Chysauster

Thought to have been built in the Roman period between the first and third centuries AD, Chysauster is the site of an ancient hamlet in West Cornwall that comprised eight houses in a compact group of two rows of four each, with other outlying homes to the south west.  Each of the dwellings had the same kind of basic layout: an entrance leading to an open courtyard and a number of rooms (usually three) branching off it.  It’s thought that the people who lived there were farmers and there’s also evidence to suggest that the land was occupied during the Iron Age.

Situated on a high spot overlooking Penzance and Mount’s Bay in the distance, Chysauster is one of the finest examples in the country of how life was lived 2000 years ago.  Cereal crops would probably have been grown in the surrounding fields and it’s highly likely that pigs and goats were also kept by the residents.  The settlement was probably occupied for about 100 years and no-one knows why it was eventually abandoned.

Wander around what remains of the oval-shaped homes and take a step back in time.  Our ancestors lived and loved here, stared up at the same stars and doubtless fretted over similar human problems (without the prop of an i-phone). The landscape would have been much the same, too – rocky moorland, with fields bordered by dry stone walls or earth banks terraced into the hillside.  Beyond, on both coasts, was the sea, just as it is today.

Below the village, is a fogou or underground chamber.  Derived from the Celtic word for cave, fogous are unique to Cornwall and its Iron Age sites.  They are deep trenches that have been excavated manually then lined and roofed with granite slabs.  What were they used for?  No-one can be certain but the most likely uses are thought to be food storage (there were no fridges in those days), religious rituals or places of refuge.  You can’t go into the Chysauster fogou but you can see it from the outside – an intriguing, fenced, black hole that disappears into the undergrowth.

The walk to Chysauster from the free car park below is about half a mile away – necessitating a gentle climb uphill.  English Heritage looks after the site and charges for entry.  

Useful info

·       Sat Nav: TR20 8XA

·       There are approximately 15 spaces in the free car park which also has male and female toilets.

·       The entrance kiosk includes a small shop selling gifts, themed souvenirs and a range of bottled drinks and snacks.

·       Dogs on leads are welcome.

Did you know?

Most of the material excavated from the houses consisted of pottery, but there were also fragments of slate and a large number of water-worn pebbles that had been brought to the village and may have had ritual significance. ^[1]

Time for tea

With its open fires, low ceilings and stone floors The Tinners Arms in Zennor offers good food, plenty of history and a fabulous location.  Sit in the garden on a fine day and enjoy far-reaching coastal views.  Novelist D H Lawrence stayed there for a fortnight in 1916 and wrote: “It is the best place I have been in, I think".

What else?

Zennor is a ten-minute drive from Chysauster. The ancient church dominates the hamlet and it’s here, according to legend, that chorister Matthew Trewhella was said to have been singing when a mermaid, attracted by his beautiful voice, came and listened then lured him into the sea at Pendour Cove so he’d be with her forever.  A Medieval bench known as the Mermaid’s Chair and carved over 500 years ago can be seen in the side chapel.  It’s a fascinating piece of craftsmanship but, as a plaque above it explains, is probably more symbolic of the belief that Christ was both man and God than proof that mermaids really do exist.