Summary

Kynance Gate hut circle settlement was part of Cornwall National Landscape’s A Monumental Improvement Project which aimed to ensure that 40 scheduled monuments across Cornwall National Landscape were better protected, identified and enjoyed by a wider range of people.

The project

Kynance Gate hut circle settlement comprises two groups of stone dwellings and stone walls indicating small fields, dating back to the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Romano-British period. Excavations of the site were conducted in the late nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, revealing pottery, stone artefacts, and other fragments, as well . It is likely that Kynance Gate was occupied during the summer by farmers grazing their herds, with the inhabitants returning to more sheltered settlements in the winter. It is an important site for uncovering information about how our ancestors lived.

The site is prone to dense scrub overgrowth, which can obscure it from view and make it difficult to understand. Between 2022–2025, the Project delivered conservation repairs, installed new heritage interpretation signage, ran a range of community volunteering events and developed new website resources. The Project was primarily funded thanks to The National Lottery Heritage Fund, with support from our other partners – Cornwall Council, Historic England, The National Trust, Cornwall Heritage Trust and Cornwall Archaeological Society.

Ongoing maintenance of the vegetation across the site is carried out by the landowner and supported by volunteer groups as part of the legacy of the Monumental Improvement Project.

Priorities	People, place, nature, climate
Lead	Cornwall National Landscape
Funding partners	Heritage Lottery Fund, Cornwall Council, Historic England, The National Trust, Cornwall Heritage Trust and Cornwall Archaeological Society
Community involvement	Community volunteering events, landowner