a rope-based rescue device used to extract people from wrecked vessels, or to transfer people from one place to another in situations of danger. The device resembles a round emergency personal flotation device with a leg har ...
. * The transport ship ''Dispatch'' ran aground on the Manacles in 1809 on its return from the
Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...
, losing 104 men from the 7th Hussars. The following day, with local villagers still attempting a rescue, the hit the northern end of these rocks. The only survivor of its 126 officers, men and boys was a drummer boy. * 5 Sept 1856 the Cherubim and Ocean Home collided off Lizard Point * The , a passenger liner, also hit the Manacles in 1898 with the loss of 106 lives. * The American passenger liner ''Paris'' was stranded on the Manacles in 1899, with no loss of life. The biggest rescue in the
RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...
's history was 17 March 1907 when the 12,000-tonne liner hit the Maenheere Reef near Lizard Point in Cornwall. In a strong gale and dense fog RNLI lifeboat volunteers rescued 456 passengers, including 70 babies. Crews from the Lizard, Cadgwith, Coverack and Porthleven rowed out repeatedly for 16 hours to rescue all of the people on board. Six silver RNLI medals were later awarded, two to ''Suevic'' crew members. The Battle at the Lizard, a naval battle, took place off The Lizard on 21 October 1707. Smuggling was a regular, and often necessary, way of life in these parts, despite the efforts of coastguards or "Preventive men". In 1801, the king's
pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
was offered to any smuggler giving information on the Mullion musket men involved in a gunfight with the crew of HM Gun Vessel ''Hecate''.


Avionic

In the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
a Naval Air Station was established at Bonython, flying mainly
blimps A blimp, or non-rigid airship, is an airship (dirigible) without an internal structural framework or a keel. Unlike semi-rigid and rigid airships (e.g. Zeppelins), blimps rely on the pressure of the lifting gas (usually helium, rather than hyd ...
used for spotting
U-boats U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare rol ...
. One was sunk and several probably damaged by bombs dropped by the blimps. The airfield site is now occupied by the wind farm. RAF Predannack Down (see
Predannack Airfield Predannack Airfield is an aerodrome near Mullion on The Lizard peninsula of Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The runways are operated by the Royal Navy and today it is a satellite airfield and relief landing ground for nearby RNAS Culdrose. R ...
) was a
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
airbase, from which Coastal Command squadrons flew anti-submarine sorties into the
Bay of Biscay The Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...
as well as convoy support in the western
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...
. The runways still exist and the site is used by a local Air Cadet Volunteer
gliding Gliding is a recreational activity and competitive air sport in which pilots fly unpowered aircraft known as gliders or sailplanes using naturally occurring currents of rising air in the atmosphere to remain airborne. The word ''soaring'' is a ...
Squadron 626VGS and as an emergency/relief base for RNAS ''Culdrose'' (HMS ''Seahawk''). RNAS Culdrose is Europe's largest
helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attribu ...
base, and currently hosts the Training and Operational Conversion Unit operating the EH101 "Merlin" helicopter. It is also the home base for Merlin Squadrons embarked upon
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...
warships, the
Westland Sea King The Westland WS-61 Sea King is a British licence-built version of the American Sikorsky S-61 helicopter of the same name, built by Westland Helicopters. The aircraft differs considerably from the American version, with Rolls-Royce Gnome engi ...
airborne early warning Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
(AEW) variant helicopter, a Search And Rescue (Sea King, again) helicopter flight, and some
BAe Hawk The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. It was first flown at Dunsfold, Surrey, in 1974 as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produced by its successor companies, British Aerospace and B ...
T.1 trainer jets used for training purposes by the Royal Navy. The base also operates some other types of fixed wing aircraft for calibration and other training purposes. As befits the base's name, a non-flying example of a Hawker Sea Hawk forms the main gate guardian static display. RNAS Culdrose is a major contributor to the economy of The Lizard area.


