Camelford ( kw, Reskammel) is a town and
civil parish in north
Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the
River Camel valley northwest of
Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles (16 km) north of
Bodmin
Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor.
The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...
and is governed by Camelford Town Council. Lanteglos-by-Camelford is the
ecclesiastical parish in which the town is situated (''not to be confused with''
Lanteglos-by-Fowey). The ward population at the 2011 Census was 4,001. The town population at the same census was 865.
Camelford is in the
North Cornwall parliamentary constituency represented by
Scott Mann MP since 2015. Until 1974, the town was the administrative headquarters of
Camelford Rural District. From 2009 to 2021, the town was represented on
Cornwall Council by the
Camelford division. From the
2021 local elections, it will be represented by the
Camelford and Boscastle division.
The two main industrial enterprises in the area are the slate quarry at
Delabole and the cheese factory at
Davidstow and there is a small industrial estate at Highfield.
The
A39 road (dubbed 'Atlantic Highway') passes through the town centre: a
bypass has been discussed for many years.
Camelford Station, some distance from the town, closed in 1966; the site was subsequently used as a
cycling
Cycling, also, when on a two-wheeled bicycle, called bicycling or biking, is the use of cycles for transport, recreation, exercise or sport. People engaged in cycling are referred to as "cyclists", "bicyclists", or "bikers". Apart from ...
museum.
Toponymy
The
Cornish language name for the town, , comes from a combination of the Middle Cornish "" (
ford) + the
River Camel's Cornish name (crooked, skew-whiff). It is a modern formation.
The English name of ''Camelford'' was formed by a
Anglicisation of the river's name to ''Camel'' + ''Ford'', giving it an identical meaning to its Cornish counterpart. The earliest records of the name are in 1205 and 1256 and it has the meaning "ford over the (river) Camel".
Due to the river's name sounding similar to the English word ''
camel'', the animal is seen as a symbol of the town. As such it can be seen on the town's coat of arms and the
Sir James Smith's School logo, among other uses in the area.
Geography
Its position near the highest land in Cornwall makes the climate rather wet. On 8 June 1957, of rain fell at Camelford.
Roughtor
Rough Tor (), or Roughtor, is a tor on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, United Kingdom. The site is composed of the tor summit and logan stone, a neolithic tor enclosure, a large number of Bronze Age hut circles, and some contemporary monuments.
Top ...
is the nearest of the hills of Bodmin Moor to the town and numerous prehistoric remains can be found nearby as well.
Camelford Town Hall was built in 1806, but is now used as a branch public library. By the riverside is Enfield Park; hamlets in the parish include Helstone,
Tregoodwell,
Valley Truckle,
Hendra, Lanteglos,
Slaughterbridge,
Tramagenna,
Treforda and Trevia. The economy depends largely on agriculture and tourism. There was a china clay works at Stannon.
Places of interest
Camelford is the home of the
North Cornwall Museum and Gallery which contains paintings and objects of local historical interest. To the northwest at
Slaughterbridge is an Arthurian Centre and at nearby
Camelford Station is the Cycling Museum, which, according to Google, is now permanently closed. To the east are the hills of
Roughtor
Rough Tor (), or Roughtor, is a tor on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, United Kingdom. The site is composed of the tor summit and logan stone, a neolithic tor enclosure, a large number of Bronze Age hut circles, and some contemporary monuments.
Top ...
and
Brown Willy
Brown Willy (possibly meaning "hill of swallows" or meaning "highest hill") is a hill in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The summit, at above sea level, is the highest point of Bodmin Moor and of Cornwall as a whole. It is about northwest ...
and to the south the old parish churches at Lanteglos and Advent.
Transport
The main road through Camelford is the
A39 (Atlantic Highway) and there is a thrice-daily bus service from
Newquay to
Exeter via
Launceston that serves the town. A tentatively-planned bypass is on hold; traffic problems continue to crowd the town especially during summer weekends. From 1893 to 1966 the town had a station on the
North Cornwall Railway. The nearest national railway station is
Bodmin Parkway, 14 miles distant.
History
Early history
Camelford has been linked to the legendary
Camelot and the battle of
Camlann
The Battle of Camlann ( cy, Gwaith Camlan or ''Brwydr Camlan'') is the legendary final battle of King Arthur, in which Arthur either died or was fatally wounded while fighting either with or against Mordred, who also perished. The original le ...
, but historians have refuted these suggestions.
Camelford has sometimes been linked to Gafulford the site of a battle against the West Saxons which is more likely to have been at
Galford in
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...
. Nearby
Slaughterbridge has been supposed to be the site of a battle; an error arising because the derivation of "slaughter" in this case from an Anglo-Saxon word for "marsh" was not understood.
