History of Pentire

400 million years ago

Early formation

Around 400 million years ago volcanic activity and earth movements formed the series of rock and mineral types that would eventually make up the landscape of Pentire head.  

The Rumps are largely made of dolerite, while Pentire Point contains pillow lava.

4000BC – 100AD

Neolithic through to Iron Age

Neolithic period 

Flint flakes found in ploughed fields at Pentire are signs of early human settlement. 

Bronze Age 

Pentire was heavily occupied in the Bronze Age and there is an unusually dense cluster of remains, marks and monuments in the fields near Pentire Farm. 

Iron Age

The Rumps promontory fort was constructed in the Iron Age. It would have been used for defence, with its high cliffs and triple ramparts looking imposing from land and sea. Its striking point and also for trade with places as far away as the southern Mediterranean.

1000-1500s

Middle Ages

Pentyr was first recorded as a place name in 1284.  Pentire is the Cornish word for headland – you may notice quite a few Pentires around Cornwall, such as West Pentire near Newquay, which is also looked after by the National Trust. 

In the late 1500s the land was under the ownership of William of Pentire. Pentire Point was recorded on John Norden’s 1584 map of Cornwall, indicating its importance.

1500s – 1800s

Early Modern Period

Ships and shipwrecks 

Pentire head was an important navigational point, marking the entrance to the Camel Estuary and Padstow Harbour. At the edge of the Bristol Channel, the sea was busy with international shipping. The rocky coastline was unforgiving and the area became known for shipwrecks.

‘From Padstow Point to Lundy light, is a watery grave by day or night…’ 

Farming  

For a large part of the past 500 years Pentire head was run as two separate farms: Pentire and Pentireglaze. They would have farmed sheep, barley, wheat and, later, cattle.  

By the late 19th century both were owned by the Robartes family of Lanhydrock, near Bodmin.  

Today, many of the 17th and 19th century farm buildings still exist. Several are now holiday cottages that you can stay in. 

Mining  

Mining for silver and lead ore was carried out at Pentire head between around 1580 and 1883, with the most profitable period being the mid-19th century.  

Quarries, mine shafts and spoil tips remain on the headland today. One former location is at the site of the ‘Lead Mines’ car park.

1890 – 1914

Edwardian era

Tourism & culture  

As tourism increased in the 19th century, so did interest in the myths and folklore of Cornwall. In the Roar of the Sea, (1891) by Sabine Baring-Gould told the tale of fearsome smuggler ‘Cruel Coppinger’ who lived in the farmhouse at Pentireglaze. In the early 1900s Enys Tregarthen wrote the fairy story The Piskey Purse set in the area around Pentireglaze.  

At the outbreak of World War 1, ‘For the Fallen’ was written by Laurence Binyon on the cliffs of Pentire. Today there is a memorial at Pentire Point. 

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: 
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. 
At the going down of the sun and in the morning 
We will remember them. 

1900s

20th century

War at Pentire 

The Second World War saw wartime defences and an RAF lookout post built at Pentire.  

Between 1960 and 1968 there was an underground bunker constructed. This was for early nuclear warnings during the Cold War and was excavated in 2016. 

Saving Pentire head for the Nation

To save it from development, Pentire head was bought by public subscription and donated to the National Trust in 1936. The campaign to raise funds was spearheaded by the local community. 

Further sections of coast were donated to the Trust, or bought using Project Neptune funds between the 1950s and 1970s, to join up the headland.