Political

The Lizard peninsula is in the St Ives parliamentary constituency (which comprises the whole of the former district of
Penwith 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 ...
and the southern part of the former district of
Kerrier Kerrier ( kw, Keryer) was a local government district in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It was the most southerly district in the United Kingdom, other than the Isles of Scilly. Its council was based in Camborne (). Other towns in the distr ...
). However, the parishes northeast of the Helford River are in Camborne and Redruth parliamentary constituency To the north, The Lizard peninsula is bordered by the civil parishes of Breage, Porthleven, Sithney,
Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map ...
, Wendron,
Gweek Gweek ( kw, Gwig, meaning ''forest village'') is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately three miles (5 km) east of Helston. The civil parish was created from part of t ...
and — across the
Helford River The Helford River ( kw, Dowr Mahonyer) is a ria (flooded river valley) in Cornwall, England, fed by small streams into its many creeks. There are seven creeks on the Helford; from west to east these are Ponsontuel Creek, Mawgan Creek, Polpenwit ...
 — by
Constantine, Kerrier Constantine () ( kw, Lann Gostentin, meaning ''church enclosure of St Constantine'') is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately five miles (8 km) west-southwest of Falmouth. The ele ...
and Mawnan. The parishes on the peninsula proper are (west to east): * ''Northern parishes:'' **
Gunwalloe Gunwalloe ( kw, Pluw Wynnwalow) is a coastal civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the Lizard Peninsula south of Helston and partly contains The Loe, the largest natural freshwater lake in Cornwall. The parish p ...
** Cury ** Mawgan-in-Meneage ** St Martin-in-Meneage ** Manaccan **
St Anthony-in-Meneage St Anthony-in-Meneage ( kw, Lannentenin) is a coastal civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish is in the Meneage district of the Lizard peninsula. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 171, decreas ...
* ''Southern parishes:'' **
Mullion A mullion is a vertical element that forms a division between units of a window or screen, or is used decoratively. It is also often used as a division between double doors. When dividing adjacent window units its primary purpose is a rigid sup ...
** Grade-Ruan ** St Keverne ** Landewednack The Lizard's political history includes the 1497 Cornish rebellion which began in St Keverne. The village blacksmith Michael Joseph (Michael ''An Gof'' in Cornish, meaning blacksmith) led the uprising, protesting against the punitive taxes levied by Henry VII to pay for the war against the Scots. The uprising was routed on its march to London and the two leaders, Michael Joseph and Thomas Flamank, were subsequently hanged, drawn and quartered.


Technological

Titanium Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion i ...
was discovered here by the Reverend William Gregor in 1791. In 1869, John Pender formed the Falmouth Gibraltar and Malta Telegraph company, intending to connect
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
to England with an undersea cable. Although intended to land at Falmouth, the final landing point was
Porthcurno Porthcurno ( kw, Porthkornow, Porthcornow, meaning ''"pinnacle cove"'', see below) is a small village covering a small valley and beach on the south coast of Cornwall, England in the United Kingdom. It is the main settlement in a civil and an e ...
near Land's End. In 1900
Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi (; 25 April 187420 July 1937) was an Italian inventor and electrical engineer, known for his creation of a practical radio wave-based wireless telegraph system. This led to Marconi ...
stayed the Housel Bay Hotel in his quest to locate a coastal radio station to receive signals from ships equipped with his apparatus. He leased a plot "in the wheat field adjoining the hotel" where the Lizard Wireless Telegraph Station still stands today. Recently restored by the National Trust, it looks as it did in January 1901, when Marconi received the distance record signals of from his transmitter station at Niton, Isle of Wight. The Lizard Wireless Station is the oldest Marconi station to survive in its original state, and is located to the west of the Lloyds Signal Station in what appears to be a wooden hut. On 12 December 1901 Poldhu Point was the site of the first trans Atlantic, wireless signal radio communication when Marconi sent a signal to St John's,
Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...
. The technology is one of the key advances to the development of
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...
,
television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
,
satellites A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotop ...
and the
internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, p ...
. A radar station called
RAF Dry Tree RAF Dry Tree was a Royal Air Force early warning radar station for detecting enemy aircraft during the Second World War. It was built in 1940 on Goonhilly Downs, on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, a short distance to the south-east of the ...
was built during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. The site was later chosen for the Telstar project in 1962; its rocky foundations, clear atmosphere and extreme southerly location being uniquely suitable. This became the
Goonhilly Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station is a large radiocommunication site located on Goonhilly Downs near Helston on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, England. Owned by Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd under a 999-year lease from BT Group plc, it was ...
satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...
earth station A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fr ...
, now owned b
Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd
Some important developments in television satellite transmission were made at Goonhilly station. A
wind farm A wind farm or wind park, also called a wind power station or wind power plant, is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electricity. Wind farms vary in size from a small number of turbines to several hundred wind turb ...
exists near to the Goonhilly station site.


