# Kit Hill > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kit_Hill > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Kit_Hill.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Hill > Source revision: 1355736634 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Hill and country park in Cornwall, England}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox mountain | name = Kit Hill | image = Kit Hill Top.jpg | image_caption = The ornate mine chimney, now clad in a range of transmitters and aerials, on top of Kit Hill. | elevation_m = 334 | elevation_ref = | prominence_m = 171 | prominence_ref = | parent_peak = None | listing = [Marilyn](/source/Marilyn_(geography)) | location = [Cornwall](/source/Cornwall), [United Kingdom](/source/United_Kingdom) | range = | coordinates = | grid_ref_UK = SX375713 | topo = [OS](/source/Ordnance_Survey) ''Landranger'' 201 | type = | age = | first_ascent = | easiest_route = }} '''Kit Hill''' ({{langx|kw|Bre Skowl}}),[http://www.magakernow.org.uk/default.aspx?page=520 Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515091028/http://www.magakernow.org.uk/default.aspx?page=520 |date=2013-05-15 }} : [http://www.magakernow.org.uk/idoc.ashx?docid=79ba408d-7c02-499e-8cd6-b18dd48de58d&version=-1 List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515071635/http://www.magakernow.org.uk/idoc.ashx?docid=79ba408d-7c02-499e-8cd6-b18dd48de58d&version=-1 |date=2013-05-15 }}. [Cornish Language Partnership](/source/Cornish_Language_Partnership). at 334 metres high, dominates the area between [Callington](/source/Callington%2C_Cornwall) and the [River Tamar](/source/River_Tamar) in southeast [Cornwall](/source/Cornwall), England, [UK](/source/United_Kingdom). The word 'Kit' comes from [Old English](/source/Old_English) for [kite](/source/Kite_(bird)), a reference to [birds of prey](/source/bird_of_prey) (and not specifically the [red kite](/source/red_kite)). [Buzzards](/source/Buzzards) and [sparrowhawk](/source/Eurasian_sparrowhawk)s can still be seen on the hill. It is one of five [Marilyn hills](/source/Marilyn_(geography)) in Cornwall, the four others are [Watch Croft](/source/Watch_Croft), [Brown Willy](/source/Brown_Willy), [Carnmenellis](/source/Carnmenellis) and [Hensbarrow Beacon](/source/Hensbarrow_Beacon). ==Geography== '''Kit Hill Country Park''' (which includes the hill and surrounding areas), was given to the people of Cornwall in 1985 to mark the birth of [Prince William](/source/Prince_William), by his father, the [Duke of Cornwall](/source/Duke_of_Cornwall) ([Prince Charles](/source/Prince_Charles)).{{cite web |url=http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=9896 |title=Kit Hill|publisher=Cornwall Council |accessdate=2013-02-06 }} It is managed by [Cornwall Council](/source/Cornwall_Council),Exploring Cornish Mines - Vol. 4. {{ISBN|1-873443-36-6}} and consists of some 400 acres (152 hectares), making it the most dominant landscape feature in East Cornwall. Kit Hill is the highest point in the [Tamar Valley](/source/Tamar_Valley%2C_England) [Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty](/source/Area_of_Outstanding_Natural_Beauty). The hill was formed in the same way as nearby [Bodmin Moor](/source/Bodmin_Moor) by the intrusion of [magma](/source/magma) into overlying [sedimentary rock](/source/sedimentary_rock)s. This caused the formation of many mineral deposits that were mined extensively in the 18th and early 19th centuries. As the highest point of [Hingston Down](/source/Hingston_Down), Kit Hill is probably the best viewpoint in the southeast of Cornwall,{{according to whom|date=August 2021}} with views of the Tamar valley, [Dartmoor](/source/Dartmoor) and [Bodmin Moor](/source/Bodmin_Moor). Kit Hill Country Park has a high wildlife population including deer and badgers, rabbits, rare moths and butterflies.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} On the summit of Kit Hill is an artificial fort (a [Civil War](/source/English_Civil_War) [redoubt](/source/redoubt)) and a folly built by [Sir John Call](/source/Sir_John_Call%2C_1st_Baronet) of Whiteford, [Stoke Climsland](/source/Stoke_Climsland), built in the style of a low-walled [Saxon](/source/Anglo-Saxons) castle. ==History== The ''[Anglo-Saxon Chronicle](/source/Anglo-Saxon_Chronicle)'' reports that in 835 (corrected by scholars to 838 AD) [Egbert](/source/Egbert_of_Wessex) king of the [West Saxon](/source/King_of_the_West_Saxons)s defeated an army of [Viking](/source/Viking)s and [Cornish](/source/Cornish_people) at ''Hengestdun'' = "Stallion Hill", which is usually interpreted as being at [Hingston Down](/source/Hingston_Down).See, for example: {{cite book |last=Payton|first=Philip|authorlink=Philip Payton |title=Cornwall: A History |page=68 |edition=2nd|year=2004 |publisher=Cornwall Editions Ltd|location=Fowey |isbn=1-904880-00-2}} Other notable artifacts on Kit Hill include [Neolithic](/source/Neolithic) and [Bronze Age](/source/Bronze_Age) barrows. The area around these is maintained by a ranger and volunteers, who also generally keep the vegetation on the hill under control. ==Mining== The Country Park is steeped in mining history. Metals extracted included [tin](/source/tin), [silver](/source/silver), [copper](/source/copper) and [tungsten](/source/tungsten).
