The prehistoric settlement at Kynance Gate, in Mullion on the Lizard peninsula, is first recorded on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey 25in: 1 mile map (c 1880) and was visited by members of the Royal Institution of Cornwall following a heath fire in 1896. Otherwise, the site was largely forgotten until the early 1950s when a schoolboy found some pottery there. This led Ivor Thomas, headmaster at Landewednack School, to initiate a series of excavations between 1953-64.
At least 20 roundhouses, in two groups, were revealed, east and west of a dramatic rock outcrop, and large quantities of Bronze Age and Iron Age pottery recovered. Interim reports appeared annually in the Lizard Field Club magazines, but the site was never formally published.
Roundhouse F3 at Kynance Gate (photo courtesy of Cornwall National Landscape’s Monumental Improvement project)
A project is currently in progress to reassess and publish the results of excavations, supported by the Farming in Protected Landscape (FiPL) scheme and the Tanner Phoenix Trust. The Monumental Improvement project and Natural England are currently undertaking site management works to improve access and interpretation.
The route from the car park to the settlement is about 0.5 miles across uneven moorland paths with one downhill stretch to cross a wooden bridge over a stream and then up the other side. There is an alternative return route via Kynance Cove, about 0.6 miles, which does require a steep descent to the cove following the SWCP and a steep climb back up to the car park.
Wear suitable clothing for the weather conditions and good supportive boots. You may wish to bring a packed lunch or the café in Kynance Cove will be open.
Meet at 11.00 a.m. at the National Trust’s Kynance Cove car park. SW 6885 1320, What3Words: jams.beads.stud
(Note that there will be a car parking charge for those who are not members of the National Trust.)