Geology

Known as the
Lizard Complex The Lizard complex, Cornwall is generally accepted to represent a preserved example of an exposed ophiolite complex in the United Kingdom. The rocks found in The Lizard area are analogous to those found in such famous areas as the Troodos Mounta ...
, the peninsula's geology is the best preserved example of an exposed ophiolite in the United Kingdom. An ophiolite is a suite of geological formations which represent a slice through a section of
ocean crust Oceanic crust is the uppermost layer of the oceanic portion of the tectonic plates. It is composed of the upper oceanic crust, with pillow lavas and a dike complex, and the lower oceanic crust, composed of troctolite, gabbro and ultramafic cu ...
(including the upper level of the
mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...
) thrust onto the
continental crust Continental crust is the layer of igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks that forms the geological continents and the areas of shallow seabed close to their shores, known as continental shelves. This layer is sometimes called '' sial'' be ...
. The Lizard formations comprise three main units; the
serpentinite Serpentinite is a rock composed predominantly of one or more serpentine group minerals, the name originating from the similarity of the texture of the rock to that of the skin of a snake. Serpentinite has been called ''serpentine'' or ''s ...
s, the "oceanic complex" and the metamorphic basement. The serpentinite contains significant samples of the serpentine polymorph
lizardite Lizardite is a mineral from the serpentine group with formula , and the most common type of mineral in the group. It is also a member of the kaolinite-serpentine group. Népouite and lizardite form a series; intermediate compositions are pos ...
, which were named after the Lizard complex in 1955.


Ecology

Several nature sites exist on the Lizard Peninsula; Predannack nature reserve, Mullion Island,
Goonhilly Downs Goonhilly Satellite Earth Station is a large radiocommunication site located on Goonhilly Downs near Helston on the Lizard peninsula in Cornwall, England. Owned by Goonhilly Earth Station Ltd under a 999-year lease from BT Group plc, it was ...
, and the Cornish Seal Sanctuary at
Gweek Gweek ( kw, Gwig, meaning ''forest village'') is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately three miles (5 km) east of Helston. The civil parish was created from part of t ...
. An area of the Lizard covering is designated a national nature reserve because of its coastal grasslands and heaths and inland heaths. The peninsula contains 3 main Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), both noted for their endangered insects and plants, as well as their geology. The first is East Lizard Heathlands SSSI, the second is '' Caerthillian to Kennack SSSI'' and the third is West Lizard SSSI, of which the important wetland, Hayle Kimbro Pool, forms a part of. The area is also home to one of England's rarest breeding birds — the
Cornish chough The red-billed chough, Cornish chough or simply chough ( ; ''Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax''), is a bird in the crow family, one of only two species in the genus '' Pyrrhocorax''. Its eight subspecies breed on mountains and coastal cliffs from the we ...
. This species of corvid is distinctive due to its red beak and legs and haunting "chee-aw" call. Choughs were extinct in Cornwall but returned naturally in 2001 and began breeding on Lizard in 2002 following a concerted effort 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 ...
,
English Nature English Nature was the United Kingdom government agency that promoted the conservation of wildlife, geology and wild places throughout England between 1990 and 2006. It was a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Environmen ...
and the
RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a charitable organisation registered in England and Wales and in Scotland. It was founded in 1889. It works to promote conservation and protection of birds and the wider environment th ...
. The Lizard contains some of the most specialised flora of any area in Britain, including many
Red Data Book The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...
plant species. Of particular note is the Cornish heath, ''Erica vagans'', that occurs in abundance here, but which is found nowhere else in Britain. There are more than 600 species of flowering plants on the Lizard, nearly a quarter of all UK species. The reason for this richness is partly because of the many different and unusual Lizard rocks on the Lizard Peninsula. But above all, it is a coming together of multiple factors: a very mild maritime climate, but one prone to gales and salt winds; waterlogged and boggy soils, but ones that often parch and dry out in the summer; soils of greatly contrasting fertility and pH; and lastly man's influence. Any single factor taken on its own would influence the flora; taken together, they combine, overlap and interact. Contrasting plant communities grow side-by-side in a mosaic that changes within a few metres but also changes markedly over time with the cycle of heath fires. It's not so much that conditions are ideal for growth, but that there is such a variety of different, difficult conditions. Each habitat, with its own combination of factors, attracts its own specialist plants."The Lizard Guidebook". pp. 21–37. It is also one of the few places where the rare formicine ant, '' Formica exsecta'', (the narrow-headed ant), can be found.


