It is not generally known to strangers that what are called Castles in
Cornwall are little more than simple entrenchments, consisting of large
and small stones built up about ten or twelve feet high and held
together by their own weight, without any cement. These embankments are
surrounded by a ditch, formed by excavating the soil which fills the
ramparts. A well is always found within the Castle’s enclosure.
Traditions, which have been handed down by old stationary folks, such
as freeholding farmers—whose families have long dwelt near these
primitive strongholds—say that they were constructed by the ancient
inhabitants, as places of refuge where their cattle and other property
might be protected from the “red-haired Danes,” who frequently marauded
the country in days of yore. Near the outer entrenchment of Treen Dinas
stood a barn, where there is now a dwelling called Caer Keis. This barn
was inconveniently situated for farming purposes, and old proprietors
of Treen held that it was used in old times for storing hay and corn,
which might be wanted for cattle when they were placed in the Castle to
be safe from northern pirates who were accustomed to land at
Parcurno,—then free from sand.
It is a matter of regret that such interesting examples of primitive
fortifications, as Castle-an-Dinas and others, should have been almost
destroyed of late years, when they have been resorted to as to
quarries, and the stones removed for building huts and hedges.
Some years ago, a bad example was shown by the proprietor of Trazza,
who was lord of the land on which Castle-an-Dinas stands, by his having
a good portion of the inner entrenchment demolished at its
south-eastern end, and the stones taken to construct, on the brow of
the hill, a nondescript object, which looks best at a distance.
In looking at the few fragments of “dry walling” that remain, one can
but admire the thoughtful way in which the stones were laid—perhaps
thousands of years ago—so as to “break the joints” and bind each other.
The Castle Well, near the summit of the hill, used to be regarded as
one of the curiosities of this old fort. The water was reached by
descending ten or a dozen steps when the spring was low.
From the upper entrenchment may be surveyed one of the most extensive
and varied prospects west of Carn Brea. The rugged brown hills on the
northern side offer a striking contrast to the beautiful bay and rich
land, cultivated almost to the water’s edge, on the other side.
Eastward, the view is only bounded by hills which rise beyond St.
Austell and stretch northward, Roughtor and Brownwhilly being in this
range.
Looking westward the hills of Sancreed and St. Just, hide the Land’s
End; yet, with a clear atmosphere, Scilly Isles may be descryed, on the
horizon’s verge, like clouds resting on the ocean.
The fine tower of Buryan Church is a very conspicuous object, and it
reminds one that near it, in Buryan parish, are the ancestral, but
forsaken, homes of some who have made their mark in England’s history;
and of others whose names live in romance and hearthside story, as
Boscawen, Noy, Tresillian, Vivian, Le Velis, &c.
The more immediate objects in the landscape are familiar to us all, yet
the kind of bird’s-eye view obtained from this elevated site gives a
novel appearance to the scene scarcely to be expected.
One may find a pleasant walk from Penzance to Castle-an-Dinas, nearly
all the way through fields, by taking the Churchway path from Gulval to
Angarrack; thence across two or three small fields the heath-covered
hill is reached, and one is soon on its summit.