Lanyon Quoit,
Cornwall
 
 
Lanyon from the south west framing the Ding Dong tin mine
Side view showing the huge capstone
 
 
Surely the most famous of all the Cornish megaliths. This huge dolmen is only a shadow of its former self but still dominates the open wind-swept landscape for miles around. An enigmatic tripod of stone defiantly standing against the elements.
 
The enormous capstone measuring some 5 metres by 2½ metres in size and weighing an estimated 13½ tonnes is now supported by just three of its original uprights. The fourth upright was broken when the dolmen collapsed during a storm in 1815. After a campaign for public money, Captain Giddy re-erected the structure in 1824, although not to its former glory. The three remaining uprights were shortened and squared, significantly reducing the height of the dolmen. William Borlase, writing in 1769 recounts that, at that time, it was possible for a horse and rider to pass under the capstone. To top it all, the reconstructed structure is at right angles to its original position!
 
Originally aligned on a NE/SW axis, John Barnatt believes that Lanyon Quoit had a long tradition of use and acted as a focal point for ritual activity. Borlase excavated underneath it in the late eighteenth century but only found a patch of "black earth" as evidence for a burial. Faint traces can be seen of the 21m long mound which probably buried the structure in its original incarnation.
 
John Michell notes an alignment running from the Tregeseal Stone Circle complex, through Lanyon Quoit and a standing stone near to Carfury, onto the ancient settlement at Chysauster, and ending at the tall roundhead cross at Brunnion. An alignment spanning many centuries.
 
Although this site is much visited it still retains a unique charm. Try to get there late in the afternoon to catch the setting sun shining underneath the capstone. Hopefully the coach tourists will have all gone back to their hotels by then, leaving you to admire the magnificence of this monument in solitude.
 
 
O.S.G.R.: 
 SW 430 337 (203).
Location: 
 2 miles NW of Madron, 3 miles NW of Penzance.
Directions: 
 From south-bound B3306 at Trevowhan, turn south, following signposts for Madron & Penzance. Shortly after passing Lanyon farm, the road chicanes. Coming out of the left hand bend look out for a parking place on the left. Hop over the stile in the high bank & the dolmen is but a few paces away.
 

 
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These pages are maintained occasionally by Richard L. Pederick.
Last updated 12/3/99.
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Copyright 1989-99.