Portrayal in literature, film and music

Daphne du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her grandfather was Geo ...
based many novels on this part of Cornwall, including '' Frenchman's Creek''. The Lizard was featured on the BBC television programme ''
Seven Natural Wonders ''Seven Natural Wonders'' is a television series that was broadcast on BBC Two from 3 May to 20 June 2005. The programme takes an area of England each week and, from votes by the people living in that area, shows the 'seven natural wonders' of ...
'' as one of the wonders of the South West, and on the BBC series ''
Coast The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...
''. In
James Clavell James Clavell (born Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell; 10 October 1921 – 7 September 1994) was an Australian-born British (later naturalized American) writer, screenwriter, director, and World War II veteran and prisoner of war. Clavell is best ...
's novel ''
Shōgun , officially , was the title of the military dictators of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, though during part of the Kamaku ...
'', ship's pilot Vasco Rodrigues challenges John Blackthorne to recite the latitude of the Lizard to verify that Blackthorne is the Pilot of the Dutch vessel ''Erasmus''. The Jennifer McQuiston 2015 novel ''The Spinster's Guide to Scandalous Behavior'' is set primarily in the fictional village Lizard Bay on the Lizard in the mid-nineteenth century. In the television adaptation of "
Horatio Hornblower Horatio Hornblower is a fictional officer in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, the protagonist of a series of novels and stories by C. S. Forester. He later became the subject of films, radio and television programmes, an ...
", an order is given to " Weather the Lizard" in the episode '' Hornblower:Mutiny''. "Lizard Point" is also a track on the 1982 album '' Ambient 4: On Land'' released by
Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop a ...
. The book series "Fenton House" by Ben Cheetham is set on the Lizard Peninsula.


See also

*
Kynance Cove Kynance Cove ( kw, Porth Keynans, meaning ''ravine cove'') is a cove on the eastern side of Mount's Bay, Cornwall, England. It is situated on the Lizard peninsula approximately two miles (3 km) north of Lizard Point.Ordnance Survey,Explor ...
* Mullion Cove *
Poldhu Poldhu is a small area in south Cornwall, England, UK, situated on the Lizard Peninsula; it comprises Poldhu Point and Poldhu Cove. Poldhu means "black pool" in Cornish. Poldhu lies on the coast of Mount's Bay and is in the northern part of t ...


References


Further reading

* ''The Lizard Guidebook'' Friendly Guides (2019) (has sections on the geology and plants of the Lizard as well as walks) * Nigel Tangye (1977) ''From Rock and Tempest''. London: William Kimber (about shipwrecks round the Lizard peninsula) * Meneage and Lizard Oral History Group (ed.) (1980) ''Traditional Life in the Far South West''. (40 pp.) . pl. the Group {{DEFAULTSORT:Lizard, The Lizard Peninsula Peninsulas of Cornwall National nature reserves in Cornwall Nature Conservation Review sites Special Areas of Conservation in Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall Natural regions of England