152 - Cornish Killas : Description

Physical and functional links to other National Character Areas

The Cornish Killas National Character Area (NCA) forms the main body of the Cornish landmass around the igneous outcrops of Bodmin Moor, Hensbarrow, Carnmenellis, West Penwith and The Lizard NCAs. The open character of the landscape and the general lack of tree cover mean that long views are afforded across Cornwall to neighbouring NCAs and out to sea.

A network of minor streams and rivers form physical links with adjacent landscapes, including the rivers Fowey, Camel, Tiddy, Inny and Lynher (draining from Bodmin Moor); the rivers Hayle and Cober (draining from Carnmenellis); the rivers Par and Fal (draining from Hensbarrow); and minor streams draining from West Penwith.

The north and south Killas coasts provide continuous visual and physical links along the length of the Cornish peninsula, through the dramatic coastline and its associated impressive geology. On the eastern side of the NCA, the River Tamar, which rises only 6 km from the north Cornwall coast in The Culm NCA, separates the counties of Devon and Cornwall, with the Tamar Valley landscape linking the two NCAs of the Cornish Killas and South Devon. On the northern boundary of the NCA, the landscape abuts the south-western edge of The Culm, which lies in north Cornwall as far south as Boscastle. The NCA has many features in common with the area of west Devon, immediately east of the river.

All of the main transport links (the A30, A38 and A39 roads and the mainline railway) between Cornwall and the rest of the country in part run through the Cornish Killas NCA, with the main railway line skirting the moorland areas as it winds its way to Penzance.

The Cornish Killas today

The underlying geology of sedimentary and metamorphic rocks (referred to locally by the mining term ‘killas’) and a strong maritime influence are the unifying factors of the Cornish Killas NCA. The area forms a gently undulating plateau, with no part of the area more than 24 km from the sea. The NCA has a mild, oceanic climate with above average rainfall and strong, salty winds. There are wide views across a rolling landscape of Cornish hedge-bounded fields. The area supports mixed farming and the growth of a wide variety of crops, including horticultural crops in the Tamar Valley and arable areas on the Roseland peninsula, as well as supporting beef, sheep and dairy enterprises. This rolling landscape is punctuated by small copses. The plateau is cut by a complex pattern of deep valleys leading to richly varied coastlines. These valleys contain the main rivers in Cornwall, all of which rise on the higher granite outcrops and plunge the short distance to the sea. In the north, the steep, high cliffs face the full force of the Atlantic gales, and the windswept character extends many miles inland, with large numbers of windpruned hawthorn trees located on hedgebanks. In the south, the landscape of the drowned valleys is gentler, for example at Fowey and Falmouth. These valleys contain more woodland (mainly broadleaved) and tree cover, providing a contrast to the open, wind-swept nature of the north coast.

Field patterns vary widely, from long narrow strips made from earlier open fields around hamlets, to the intricate, regular patterns around mining communities, and the rectilinear pattern of 19th-century and earlier enclosure of the once-extensive areas of rough ground. The field pattern is defined by the Cornish hedgebanks, which change in character reflecting the landscape: they vary from almost bare granite faces to being completely covered in shrubs, herbs and, in some cases, mature trees, which sometimes join over the top of lanes to form tunnels of greenery.

There are scattered farmsteads and hamlets, with the buildings generally of local stone and granite, often whitewashed and with slate roofs. Recent farmsteads are larger and more prominent, and tend to be on the more marginal, recently enclosed lands. Post-Victorian buildings characterise the recent expansion of many settlements such as Liskeard and Camborne, and these tend to be constructed using modern materials to the exclusion of vernacular styles. Planned villages are few, but market towns, with foursquare granite and slate churches surrounded by clusters of buildings, are common.

There are many isolated churches and medieval ‘churchtown’ settlements. Nonconformist chapels are found on the edges of these settlements and are an integral part of the mining and other settlements that developed from the 17th century within and around areas of former rough ground.

