A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
A vision of Britain through time
A vision of Britain from 1801 to now.
Including maps, statistical trends and historical descriptions.
HENGESTON-DOWN, or HINGSTON-DOWN-anciently HENGISTDUNE-a hill range on the E border of Cornwall; extending 4 miles eastward from the northern vicinity of Callington to the river Tamar. It culminates near the W end in Kit hill summit; and has there an altitude of 1, 067 feet above sea level. It was, prior to the time of Henry IN., the meeting place, every 7th or 8th year, of the Cornish and the Devonshire tinners; and in 835, the scene of a defeat of the Danes and the Britons by Egbert; and it, not improbably, got its name from some victory of the Saxons under Hengist and Horsa. The Kit hill summit commands one of the grandest views in Cornwall; was formerly crowned by the ruin of a wind mill, which was erected for the working of a mine, and destroyed by stormy winds; and is now crowned by an engine stalk, in the shape of a fine column, 80 feet high. The locality was anciently so rich in veins of tin as to give rise to the rhyming proverb, - " Hengsten down well ywronght Is worth London town dear ybonght."
(John Marius Wilson, Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales (1870-72))
| Linked entities: | |
|---|---|
| Administrative units: | Cornwall AncC |
| Place names: | HENGESTON DOWN | HENGESTON DOWN OR HINGSTON DOWN | HINGSTON DOWN |
| Place: | Hingston Down |
Go to the linked place page for a location map, and for access to other historical writing about the place. Pages for linked administrative units may contain historical statistics and information on boundaries.