| Kit Hill | |
|---|---|
The ornate mine chimney, now clad in a range of transmitters and aerials, on top of Kit Hill. |
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| Elevation | 334 m (1,096 ft) |
| Prominence | 171 m (561 ft) |
| Parent peak | None |
| Listing | Marilyn |
| Location | |
| Location | Cornwall, United Kingdom |
| Topo map | OS Landranger 201 |
| OS grid | SX375713 |
Kit Hill (334 m) dominates the area between Callington and the River Tamar in southeast Cornwall, UK. The word 'Kit' comes from Old English for Kite, a reference to birds of prey (and not specifically the Red Kite). Buzzards and Sparrowhawks can still be seen on the hill. It is one of four Marilyn hills in Cornwall, the three others are Brown Willy, Carnmenellis and Hensbarrow Beacon.
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Kit Hill Country Park (which includes the hill and surrounding areas), was given to the people of Cornwall in 1985 to mark the birth of Prince William, by his father, the Duke of Cornwall (Prince Charles). It is managed by Cornwall Council[1] and consists of some 400 acres (152 hectares), making it the most dominant landscape feature in East Cornwall.[2]
The hill was formed in the same way as nearby Bodmin Moor by the intrusion of magma into overlying sedimentary rocks. This caused the formation of many mineral deposits that were mined extensively in the 18th and early 19th centuries.
As the highest point of Hingston Down, Kit Hill is probably the best viewpoint in the southeast of Cornwall, with fantastic views of the Tamar valley, Dartmoor and Bodmin Moor. Kit Hill Country Park has a high wildlife population including deer and badgers, rabbits, rare moths and butterflies.
The summit of Kit Hill is the location of an artificial fort (a Civil War redoubt)[3] built by Sir John Call of Whiteford, Stoke Climsland. The artificial fort is built in the style of a low-walled Saxon castle.
Hingston Down is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle which says that in 835 (corrected by scholars to 838) Egbert king of the West Saxons defeated an army of Vikings and Cornish at Hengestdun = "Stallion Hill". Some historians now believe that the correct location for this battle is at Hingston Down, Devon, (near Moretonhampstead) as it took until 927 for Athelstan to finally force the Celts to withdraw from Exeter,[4] and until 936 for Athelstan's settlement to fix the east bank of the River Tamar as the boundary between Anglo-Saxon Wessex and Celtic Cornwall.[5][6]
The Danish fleet is thought to have arrived at Plymouth Sound in 838 and this is still commemorated in the annual Viking parade in Calstock, where locals dressed as Vikings row up the river to Danescombe, thought to be one of the sites of the landing of the Danish boats.
Other notable artifacts on Kit Hill include Neolithic and Bronze Age barrows. The area around these is maintained by a ranger and volunteers, who also generally keep the vegetation on the hill under control.
The Country Park is steeped in mining history. Metals extracted included, tin, silver, copper and wolfram.
The main mines were:
In 1877 a company called Kit Hill Tunnel Ltd began work on both the south and north sides of the hill to create a tunnel which would be 2 miles (3.2 km) long. The southern portal was at Silver Hill, and that at the north was near a small mine called Excelsior. However, due to the toughness of the underlying bedrock, progress was costly and slow, and ceased about a year later. In 1881 a new company named Kit Hill Great Consols took over the setts of Kit Hill United and Excelsior mine. They deepened the North Engine Shaft to 112 fathoms and lengthened the tunnel running south to meet it. However, this too was proving too costly, and wound up in 1885, before it was half-way complete. Several later attempts were made to extend the Excelsior Tunnel, but by 1938, it was still only 2,400 feet (730 m) long.
However, in 1959 the Atomic Energy Authority took over operations, and used the tunnel for underground explosions.[7] The activities were part of Operation Orpheus, and the Kit Hill events were the first part:
Construction of The Tamar, Kit Hill & Callington Railway started in 1864. The name was later changed to the East Cornwall Mineral Railway, and the line opened in 1872. Seven and a half miles long, it ran from Calstock's river frontage, past Kelly Quay & Drakewalls and the Gunnislake quarries, along the northern flank of Hingston Down to below Kit Hill at Kelly Bray, where an inclined tramway connected with it. It amalgamated with the Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway crossing the Tamar above Calstock and onto the junction at Bere Alston.
The Gunnislake to Bere Alston section still survives as part of the Tamar Valley Line.
Some remnants, mainly the granite blocks, of the line can be found on the northern slopes of the Country Park site.