Carn Brea

Carn Brea (Cornish: Karnbre) is a hilltop site near Redruth, Cornwall, which has seen various human settlements over the years. Today Carn Brea medieval castle and a nineteenth century monument to Lord Francis Basset, Lord de Dunstanville stand at the top of the ridge.


Carn Brea had a Neolithic settlement between 3700 and 3400 BC. A two acre inner enclosure was surrounded by a eleven acre outer area. The rampart was made of stone walls with an earth bank and ditch. There were fourteen platforms on which Neolithic long houses would have stood. A population of 100 to 150 people would have lived here then.

The Carn which can be seen from most of the Camborne and Redruth area is a wild place covered in heather and blueberry. When driving down to Cornwall and you see either of these you know your home. The castle today is used as a restaurant, however the drive up to it would take the underside off of most cars if you were not an adept driver. My friend and college cohort Darren and I once ate here years ago and after dinner and drinking went up onto the roof in the fog and pretended we had captured the castle much to the shock of the departing dinner guests, when we called for the boiling oil.


The Castle itself can be traced back to 1379. It is a stone twin towered fortress, built by the Bassett family and is inside the ramparts of the Iron Age hillfort. It was probably built has a hunting lodge, or as a chapel to St Michael (not me). It has been restored and extended over the years, and today has the look of a modern folly, rather than a medieval fort.




















A view to the east towards Redruth from Carn Brea Castle door.





















The granite monument, the Basset Memorial, is 90 feet high, and was built in 1836. It is in memory to Lord Francis Basset, who was one of the major mine owners in the Camborne-Redruth mining district at that time. The memorial stands at the summit of Carn Brea at about 730 feet above sea level. Lord Francis Basset later became Lord de Dunstanville.

Carn Brea now lies partly in the ownership of Kerrier District Council and Carn Brea Parish Council, with some parts in private hands.







Aunt Margaret who grew up in Carnkie Village on the south side of the Carn.














An Araucaria araucana growing at the foot of the Carn. Even though the area appears wild it is quite mild, zone 9.

Hedges abound in Cornwall, according to the famous ecologist David Streeter, one can age a hedge by the number of woody species present: 1 woody species= one hundred years.

Carnkie Village looking north towards Carn Brea.

The harbor at Portreath a couple of miles from Carn Brea.













Hells Mouth.











Along the North Cliffs.

The fog, mist and gales at Gwithian, you can just see the lighthouse in the distance, Frank and Ruth may remember this area when they visitied.