page_title: Promontory forts of Cornwall
section_title: Kenidjack
hierarchical_section_title: Promontory forts of Cornwall / Kenidjack
caption_attribution_description: English: View of Kenidjack Castle from the SW Coastal Path
context_page_description: Cornish promontory forts, commonly known in Cornwall as cliff castles, are coastal equivalents of the hill forts and Cornish "rounds" found on Cornish hilltops and slopes. Similar coastal forts are found on the north–west European seaboard, in Normandy, Brittany and around the coastlines of the British Isles, especially in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. Many are known in southwest England, particularly in Cornwall and its neighbouring county, Devon. Two have been identified immediately west of Cornwall, in the Isles of Scilly.
  A promontory fort is a coastal headland, isolated from the mainland by one stone, turf or earthen rampart, or more than one. Some promontory forts also have ditches, created by the excavation of material to form the rampart. British promontory forts were constructed during the Iron Age, and remained in more-or-less continuous use into the early Roman period. Their function remains uncertain. They would have offered ready access to sea-routes but those built in particularly inhospitable settings may have had only occasional or seasonal use.
context_section_description: Kenidjack Castle (grid reference SW355327) is a multivallate hillfort in the parish of St Just. Two sets of triple ramparts with outer ditches have been built on the north east and south west sides. The northern ramparts are the best preserved and show the remains of stone revetting, with the inner one almost wholly built of stone. The outermost rampart of the southern set has been lost through erosion and landslip. Shallow hollows and scoops within the headland may be signs of hut circles or mining activity.
caption: Kenidjack Castle
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