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Brown Willy
Brown Willy (possibly from Cornish Bronn Wennili meaning "hill of swallows" or from Cornish Bronn Ewhella meaning "highest hill") is a hill in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The summit, at 1,378 feet (420 metres) above sea level, is the highest point of Bodmin Moor and of Cornwall as a whole. It is about 2+1⁄2 miles (4 kilometres) northwest of Bolventor and 4 miles (6 kilometres) southeast of Camelford. The hill has a variable appearance that depends on the vantage point from which it is seen. It bears the conical appearance of a sugarloaf from the north but widens into a long multi-peaked crest from closer range.
The first part of the hill's name is a common Brythonic element meaning "breast, pap; hill-side, slope, breast (of hill)", which is frequent in Welsh placenames. The Cornish historian and language expert Henry Jenner suggested that the name came from a corruption of the Cornish words bronn ughella/ewhella meaning "highest hill", as it is the highest point of Bodmin Moor and of Cornwall. The highest hill in Devon has the similar name, High Willhays which falls in line with this theory. In 1988, toponymist Oliver Padel has put forward the alternative suggestion, that he suggests, could be from 'Bronn Wennili' which translates as 'Hill of Swallows'. The name has evolved through a variety of historical spellings as follows: Brunwenely c.1200, 1239; Brown Wenely 1239; Brenwenelyn 1276; Bronwenely, Brunwely 1280; Brounwenely 1350, 1362; Broun Welyn 1386; Brounwenyly 1401; Brownwenelegh 1450, 1470; Brounwellye, Bronwelly 1576; Brown-wellye 1584; Brounwellie 1639; Menar Brownuello 1754.
It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. In 2012 a campaign was launched to have the hill's name restored to the original Bronn Wennili on the grounds that it would be "slightly more attractive to residents and tourists than Brown Willy". Cornish residents objected to the idea. One commented: "It's been Brown Willy for as far back as living memory goes and I suspect, as others have pointed out, that it will always be called that, whatever name we may formally give it." The Daily Telegraph ran an editorial supporting the existing name and called for campaigners to keep their "hands off Brown Willy".
The summit of Brown Willy is 1,378 feet (420 metres) above sea level, the highest point on Bodmin Moor and in the county of Cornwall. The geography of the surrounding terrain is typical of Bodmin Moor – tors surrounded by desolate moorland. Streams and marshes are common surrounding the summit, and the River Fowey rises nearby. There are naturally occurring piles of granite boulders around the summit.
The hill is part of a 1,221-acre (494-hectare) estate known as Fernacre and includes a five-bedroom farm house. The property was put on the market in September 2016 for £2.8 million and sold to an undisclosed buyer the following April. The new owner has the grazing rights for the property and shooting rights for deer, snipe and woodcock. Under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, the public will continue to have the right to walk on the hill.
There are two man-made cairns on the summit. Brown Willy Summit Cairn or Brown Willy North Cairn is a man made rock pile that sits alongside an Ordnance Survey triangulation station.
The Cornish word for "cairn" is karn (from karnow, meaning "rock piles"), and it has been suggested that Cornwall's ancient name Kernow is related. William Copeland Borlase classified ridge-top cairns such as these in the most common category a "bowl"- or "cone"-shaped tumulus. He also referred to them as "sepulchral mounds" but admitted that burials had not been found at many. Brown Willy Summit Cairn has never been excavated and folklore suggests an ancient Cornish king may lie entombed underneath. Nicholas Johnson and Peter Rose dated nine of the cairns on Bodmin Moor, eight have mean dates which range between 2162 and 1746 cal BC, suggesting the early Bronze Age was the main building period for cairns of this type. These are amongst the most intact due to their remote and inaccessible location. Many rocks from similar cairns have been spoiled and removed over centuries of neglect to be re-used in dry stone walling and other local construction.
Rodney Castleden has suggested that from the centre of Stannon stone circle, the autumn equinox sun rises over Brown Willy North Cairn. and Christopher Tilley refers to a "dramatic association with Rough Tor. These purported alignments have been taken as evidence of some astronomical purpose in cairn placement and construction.