The main mines were: * Kit Hill Summit Mines (which included a windmill near the present stack). These mines and shafts started about 1826: Kit Hill United closed in 1864. * East Kit Hill Mine was worked from 1855 to 1909. * [Hingston Down](/source/Hingston_Down) mine (which worked westwards towards Kit Hill). This was a very early mine, and evidence shows it may have started in the 17th century: it closed in 1885. * South Kit Hill Mine was worked from 1856 to 1884. ==Atomic Energy Authority== In 1877 a company called [Kit Hill Tunnel](/source/Kit_Hill_Tunnel) Ltd began work on both the south and north sides of the hill to create a tunnel which would be {{convert|2|mi|km}} long. The southern portal was at Silver Hill, and that at the north was near a small mine called Excelsior. However, due to the toughness of the underlying bedrock, progress was costly and slow, and ceased about a year later. In 1881 a new company named Kit Hill Great Consols took over the setts of Kit Hill United and Excelsior mine. They deepened the North Engine Shaft to 112 [fathoms](/source/fathoms) and lengthened the tunnel running south to meet it. However, this too was proving too costly, and wound up in 1885, before it was half-way complete. Several later attempts were made to extend the Excelsior Tunnel, but by 1938, it was still only {{convert|2400|ft|m}} long. However, in 1959 the [Atomic Energy Authority](/source/Atomic_Energy_Authority) took over operations, and used the tunnel for underground explosions.Barton, Denys Bradford (1964) ''The Mines & Mineral Railways of East Cornwall & West Devon''. Truro: D. Bradford Barton Ltd. {{ISBN|0-85153-034-6}} The activities were part of [Operation Orpheus](/source/Operation_Orpheus), and the Kit Hill events were the first part: * Phase A: Small charges fired in a {{convert|6|ft|m|abbr=on}} diameter cavity in granite and shale at depths of 100 to {{convert|300|ft|m}} in the Excelsior Tunnel at Kit Hill. * Phase B: Participation in the [Operation Cowboy](/source/Operation_Cowboy) tests, where charges of {{convert|3000|lb|abbr=on}} would be detonated in {{convert|30|ft|m|abbr=on}} diameter cavities at depths of {{convert|800|ft|m|abbr=on}} in a salt mine in [Louisiana](/source/Louisiana), United States. * Phase C: The tests at [Greenside Mine](/source/Greenside_Mine) in [Cumbria](/source/Cumbria), where a {{convert|3000|lb|abbr=on}} decoupled test and a {{convert|1100|lb|abbr=on}} coupled test would be carried out in andesite rock at a depth below surface of {{convert|1700|ft|m|abbr=on}} and the results compared. The charge sizes were chosen so that if the decoupling worked as predicted, the seismic signals would be similar in intensity. ==Railways== Construction of The Tamar, Kit Hill & Callington Railway started in 1864. The name was later changed to the [East Cornwall Mineral Railway](/source/East_Cornwall_Mineral_Railway), and the line opened in 1872. Seven and a half miles long, it ran from [Calstock](/source/Calstock)'s river frontage, past Kelly Quay & [Drakewalls](/source/Drakewalls) and the [Gunnislake](/source/Gunnislake) quarries, along the northern flank of [Hingston Down](/source/Hingston_Down) to below Kit Hill at [Kelly Bray](/source/Kelly_Bray), where an [inclined tramway](/source/cable_railway) connected with it. It amalgamated with the [Plymouth, Devonport and South Western Junction Railway](/source/Plymouth%2C_Devonport_and_South_Western_Junction_Railway) crossing the [Tamar](/source/River_Tamar) above [Calstock](/source/Calstock) and onto the junction at [Bere Alston](/source/Bere_Alston). The [Gunnislake](/source/Gunnislake) to [Bere Alston](/source/Bere_Alston) section still survives as part of the [Tamar Valley Line](/source/Tamar_Valley_Line). Some remnants, mainly the granite blocks, of the line can be found on the northern slopes of the Country Park site. ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== {{Portal|Cornwall}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20041012054013/http://www.tamarvalley.org.uk/6_22_kithill.htm Kit Hill Country Park] * [http://www.subbrit.org.uk/rsg/sites/e/excelsior_tunnel_operation_orpheus/index.html Operation Orpheus - Atomic Energy Authority(Excelsior Tunnel)] {{coord|50.51887|N|4.29360|W|region:GB_source:enwiki-osgb36(SX375713)|display=title}} Category:Hills of Cornwall Category:Marilyns of Cornwall Category:Country parks in Cornwall Category:Bronze Age sites in Cornwall Category:Military history of Cornwall Category:Cornish Killas --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Kit Hill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Hill) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_Hill?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.