Gurnard's Head (, meaning ''desolate one''; ) is a prominent headland on the north coast of the

Penwith Penwith (; ) is an area of Cornwall, England, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former Non-metropolitan district, local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after one ...

peninsula 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. The name is supposed to reflect that the rocky peninsula resembles the head of the gurnard fish.

Geography and geology

Gurnard's Head is the site of

basaltic Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron ( mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% ...

pillow lavas, formed by underwater volcanic eruptions up to 400 million years ago. It is north of the hamlet of Treen in the parish of Zennor, to the west of Zennor Head. Almost entirely 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 ...

, the headland is within the Aire Point to Carrick Du SSSI, and the

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 ...

crosses the southern part of the headland. The area is designated as part of the Penwith Heritage Coast and also designated as part of the

Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty The Cornwall National Landscape (formerly the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty) covers in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom; that is, about 27% of the total area of the county. It comprises 12 separate areas, designated under the Na ...

. A pub and hotel on the B3306 coast road shares a name with the headland.

History

The headland 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 ...

known as Trereen Dinas (not to be confused with Treryn Dinas). On the cliff-edge, above Treen Cove are the remains of Chapel Jane, which could have been a

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...

chapel of local fisherman. The earliest pottery dates from AD 1100 to 1150, but the original simple structure of the chapel is comparable with the tiny chapels of St Helen's and

Teän Teän ( , sometimes written ''Tean'' without the Diaeresis (diacritic), diaeresis; ) is an uninhabited island to the north of the Isles of Scilly archipelago between Tresco, Isles of Scilly, Tresco, to the west, and St Martin's, Isles of Scilly ...

, on the

Isles of Scilly The Isles of Scilly ( ; ) are a small archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, Isles of Scilly, St Agnes, is over farther south than the most southerly point of the Great Britain, British mainla ...

. An association with the adjoining stream which according to local, 19th-century, tradition was regarded as a

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

, could indicate an earlier, possibly 8th-century founding. To the east of the headland is an

engine house __NOTOC__ An engine house is a building or other structure that holds one or more engines. It is often practical to bring engines together for common maintenance, as when train locomotives are brought together. Types of engine houses include: * ...

belonging to a copper mine, originally known as Treen Copper Mine (before 1821) and later renamed Gurnard's Head Mine. There are two small coves to the east of, and sheltered by Gurnard's Head; Treen Cove and Rose-an-Hale Cove. In 1870, the Gurnard's Head seine fishery was worth an estimated £800 per year and employed 24 men with 10 boats and two seines. The

pilchards Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it comes ...

(''Sardina pilchardus'') were sold locally as fresh pilchards rather than salted and sold as fumadoes for the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

market. The Western Fishing Company was dissolved and their assets were auctioned on 28 June 1880. Included were the Account-house furniture, cellars, lofts and buildings used in the pilchard fishery as well as a launching platform in the cove. There were 14 boats (senn boats, loaders and followers), a capstan, chain blocks and gear, large crane, stage and winch, two seans (seines nets), tuck net and stop net, and circa 50 tons of French salt. The headland was popular with tourists during

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

's reign. The freehold of the Gurnard's Head Inn was put up for sale by auction on 27 May 1880, at the Western Hotel,

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

. The Inn was part of the Nicholls' Tenement and there was also rights of

common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

on Treen Cliff and of "fertile arable lands and improvable enclosed Crofts and Moors". The reserve was £975 and the highest bid was £730 and the property was not sold.

Geography and geology

History

References

External links