Prideaux Castle facts for kids

Prideaux Castle is an ancient hillfort from the Iron Age in Cornwall, England. It sits on top of a hill that is about 133 meters (435 feet) high. This special place is protected by law, so no one can make changes to it without permission. People sometimes call it Prideaux Warren or Prideaux Hillfort.

What Prideaux Castle Looks Like

This old fort has several layers of defenses, like big earth walls. The first two walls are easy to see, even though trees grow on them. They are made of earth and rocks. There's also a third wall that you can still trace, and even a fourth, outer wall that shows up in old maps and aerial photos. This outer wall is shaped like a "D" and goes down the hill.

The fort has two entrances, one on the east side and one on the north. These are common for smaller hillforts. There are no signs of fancy cut stones, so any buildings or fences inside would have been made of wood. These wooden parts have long since disappeared.

The flat area inside the fort is almost round. It's about 100 meters across and covers about 0.8 hectares. Today, cows graze there. The ground has a pinkish stone underneath. Over time, the fort is slowly changing, and some parts are less clear than they were in 1888. The northern and eastern walls are now covered by trees, blending into the nearby forest.

Around the castle, you can find many signs of old mining. People used to dig for iron, tin, and a type of clay called kaolinite. You can see old quarries, pits, and shafts everywhere.

The word "castle" has been used for a long time to describe ancient forts like this one in Great Britain. Prideaux Castle is also known as Prideaux Warren. Close to the fort are two forests called "Prideaux Woods" and "Warren Woods." These woods connect to another forest, "North Slope Woods," which covers part of the Luxulyan Valley. Some of these trees are very old, while others were planted more recently.

Where the Name Comes From

Most experts believe the name Prideaux comes from the Cornish language. It probably means something like "hill fort." The French spelling "Prideaux" appeared much later, during the time of the Plantagenet kings. For hundreds of years, the name has been used in Cornwall and Devon.

Some people in the past thought the name came from a French phrase meaning "near the waters." However, this is unlikely because the fort is high up on a hill, far from the sea.

Ancient Times at Prideaux Castle

The Bronze Age

People lived near Prideaux Castle even before the Iron Age, during the Bronze Age. Cornwall has always been important for mining and trading tin. Tin was a key ingredient for making bronze. The fort is not far from an old trade route, which later became known as the Saints' Way. Tin from here was traded to places as far away as the Middle East.

Tin mining was very important to the local area. There was even a special mining district called "Pridias," which was one of the areas of the Blackmoor Stannary. Records for this mining area were kept at the church in Luxulyan.

The Iron Age

Even though we haven't found specific objects to date it, Prideaux Castle is believed to be from the Iron Age. This is because of its shape and design, which is typical of forts from that time in pre-Roman Britain. Since the enclosed area is less than one hectare, it is called a "small multivallate hillfort." There is no sign that any buildings were built on the site after the Iron Age.

History of the Area

Domesday Book

Today, there are three small villages near the castle called "Prideaux," "Little Prideaux," and "Great Prideaux." However, the Domesday Book from 1086, which was a big survey of England, does not mention Luxulyan or Prideaux by name. The closest important places listed were Tywardreath, about 1.5 kilometers (1 mile) away, and Bodiggo, about 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) away. Both of these places were owned by important people connected to William the Conqueror.

Tin Mining Districts

The economy around Prideaux was likely based on tin mining. Cornwall was famous for its tin, which was a very important trade item during the Bronze Age.

In 1201, King John of England created four special tin mining areas in Cornwall. One of these was Blackmoor, which was the oldest. Blackmoor was divided into eight smaller areas called tithings. "Pridis," which is very similar to "Prideaux," was one of these eight tin mining districts in Blackmoor.

Images for kids

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  Prideaux Castle today

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  A 3D view of the digital terrain model