View source for Penwith

[[File:Land's End, Cornwall, England.jpg|right|thumb|350px|Land's End]]
[[File: Nanjulian Valley - geograph.org.uk - 497886.jpg|right|thumb|250px|The Nanjulian Valley]]
'''Penwith''' ({{lang|kw|Pennwydh}}), also known as the Land's End Peninsula, is the westernmost finger of mainland [[Cornwall]], forming a hilly, moorland peninsula west of [[Penzance]], terminating at [[Land's End]]. It gives a name to the [[Penwith Hundred]] of the county.

The character of the peninsula is derived from its uncompromising geology; it is a granite massif of rugged hills, whose edges form the sea coast in cliffs and craggy coves, though the numerous bays have created sheltered fishing harbours and many fine beaches.

The name 'Penwith' is derived the Cornish language; ''penn wydh'' means 'headland at the end'.  It is first found in the English language in the [[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle]] entries for 997, which name [[Land's End]] as ''Penwiht steort''<ref>{{ASC|E|997}}</ref> and ''Penwæðsteort''<ref>{{ASC|D|997}}</ref>, and 1052 as ''Penwiðsteort.<ref>{{ASC|D|1052}}</ref>

Natural England have designated the peninsula as 'national character area 156' (and named it 'West Penwith').<ref>[http://publications.naturalengland.org.uk/publication/3510328 ''NCA Profile:156 West Penwith (NE371)''] at publications.naturalengland.org.uk. Accessed on 8 September 2013</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Cornubian Batholith.svg|right|thumb|300px|The Cornubian Batholith]]
[[File:St Levan's Well - geograph.org.uk - 933661.jpg|right|thumb|200px|St Levan's Well]]
Penwith is formed of a granite intrusion, which is believed to be part of the 'Cornubian Batholith' – a single, vast granite intrusion, originally of solidified lava, which underlies [[Devon]] and [[Cornwall]] and which surfaces in a number of places in those counties in the form of [[Dartmoor]], [[Bodmin Moor]], [[Carnmenellis]], Penwith and the [[Isles of Scilly]] amongst others.

Penwith thus sits predominantly on granite bedrock that has led to the formation of its rugged coastline. The contact between the granite and the adjoining sedimentary rock (mostly shales) is most clearly seen forming the cliffs at [[Land's End]], the most westerly point of Penwith, and this geology has resulted in the mining that has made Cornwall famous.

[[File:Penwithsat.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Satellite image of the Penwith peninsula]]
Tin and copper have been mined in the area since pre-Roman times and the landscape is dotted with ruined mine buildings. Inland, the peninsula is primarily granite with a thin top soil. This combined with Cornwall's exposed position and the prevailing weather systems from the Atlantic Ocean means that, with the exception of the high moor areas, much of the area is a semi-bare plateau standing around {{convert|130|m|0|x}} above sea level. This is most evident on the north coast between [[St Just]] and [[Zennor]] where the remains of the ancient seabed of the Pliocene era are visible. The highest point of the peninsula is [[Watch Croft]] ({{convert|252|m|0|x}}).

[[File:Lands End, Cape Cornwall - aerial photo.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Aerial photo across Land's End to Cape Cornwall]]
==Wildlife and conservation==
There are several deep valleys cut into this plateau such as [[Lamorna]] on the south coast, where sufficient shelter from the weather is gained for trees to establish and grow. The shelter of these valleys and the mild climate gives Penwith plants not seen anywhere else in the United Kingdom. Penzance's [[Morrab Gardens]] is able to grow bananas.

In addition to Penwith's status as a 'Heritage coastline', much of it is considered an 'Environmentally Sensitive Area'. Penwith lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (as does almost a third of the county).