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Brown Willy
Brown Willy (possibly from Cornish Bronn Wennili meaning "hill of swallows" or from Cornish Bronn Ewhella meaning "highest hill") is a hill in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The summit, at 1,378 feet (420 metres) above sea level, is the highest point of Bodmin Moor and of Cornwall as a whole. It is about 2+1⁄2 miles (4 kilometres) northwest of Bolventor and 4 miles (6 kilometres) southeast of Camelford. The hill has a variable appearance that depends on the vantage point from which it is seen. It bears the conical appearance of a sugarloaf from the north but widens into a long multi-peaked crest from closer range.
The first part of the hill's name is a common Brythonic element meaning "breast, pap; hill-side, slope, breast (of hill)", which is frequent in Welsh placenames. The Cornish historian and language expert Henry Jenner suggested that the name came from a corruption of the Cornish words bronn ughella/ewhella meaning "highest hill", as it is the highest point of Bodmin Moor and of Cornwall. The highest hill in Devon has the similar name, High Willhays which falls in line with this theory. In 1988, toponymist Oliver Padel has put forward the alternative suggestion, that he suggests, could be from 'Bronn Wennili' which translates as 'Hill of Swallows'. The name has evolved through a variety of historical spellings as follows: Brunwenely c.1200, 1239; Brown Wenely 1239; Brenwenelyn 1276; Bronwenely, Brunwely 1280; Brounwenely 1350, 1362; Broun Welyn 1386; Brounwenyly 1401; Brownwenelegh 1450, 1470; Brounwellye, Bronwelly 1576; Brown-wellye 1584; Brounwellie 1639; Menar Brownuello 1754.
It has frequently been noted on lists of unusual place names. In 2012 a campaign was launched to have the hill's name restored to the original Bronn Wennili on the grounds that it would be "slightly more attractive to residents and tourists than Brown Willy". Cornish residents objected to the idea. One commented: "It's been Brown Willy for as far back as living memory goes and I suspect, as others have pointed out, that it will always be called that, whatever name we may formally give it." The Daily Telegraph ran an editorial supporting the existing name and called for campaigners to keep their "hands off Brown Willy".
The summit of Brown Willy is 1,378 feet (420 metres) above sea level, the highest point on Bodmin Moor and in the county of Cornwall. The geography of the surrounding terrain is typical of Bodmin Moor – tors surrounded by desolate moorland. Streams and marshes are common surrounding the summit, and the River Fowey rises nearby. There are naturally occurring piles of granite boulders around the summit.
The hill is part of a 1,221-acre (494-hectare) estate known as Fernacre and includes a five-bedroom farm house. The property was put on the market in September 2016 for £2.8 million and sold to an undisclosed buyer the following April. The new owner has the grazing rights for the property and shooting rights for deer, snipe and woodcock. Under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000, the public will continue to have the right to walk on the hill.
There are two man-made cairns on the summit. Brown Willy Summit Cairn or Brown Willy North Cairn is a man made rock pile that sits alongside an Ordnance Survey triangulation station.
The Cornish word for "cairn" is karn (from karnow, meaning "rock piles"), and it has been suggested that Cornwall's ancient name Kernow is related. William Copeland Borlase classified ridge-top cairns such as these in the most common category a "bowl"- or "cone"-shaped tumulus. He also referred to them as "sepulchral mounds" but admitted that burials had not been found at many. Brown Willy Summit Cairn has never been excavated and folklore suggests an ancient Cornish king may lie entombed underneath. Nicholas Johnson and Peter Rose dated nine of the cairns on Bodmin Moor, eight have mean dates which range between 2162 and 1746 cal BC, suggesting the early Bronze Age was the main building period for cairns of this type. These are amongst the most intact due to their remote and inaccessible location. Many rocks from similar cairns have been spoiled and removed over centuries of neglect to be re-used in dry stone walling and other local construction.
Rodney Castleden has suggested that from the centre of Stannon stone circle, the autumn equinox sun rises over Brown Willy North Cairn. and Christopher Tilley refers to a "dramatic association with Rough Tor. These purported alignments have been taken as evidence of some astronomical purpose in cairn placement and construction.