Cape Cornwall

Cape Cornwall
Cornish: Kilgoodh Ust

Headland of Cape Cornwall
Cape Cornwall
 Cape Cornwall shown within Cornwall
OS grid referenceSW371315
Unitary authorityCornwall
Ceremonial countyCornwall
RegionSouth West
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post town PENZANCE
Postcode district TR19 7
Dialling code 01736
Police Devon and Cornwall
Fire Cornwall
Ambulance South Western
EU Parliament South West England
UK ParliamentSt Ives
List of places
UK
England
Cornwall

Coordinates: 50°07′37″N 5°42′22″W / 50.127°N 5.706°W / 50.127; -5.706

Cape Cornwall (Cornish: Kilgoodh Ust, meaning "goose back of St Just") is a small headland in west Cornwall, England, UK. It is four miles north of Land's End near the town of St Just.[1] A cape is the point of land where two bodies of water meet and until the first Ordnance Survey, 200 years ago, it was thought that Cape Cornwall was the most westerly point in Cornwall.[2]

Most of the headland is owned by the National Trust. There is also a National Coastwatch look out on the seaward side. The only tourist infrastructure at present is a car park (owned by the National Trust) and a public toilet and refreshments van during the summer.

The Brisons, two offshore rocks, are located approximately one mile southwest of Cape Cornwall and are the starting line of the annual swimming race ending at Priest Cove.[1][2]

Just one mile from the Cape is the westernmost school on the British mainland, Cape Cornwall School. This is Cornwall's smallest secondary school with (as of January 2008) about 450 young people aged 11 to 16. Commonly known as "Cape" it is Cornwall's only school that specialises in art, photography and music. Most of its pupils come from the town of St Just in Penwith and the nearby villages of Pendeen, Sennen, St Buryan and St Levan but over 10% travel to the school from Penzance and further east.

Etymology

The name Cape Cornwall appeared first on a maritime chart around the year 1600 and the original Cornish name Kilgodh Ust has fallen out of use. In English it translates to "goose-back at St Just", a reference to the shape of the cape.[3] An alternative name, Pen Kernow, is a recent translation of the English.

Early history

Heinz Monument (the 1864 chimney of the former Cape Cornwall Mine visible in the centre) commemorates the purchase of Cape Cornwall for the nation by H. J. Heinz Company. The ruins of St. Helens Oratory also can be seen in the left, with the two offshore rocks called The Brisons in the distance.

Pottery found in cists on the Cape have been dated to the Late Bronze Age and the presence of another cliff castle nearby (Kenidjack) may indicate that the area was important in the Iron Age. On the landward side of the Cape is the remains of the medieval St Helen’s Oratory, which replaced a 6th-century church. A font in the porch of St Just church may be from this building.[2]

Cape Cornwall Mine, a tin mine on Cape Cornwall, operated intermittently between 1838 and 1883. The mine's 1864 chimney near the peak of the cape was retained as an aid to navigation, and in the early 20th century the former ore dressing floors were for a time converted into greenhouses and wineries. In 1987 the site was donated to the nation by the H. J. Heinz Company. The remains of Cape Cornwall Mine now form part of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

References

  1. 1 2 Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 Land's End ISBN 978-0-319-23148-7
  2. 1 2 3 Joseph P. 2006. Cape Cornwall Mine. British Mining No 79. Northern Mine Research Society. Sheffield. pp.111. ISBN 978-0-901450-60-9.
  3. ↑ Weatherhill C. (2007) Cornish Place Names and Language. Ammanford: Sigma Press.
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