Trewardreva fogou can be found in a quiet field just outside the village of Constantine. This hidden site is a long way from the Penwith where the majority of the known fogous can be found.
Also known as the Piskey Hall this fogou is a little smaller than the ones at Boleigh or Halliggye, but equally beautifully constructed and mysterious.
When I visited recently I was surprised to see how much the brambles had sprung up around the entrance, hiding the first of the eight huge granite slabs that provide the roof of this covered passage. Getting inside was a little tricky but once through the entrance I found a passageway as impressive as its cousins further west, though a little more modest in dimensions.
While other fogous have passages that are 20m or more long this one is only 8.5m in length and it also has no visible side creep or passage. It is thought however that the fogou may have extended further in the past.
It’s not clear what the origin of it’s Piskey Hall nickname is but we have all heard the tales of these mischievous little beasties causing trouble around and about the Cornish countryside.
This 1911 account from Evans Wentz’s ‘Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries’ amused me, it is almost certainly about the Trewardreva fogou, which is close to the Bosahan quarry.
John Wilmet, 78 years old, began by telling me the following tale about an allee couvert: “William Murphy, who married my sister, once went to the pisky-house at Bosahan with a surveyor and the two of them heard such unearthly noises in it that they came running home in great excitement, saying they had heard the piskies.”
Standing alone in the quiet of the passage it is easy to imagine all kinds of strange goings on and heaven forbid you catch a cobweb in the face!
Trewardreva fogou, like the others of its kind, was once part of an Iron Age settlement that has now been completely destroyed by generations of farming. Despite this because the fogou isn’t as deep underground as some of the other examples it is still easy to spot, quite noticeable in the landscape as a hump of scrubby ground, even centuries after the last people who remember what it was actually for have left us!
I have discussed the possible use and purpose of fogous in previous articles, you will find links below.
Finding the Fogou
To reach the fogou you have to cross a privately owned field but the farmer said he is happy for people to visit as long as they follow the rules of the countryside. The field is regularly used for grazing, so just be aware of this if you plan to visit, especially if you have dogs.
You can find Trewardreva fogou about half a mile north of the village of Constantine on the B3291 in the field directly opposite the drive to Trewardreva House, you will easily spot the grand granite gate posts.
Looks to be a fascinating place 🙂
when we tried to go last summer the cows wouldnt let us in they were quite hostile !
Hall would be related to Hull, a type of underground storage chamber or tunnel often found across the Wendron/Four Lanes/Troon area and also towards Constantine, where the pronunciation sounded more like hall. They are very similar to fogous but are believed to be of a later date. Hulls are most often carved out of the granitic subsoil, which has remarkable properties, but some are also built using granite like fogous.