Cornwall’s towns developed between the late 18th century and the 20th century from small medieval cores into rural market and fishing towns. Cornish unit housing is a distinctive post-Second World War style often found in the suburbs of these towns. Many of the larger industrial-based settlements have experienced challenging economic conditions following the decline of traditional mining industries. The area is scattered with relics of its mining heritage, such as engine houses and disused railway lines. The NCA includes sections of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site, in the Tamar Valley and St Austell areas – evidence of the importance of its mining heritage.

On the north coast, short, deeply etched valleys cut through to the sea, their streams often spilling over as waterfalls, and the land ends abruptly in sheer cliffs, commonly over 100 m high. This is a coastline of pounding rollers, sea spray, sandy beaches and rugged headlands with dramatically sited ruins. These range from 19th-century mining buildings and their chimneys to the evocative Tintagel Castle and promontory forts such as that at Trevelgue Head. Many ports and harbours along the north coast have retained their older buildings with colour-washed walls and slate roofs. Many have been converted into restaurants, galleries and accommodation, which has resulted in locations such as Padstow and Rock becoming popular tourist centres. The development of Cornwall as a mass holiday destination began from the late 19th century. It has seen a significant increase in caravan parks and features a dispersed pattern of modern buildings that can be highly visible in parts of the open landscape. Many of the potential activities that draw people to the area are inextricably linked to its environment and remote character. Popular recreation assets include a large section of the South West Coast Path National Trail.

On the south coast, deep, complex, narrow valleys are cloaked by sessile oak woodland – much of it ancient and of international nature conservation importance – which continues down to the water’s edge. The undulating land grades into tidal inlets, reedbeds and sandy coves, occasionally rising to rocky headlands. Farmsteads shelter in the upper valleys, and the steep slopes often have an intricate pattern of small fields. Fishing villages are common, with many retaining their attractive, old-world character in spite of surrounding 20th century development – an expansion driven by the growth of tourism. The mild climate of this southern coast is emphasised by the large, lush gardens, often with frost-tender plants, found in the sheltered inlets. Rocky headlands are marked by dramatically located hill forts, cliff castles, lighthouses and ruined mining buildings, and there are many offshore rocks and small islands, perhaps the best known being St Michael’s Mount. The outstanding natural and scenic beauty of the coastal landscape is recognised through the designation of long stretches as part of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

The NCA contains a diverse array of habitats, many of which are designated as nationally and internationally important nature conservation and geological sites. These include heathlands, which are characterised by heath, scrub, bristle bent and western gorse and are found in mosaics with mire, willow carr and scrub communities. Areas of open wetlands are diverse and are characterised by purple moor-grass, bog mosses, soft rush, bog asphodel and black bog rush. The wetland communities provide important habitats for many insect species, such as the nationally scarce small red damselfly and the internationally important marsh fritillary butterfly. Extensive areas of willow (and occasionally alder) carr are found in flood plains and areas with impeded drainage. In places, willow carr forms part of an unusual transition of habitats from oak woodland to willow carr to salt marsh, as seen at Sett Bridge within the Upper Fal Estuary and Woods Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Herbrich unimproved grassland can be found on the sides of the steep valleys that dissect the Cornish landscape. There are extensive areas of unimproved grassland found on the cliff-tops and also associated with sand dune systems. The many Cornish hedgebanks provide a haven for plants and shelter for a diverse range of invertebrates, small mammals and birds. Species of note include the Plymouth pear, cirl bunting and several bat species.

As well as attracting large numbers of tourists, the area has become a destination for or home to many painters, artists, musicians and writers on account of the drama and inspiration of the sea, landscape, history and culture, and wildlife.

The landscape through time

The rocks of the Killas plateau were laid down as sediments during the Devonian Period, then buckled, squeezed and lifted during the Carboniferous as continents moved towards each other. Spectacular folds in rock layers are visible in the sea cliffs. The enormous pressure and temperatures generated caused sedimentary rocks to be metamorphosed into the slates of the presentday Killas. The intrusion of magma baked the surrounding Killas, resulting in an aureole of metamorphic rocks. The aureoles are particularly rich in minerals such as copper, tin, lead and zinc. The term ‘Killas’ is a Cornish mining term.