Manor of Helston in Trigg
Helstone
Helstone ( kw, Hellys) is a hamlet in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated two miles (3 km) southwest of Camelford on the A39 road.
History
Helstone (or Helston in Trigg) was in the Middle Ages one of the chief manor ...
(or Helston in Trigg) was in the Middle Ages one of the chief manors of the
Hundred of Trigg and perhaps in Celtic times the seat of a chieftain. In the
Domesday Book this manor was held by
Earl Robert of Mortain: there were 2 hides, land for 15 ploughs; the lord had 4 ploughs & 18 serfs; 20 villagers & 18 smallholders had 8 ploughs; of woodland; 6 square leagues of pasture; five kinds of livestock, in total 195 beasts. The manor of
Penmayne was a dependency of this manor. It was one of the 17
Antiqua maneria of the
Duchy of Cornwall.
Modern history
The town elected two members to the
Unreformed House of Commons: the first MPs sat in the Parliament of 1552. It was later considered a
rotten borough, and in 1832 the
Camelford parliamentary constituency was abolished and the town became part of the
East Cornwall constituency.
The seal of the borough shows: Arg. a camel passing through a ford of water all proper with legend "Sigillum Vill: de Camelford".
Reskammel / Camelford was the venue for
Gorsedh Kernow
Gorsedh Kernow (Cornish Gorsedd) is a non-political Cornish organisation, based in Cornwall, United Kingdom, which exists to maintain the national Celtic spirit of Cornwall. It is based on the Welsh-based Gorsedd, which was founded by Iolo Mo ...
in 2012.
Water pollution incident
In July 1988, the water supply to the town and the surrounding area was contaminated when 20 tons of
aluminium sulphate was accidentally poured into the wrong tank at the
Lowermoor Water Treatment Works on
Bodmin Moor. An independent inquiry into
the incident, the worst of its kind in British history, started in 2002, and a draft report was issued in January 2005, but questions remain as to the long-term effects on the health of residents.
Michael Meacher, who visited Camelford as environment minister, called the incident and its aftermath, "A most unbelievable scandal."
Churches and schools
The
parish church of Camelford is at Lanteglos by Camelford though there is also a
Church of St Thomas of Canterbury (opened in 1938) in the town. Lanteglos church is dedicated to St
Julitta. (At Jetwells near Camelford is a holy well; Jetwells derives from "Julitta's well".) Arthur Langdon (1896) recorded the existence of seven stone crosses in the parish, including three at the rectory (Lanteglos Rectory was converted into a guesthouse in the mid-20th century). There was in medieval times a chapel of St Thomas which probably fell into disuse after the
Reformation (it is recorded in 1312). The Rector of Lanteglos is also responsible for the adjacent parish of
Advent.
In Market Place is the Methodist Church (originally a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel). The founder of
Methodism
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
,
John Wesley, visited Camelford on several occasions during his journeys in Cornwall. In the 1830s and 1840s the Camelford Wesleyan Methodist circuit underwent a secession by more than half the members to the
Wesleyan Methodist Association.
[ Shaw, Thomas (1967) ''A History of Cornish Methodism''; chap, 5. Truro: D. Bradford Barton, ASIN: B0000CO4DB] There is an older Methodist chapel (now disused) in Chapel Street.
Soul's Harbour Pentecostal Church is situated on the Clease adjacent to the car park. It is affiliated with
The Assemblies of God of Great Britain and was founded in 1987. The building the Church occupies was built as the Church School in 1846.
Sir James Smith's School provides secondary education to the town and surrounding area and there is also a primary school.
Notable people associated with Camelford
The naval officer
Samuel Wallis was born near Camelford (among his achievements was the circumnavigation of the world).
Francis Hurdon, the Canadian politician was also born at Camelford. Two members of the Pitt family held the title of Baron Camelford:
Thomas Pitt, 1st Baron Camelford
Thomas Pitt, 1st Baron Camelford (3 March 1737 – 19 January 1793) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 until 1784 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Camelford. He was an art connoisseur.
Early life
Pitt ...
(1737–1793) and
Thomas Pitt, 2nd Baron Camelford (1775–1804).
Samuel Pollard, missionary to China was also born in Camelford.
Jason Dawe, former presenter of
Top Gear, is from the town.
See also
*
Camelford RFC, rugby union club
References
Further reading
*
Maclean, John (1872–79) ''The Parochial and Family History of the Deanery of Trigg Minor''. 3 vols. London: Nichols & Son
External links
More on Camelford*
Government Inquiry Report, 2005Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Camelford
{{Authority control
Towns in Cornwall
Civil parishes in Cornwall
Bodmin Moor