Hingston Down
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Hingston Down is a hill not far from
Gunnislake Gunnislake ( kw, Dowrgonna) is a large village in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the Tamar Valley approximately ten miles (16 km) north of Plymouth Gunnislake is in the civil parish of Calstock and is close to C ...
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, United Kingdom. It is the subject of an old rhyme, due to the prolific tin mining that formerly took place in the area: This Hingston Down should not be confused with the Hingston Down at , a hill spur about a mile east of the town of
Moretonhampstead Moretonhampstead (anciently ''Moreton Hampstead'') is a market town, parish and ancient manor in Devon, situated on the north-eastern edge of Dartmoor, within the Dartmoor National Park. The parish now includes the hamlet of Doccombe (), and ...
in the neighbouring county of
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
.


History

The hill is usually accepted as the place mentioned in an entry in the '' Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' for 835 (corrected by scholars to 838) which says that
Egbert Egbert is a name that derives from old Germanic words meaning "bright edge", such as that of a blade. Anglo-Saxon variant spellings include Ecgberht () and Ecgbert. German variant spellings include Ekbert and Ecbert. People with the first name Mid ...
king of the West Saxons defeated an army of
Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
s and Cornish at the Battle of Hingston Down (''Hengestdūn'' = "Stallion Hill").


Geology

The Hingston Down Consols mine on the hill is the type locality for the mineral Arthurite, which was discovered here. There is also a quarry on the hill, which forms the Hingston Down Quarry & Consols Site of Special Scientific Interest, noted for its mineralisation.


See also

*
Kit Hill Country Park Kit Hill ( kw, Bre Skowl), at 334 metres high, dominates the area between Callington and the River Tamar in southeast Cornwall, England, UK. The word 'Kit' comes from Old English for kite, a reference to birds of prey (and not specifically the ...


References

{{SSSIs Cornwall geological Battles involving the Cornish Hills of Cornwall Military history of Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall Sites of Special Scientific Interest notified in 1995