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, Jo ...

at the western end of

St Austell Bay St Austell Bay () is a bay on Cornwall's south coast which is bounded to the east by Gribbin Head and to the west by Black Head. Since 1 April 2009, it has also been the name of a civil parish, one of four new parishes created on for the ...

, in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England. It is owned by the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

Description

It is the site of an

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

promontory fort A promontory fort is a fortification, defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus using the topography to reduce the Rampart (fortification), ramparts needed. The oldest kno ...

. 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, visu ...

. 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 Alfred Leslie Rowse (4 December 1903 – 3 October 1997) was a British historian and writer, best known for his work on Elizabethan England and books relating to Cornwall. Born in Cornwall and raised in modest circumstances, he was encourag ...

is situated on Black Head. In retirement he lived in the nearby hamlet of

Trenarren Trenarren () 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 Trenarren House. T ...

. 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 footpaths in the UK, long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harb ...

''. 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