==History==
Penwith contains a great concentration of Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Romano-British archaeological remains.<ref>Thomas, Charles; Pool, Peter (1954) The principal antiquities of the Land's End district; also: 2nd ed. 1956; 3rd ed. 1957; 4th ed. 1959; 5th ed. 1960; 6th ed. 1961; 7th ed. 1962; 8th ed. 1963; 9th ed. 1964; 10th ed. 1965; 11th ed. 1966; 12th ed. 1967; 13th ed. revised 1968; 14th ed 1969; 15th ed. revised 1970; 16th ed. 1980</ref>

Tewdwr Mawr or 'Teudaric' ruled over the area from [[Carnsew]] in the mid-6th century before returning to his patrimony in Cornouaille in Brittany around 577.<ref name=nash>Ford, David Nash. "[http://www.earlybritishkingdoms.com/bios/tewdwmph.html King Tewdwr Mawr]" at ''Early British Kingdoms''. 2001. Accessed 1 December 2014.</ref>

[[File:JohnNBarlow - Fishing Cottages, Lamorna Valley, Penwith Peninsula, Cornwall.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Fishing Cottages in the Lamorna Valley]]
Penwith's population has remained broadly static for the last one hundred and fifty years.<ref>[http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/data_cube_table_page.jsp?data_theme=T_POP&data_cube=N_TPop&u_id=10100653&c_id=10001043&add=N]</ref>

Penwith is believed to be the last part of Cornwall where the Cornish language was spoken as a community language. Dolly Pentreath, known as the last recorded speaker (but arguably not the very last) came from [[Paul, Cornwall|Paul]] north of [[Mousehole]]. A year following the death of Dolly Pentreath in 1777 Daines Barrington received a letter, written in Cornish and accompanied by an English translation, from a fisherman in [[Mousehole]] named William Bodinar stating that he knew of five people who could speak Cornish in that village alone. Barrington also speaks of a John Nancarrow from [[Marazion]] who was a native speaker and survived into the 1790s.<ref>Ellis, P. Berresford (1971?) ''The Story of the Cornish Language''. Tor Mark Press</ref>  Chesten Marchant, d. 1676, a woman from Gwithian, is believed to have been the last ''monoglot'' Cornish speaker.

==Sights and tourism==
The scenery in this part of Cornwall makes it a popular holiday destination. Local attractions include the [[Minack Theatre]], [[South West Coast Path]], [[Land's End]] and the beach at [[Sennen]] Cove.

The Penwith hills have the highest concentration of Neolithic sites in Europe, including monuments at [[The Merry Maidens]], [[Lanyon Quoit]], [[Chûn Quoit]] and an Iron Age village at [[Chysauster]].

==Places of interest==
{{UKPlacesKey}}
{|
|-
|
*{{i-UKAL}} [[Carn Euny]]
*{{i-UKAL}} [[Castle An Dinas]]
*{{i-UKAL}} [[Chûn Castle]]
*{{i-UKAL}} [[Chûn Quoit]]
*{{i-EH}} [[Chysauster]] Ancient Village
*[[Geevor Tin Mine]]
*{{i-NTE}} [[Godrevy Island]]
*{{i-UKAL}} [[Land's End]]
*{{i-UKAL}} [[Lanyon Quoit]]
*{{i-UKAL}} [[Mên-an-Tol]]
*{{i-EH}} [[The Merry Maidens]]
|
*Minack Theatre
*[[Mousehole]]
*[[Newlyn Art Gallery]]
*{{i-MuseumNotFree}} Penlee House Museum
*{{i-MuseumFree}} Museum of Submarine Telegraphy
*[[South West Coast Path]]
*{{i-NTE}} [[St Michael's Mount]]
*{{i-MuseumNotFree}} Trinity House National Lighthouse Museum
*[[Tate St. Ives]]
*{{i-MuseumNotFree}} The Wayside Folk Museum
*{{i-UKAL}} [[Zennor Quoit]]
|}

==See also==
*[[Penwith Hundred]]

==Outside links==
{{commons|Penwith}}
*Map: {{wmap|50.16|-5.53}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

===Books===
* {{cite book
|last=Priestland
|first=Gerald
|authorlink=Gerald Priestland
|editor=
|title=Postscript: with love to Penwith: two essays in Cornish History; with a foreword by Sylvia Priestland
|series=Patten People, No.5
|publisher=The Patten Press
|location=Newmill, Hayle, Cornwall
|year=1992
|isbn=1-872229-02-6}}

{{Catself}}
[[Category:Hills of Cornwall]]