Chysauster Ancient Village is a settlement of ten stone courtyard houses near Penzance in west Cornwall, lived in from the late 1st century to the end of the 3rd century AD, when much of Britain was under Roman rule. English Heritage, which cares for the site, describes it as one of the best-preserved ancient villages in Britain. English Heritage’s website says the site is currently closed while a new way of operating is developed.

• History of Chysauster Ancient Village
• Visiting Chysauster Ancient Village: Practical Information
• Frequently Asked Questions

History of Chysauster Ancient Village

Chysauster’s origins in the Iron Age

According to English Heritage, the courtyard houses at Chysauster were built in the Romano-British period, but the settlement probably began in the middle Iron Age, from about 400 BC. Aerial photography and field surveys have found prehistoric field systems and small round houses in the surrounding landscape, which English Heritage says probably date from the Bronze Age (2300–800 BC). English Heritage adds that in West Penwith, the westernmost part of Cornwall, settlement seems to have shifted during the Iron Age from scattered, isolated houses to villages like Chysauster.

Chysauster’s people: the Dumnonii in Roman Britain

Roman occupation began in AD 43, but English Heritage says life in the far south-west continued more or less unchanged. Only three Roman forts and one villa are known in Cornwall, and the nearest Roman administrative centre was Isca Dumnoniorum, present-day Exeter. English Heritage estimates that the ten known courtyard houses may equate to ten extended families, so perhaps 50 to 70 people lived at Chysauster at its peak. They would probably have spoken an early form of Cornish and were called the Dumnonii by the Romans, although English Heritage notes it is not clear what they called themselves.

English Heritage says the villagers grazed sheep and grew cereal crops in surrounding fields, whose boundaries survive as low walls and earthworks. They probably used garden plots beside their houses to grow vegetables and keep pigs, and may have been involved in tin-streaming, which means using stream water to separate tin ore from sediment. Chysauster lies less than a mile west of the hillfort of Castle-an-Dinas, and English Heritage notes that larger courtyard house settlements are often found near small hillforts like it.

Chysauster’s courtyard houses

A courtyard house is a stone-walled home with several rooms arranged around an open courtyard. English Heritage describes the type as unique to the far west of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, with about 45 known settlements, of which Chysauster is one of the largest and best preserved. Its ten houses are mostly laid out in two rows, each with a garden plot beside it. English Heritage suggests this orderly layout may have come from building on two earlier agricultural terraces, not from a deliberate plan for a ‘village street’. The houses are all detached, which English Heritage calls unusual among Cornish settlements of the period, where houses usually interlock.

The fogou at Chysauster

South of the houses lie the remains of a fogou, a word derived from the Cornish for a cave. English Heritage describes fogous as stone-built underground tunnels, usually with a long passage and sometimes a chamber, found only in the far west of Cornwall. It counts 15 definite fogous and another ten possible ones, most built in the later Iron Age (about 400 BC to AD 43).

The original purpose of fogous is unknown. English Heritage says they have traditionally been seen as storehouses or refuges in times of conflict, but a ritual or ceremonial purpose is more likely. The Chysauster fogou was described as partly destroyed in 1865, with further damage recorded in 1938. It stayed open to visitors until 1986, when the structure became unstable and a grille was installed. English Heritage says it has never been excavated, so its original size and shape remain unknown.

Chysauster’s abandonment and excavation

English Heritage says Chysauster appears to have been abandoned in the 3rd century, for reasons unknown, with no sign of violence or conflict. By then, people in Cornwall were more often living in ‘rounds’, small defended settlements enclosing several round houses, of which up to 100 are known in West Penwith alone.

After hundreds of years of neglect, the village drew antiquarian interest in the mid-19th century, when its first plan was published. English Heritage records explorations of individual houses in 1873 and 1897, the first led by William Copeland Borlase, who excavated many prehistoric sites in Cornwall. The first modern excavations took place in the 1920s and 1930s, and English Heritage credits the archaeologist CK Croft Andrew, who recorded and repaired many of the houses in the late 1930s, with much of the site’s appearance today. Source: English Heritage, History of Chysauster Ancient Village.

Visiting Chysauster Ancient Village: Practical Information

Current status: English Heritage’s website says it is changing how it welcomes visitors to Chysauster, that a new way of operating is being developed, and that the site will remain closed in the meantime. It says it will share details when it has them.

Managed by: English Heritage, a registered charity that cares for historic sites across England.

Address: Newmill, Penzance, Cornwall, TR20 8XA.

Admission prices: English Heritage does not publish prices while the site is closed.

Opening hours: None are published while the site is closed.

By train: The nearest station is Penzance, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the site. Buses leave from the bus station next to it. English Heritage points to the Great Western Railway (GWR) website for train times and tickets.

By bus: English Heritage lists the Go Cornwall 16A from Penzance Bus Station or St Ives Cinema, with New Mill as the nearest stop. The more frequent Go Cornwall 16 stops 2.4 miles (3.9 km) away at Castle Gate or Nancledra and needs a good map such as OS Explorer 102.

By car: The site is 2½ miles north-west of Gulval, off the B3311. English Heritage lists free parking a quarter of a mile from the site, and the sat nav postcode is TR20 8XA.

By bicycle: English Heritage says bike racks are available at the site.

Prices last checked: October 2026

Opening hours last checked: October 2026

More guides: Browse our England guides and more Castles & Historic Attractions.

Where to book: No tickets can be booked while the site is closed. Check the official English Heritage opening times page for updates on reopening and how visits will work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Chysauster Ancient Village open?

No, not at the time of writing. English Heritage says the site will remain closed while a new way of operating is developed, and that it will share details on its website when it has them. Check the official opening times page before planning a trip.

How do you get to Chysauster Ancient Village by public transport?

Take a train to Penzance, then the Go Cornwall 16A bus from the adjacent bus station to New Mill, the nearest stop to the site. English Heritage lists Penzance station as 3.5 miles (5.6 km) away.

Is there parking at Chysauster Ancient Village?

Yes, English Heritage lists free parking a quarter of a mile from the site. The site’s postcode for sat navs is TR20 8XA.

Who lived at Chysauster?

A farming community that English Heritage says lived and worked here between the late 1st century and the end of the 3rd century AD. English Heritage estimates 50 to 70 people at the village’s peak, called the Dumnonii by the Romans.

Can you go inside the fogou at Chysauster?

No. English Heritage says the fogou became unstable in 1986 and a grille was installed, and it has never been excavated, so its original size and shape remain unknown.

Was Chysauster a Roman village?

Not in the usual sense. The houses date from the Romano-British period, but English Heritage says life in the far south-west continued more or less unchanged under Roman rule, with only three Roman forts and one villa known in Cornwall. The settlement probably began in the middle Iron Age, from about 400 BC.