Following the last glacial period, Cornwall became covered by forests of sessile oak and hazel on drier ground and alder in damp valley bottoms. By the end of the Mesolithic Period, people had begun to change the landscape by burning vegetation and herding the larger mammals, taking the first steps towards domestication. Neolithic monuments provide evidence that 5,000 years ago there were highly organised societies in Cornwall and the process of developing the present landscape had begun.

In the later Neolithic and Early Bronze Age there were mixed farms with round houses at the centre, stone-walled arable and meadow fields, and lanes leading to rough summer grazing on higher and coastal land. Clearance of the woodland continued, and the pattern of anciently enclosed landscape with its areas of clearance, cultivation and settlement was established. As the climate deteriorated towards the end of the Bronze Age, upland sites were abandoned to become rough ground for grazing animals and extracting fuel, but the lowland, comprising most of the Killas, remained in occupation. From around 400 bc many settlements were defended, with strategically important farming hamlets given ramparts and defensive ditches – the Cornish rounds such as the Penhale Round, Fraddon. These enclosures are generally less than a hectare in size and consist of a simple entranceway formed by a gap in the circuit of the bank and ditch. Many are roughly circular or oval in shape, but rectilinear enclosures are also common. Enclosed settlements are frequently sited on hill tops with their entrance facing downhill. In many places the enclosed settlements are sited within extensive field systems, with the farmers living in these hamlets practising mixed agriculture – cultivating crops and keeping a range of livestock. The presence of many undefended settlements suggests that this was essentially a peaceful time, with as much the same area of Cornwall under productive agriculture as in the early 18th century.

Rounds were finally abandoned by around 600 ad; hamlets at this point were open, undefended groups of farmsteads. At the end of the first millennium the basic rural settlement pattern that endures in Cornwall today was consolidated – with its highways, byways and farmland, fords and bridging sites. In many respects Saxon rule, which was not established fully until the 9th century, sat lightly in Cornish culture, as did the rule of the Normans.

In the later medieval period, farming life, with its hamlets, lowland fields and upland grazing, continued as before. As the population increased and the climate improved slightly, the uplands were partly resettled. At the same time the economy diversified, with an industrial society forming around the tin and copper mines and the quarries. These, together with the growth of ship-building and trading, led to the development of coastal ports and small industrial and market towns at intervals across the landscape. As well as the intricate patterns of enclosed fields, subdivided strips were present around the hamlets. These and other field patterns were preserved by enclosure after the population decline that followed the Black Death.

During the 16th and 17th centuries the agricultural landscape changed; most strip fields were amalgamated and enclosed by great Cornish hedgebanks, forming the main part of anciently enclosed land seen today. More regular patterns of enclosure are typical of the areas of rough ground enclosed from this period. In the 18th century, tin and copper mining, china clay mining and quarrying had again begun to grow. The growth of industry brought wealth; large country residences were established and ornamental gardens were laid out on sheltered sites. The significance of the development of mineral extraction in the area is now recognised through the definition and inscription of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site.

Throughout this period the basic agricultural pattern of Cornwall continued and, as industry declined, it reasserted itself as the dominant influence on the landscape. Tourism began to flourish as mining contracted; encouraged by the growth of the railways that took Cornwall’s agricultural and horticultural produce to markets as far away as London. The growth of tourism was concentrated on the coasts, with new roads and development to accommodate the visitors. Relics of industry, such as closed railway lines, have now been given a new lease of life as visitor attractions, for example the Camel Trail, a cycle path that runs from Wenford Bridge to Padstow, and the coast-to-coast Mineral Tramways Trail that runs from Devoran to Portreath.

In the 20th century changes to the landscape continued. Elms, thought originally to have been introduced in Neolithic times and used to form dense windbreaks along field boundaries, were devastated by Dutch elm disease and left a more open and exposed landscape. Agricultural improvement, notably in dairying; the development of horticulture stimulated by improved transport; the development of mass tourism; and, more recently, the impact of renewable energy schemes have brought further changes to the landscape.

In 1959 eight areas of the NCA were designated an AONB and, combined with areas on Bodmin Moor, The Lizard and West Penwith, made up the Cornwall AONB, designated for its special scenic beauty. In 1995 the Tamar Valley AONB was designated, which includes the areas associated with both the Tamar Valley and the Lynher Valley.