50°22′08″N4°43′50″W / 50.3689°N 4.7305°W /50.3689; -4.7305Prideaux Castle/ˈprɪdɪks/ is a multivallateIron Agehillfort situated atop a 133 m (435 ft) high conical hill near the southern boundary of the parish ofLuxulyan,Cornwall, England,United Kingdom. It is also sometimes referred to asPrideaux Warren,Prideaux War-Ring, orPrideaux Hillfort. The site is ascheduled monument[1] and so protected from unauthorised works by theAncient Monuments and Archaeological Areas Act 1979.
The remains of the first and secondcircular ramparts are quite distinct, although overgrown with trees on the north and east sides. They appear to be constructed of earth and rubble. The third rampart is only fragmentarily represented, but easily traced, due to the vegetation. A fourth, outermost wall is discerned on aerial photographs,[2] or on the 1888 Ordnance Survey map.[3] This outermost wall is in the form of an incomplete "D" shape, extending to the west and south on the downhill slope of the site. There are two entrances, typical of the small hillfort,[4] located on the eastern and northern side (i.e., opposite the fourth wall), where it is most wooded. There is no evidence of dressed stones. Thepalisade and any internal structures would have been of wooden construction and must have perished without trace.
The enclosed area is level and described from the ground as being somewhat elliptical, although from aerial photographs it appears nearly circular.[2] Its diameter is about 100 m, with an area of about 0.8ha. Its present use is as a cattle pasture, with a frangible, pinkish stone (possiblyDevoniansandstone) forming the substrate. Its condition is slowly deteriorating, with less structure now visible than was shown on the 1888 survey map.[3] The northern and eastern ramparts are overgrown with trees, merging into forest. In the vicinity, there is much evidence of mining foriron,tin andkaolinite, withquarries,pits,shafts and dumps in abundance.
The wordcastle has long been employed colloquially to designateprehistoric remains of this general type throughoutGreat Britain. Prideaux Castle has also been known as Prideaux Warren. Adjacent to the fort are two extents of forest, one named "Prideaux Woods," the other "Warren Woods." Even after centuries of deforestation these join to another forest, "North Slope Woods," covering the south side of Luxulyan Valley. Some of this forestation has been backfilled during recent periods; other parts are known to be ancient.
Prideaux Wood (SX0655) near St Blazey is the site of a disused quarry. Around a quarter of this woodland is of ancient origin; the remainder being coniferous and planted in the 1960s. The conifers are gradually being removed, with care being taken not to disturb the numerous greater horseshoe bat colonies which roost here.
Most of the authorities[6] agree that the earliest form of the name was something like[prɪdjas], and that the name is ofCornish origin. The first documented appearance of theFrench spelling Prideaux did not appear untilPlantagenet times. For at least the past several centuries the name has been/ˈprɪdɪks/ in Cornwall andDevon. The final/ks/ is aspelling pronunciation of thex in the French orthography.
A derivation from Cornishbre "hill" + Cornishdinas "castle; fort" → *bredinas may be suggested. A development from this otherwise plausible form would have to account for the initial devoicing, as well as the loss of the nasal.[citation needed]
Several fanciful etymologies have been proposed, based on the assumption of French origin. For example, the 18th century Cornish historianThomas Tonkin derived it from the French phraseprès d'eaux "near [the] waters":
...for the sea formerly flowed up as high as this place, till the (tin) stream works choked up its entrance, any one that views the high cliffs under this place, and those on the opposite side of the valley in Tywardreath, must needs be convinced of....
This etymology is somewhat implausible for a hilly location at an elevation of some 135 metres located several kilometres from the sea.[citation needed]
The earliest occupation in the vicinity of the site dates from theBronze Age. Cornwall has functioned continuously since high antiquity as a centre oftin mining and trade, tin being an essential ingredient ofbronze. The fort is situated not far from the ancient trade route which later became known as theSaints' Way; from here tin was traded as far as theLevant.
The central role oftin mining in the local economy seem to have a continuity leading up to the stannary "Pridias",[7] which in later times was one of the "tithings" (administrative districts) of the Blackmoor Stannary, centered at nearbyHensbarrow Beacon, with its records stored at the church inLuxulyan.
Without datable artifacts, the hillfort is nonetheless assigned to theIron Age of pre-Roman Britain on the basis of its general form. Because the enclosed area is less than 1ha, it would be classified as a "smallmultivallate hillfort", resembling most others of that type.[4] There is no physical evidence that any structure was ever built upon the site subsequent to the Iron Age.
There are at the present time three inhabited places arranged in an arc or line a few hundred metres to the north of the Castle. On the 1888 map[3] they are called "Prideaux," "Little Prideaux," and "Great Prideaux." TheDomesday Book of 1086 mentions nothing that could be identified by name with either Luxulyan or Prideaux (Pridias). The nearest manor to Prideaux Castle listed isTywardreath (Tiwardrai), about 1.5 km to the southeast. Next nearest would have beenBodiggo (Bodenwitghi) at about 2.5 km. Both of these manors are recorded as held byRichard Fitz Thorold fromRobert, Count of Mortain,William the Conqueror's half brother.
The economy of Prideaux may have been based in part on thestannary. Britain, specificallyCornwall was famous fortin, a key ingredient ofbronze and thus an important trade item during theBronze Age.
In 1201King John of England chartered fourstannaries in Cornwall: Foweymoor (Bodmin Moor), Blackmoor (Hensbarrow downs near Saint Austell), Tywarnhaile (Truro to Saint Agnes) and Penwith-with-Kerrier. Blackmoor was the oldeststannary, with eight subdivisions calledtithings.
Pridis (which is near theCornish original ofPrideaux) is listed as one of the eight tithings of the Blackmoor stannary.
