Gwennap

Gwennap
Gwennap Parish Church
Gwennap is located in Cornwall
Gwennap
Gwennap
Location within Cornwall
Population1,602 (United Kingdom Census 2021 including Burncoose, Comford, Crofthandy, Cusgarne, Goon Gumpas and Hick's Mill)
OS grid referenceSW741400
Civil parish
  • Gwennap
Unitary authority
Ceremonial county
Region
CountryEngland
Sovereign stateUnited Kingdom
Post townREDRUTH
Postcode districtTR16
Dialling code01872
PoliceDevon and Cornwall
FireCornwall
AmbulanceSouth Western
UK Parliament
List of places
UK
England
Cornwall
50°13′01″N 5°10′16″W / 50.217°N 5.171°W / 50.217; -5.171
The rings at Gwennap Pit from above, taken in 2022.

Gwennap (Standard Written Form: Lannwenep (village), Pluw Wenep (parish))[1] is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is about five miles (8 km) southeast of Redruth.[2] Hamlets of Burncoose, Comford, Coombe, Crofthandy, Cusgarne, Fernsplatt, Frogpool, Hick's Mill, Tresamble and United Downs lie in the parish, as does Little Beside country house.

In the 18th and early 19th centuries Gwennap parish was the richest copper mining district in Cornwall,[3] and was called the "richest square mile in the Old World".[4] It is near the course of the Great County Adit which was constructed to drain mines in the area including several of the local once-famous mines such as Consolidated Mines, Poldice mine and Wheal Busy. Today it forms part of area A6i (the Gwennap Mining District) of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site.[5]

Gwennap Pit

It lends its name to Gwennap Pit, where John Wesley preached on 18 occasions between 1762 and 1789, although Gwennap Pit is about 1.7 miles (2.7 km) to the northwest, at the hamlet of Busveal near St Day. The pit was caused by mining subsidence in the mid-18th century. After Wesley's death the local people turned the pit into a regular circular shape with turf seats.[3] The location of the pit has been described as being used for Cornish wrestling tournaments prior to its transformation.[6][7]

  1. ^ Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF) Archived 15 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine : List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel Archived 15 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Cornish Language Partnership.
  2. ^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 Truro & Falmouth ISBN 978-0-319-23149-4.
  3. ^ a b "Gwennap Pit". Cornwall Council. Archived from the original on 12 June 2009. Retrieved 26 February 2009.
  4. ^ "Gwennap Mining District". Cornwall Council. Archived from the original on 14 April 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  5. ^ "Cornish Mining World Heritage – Gwennap Mining District Location Map". Cornwall Council. Archived from the original on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2009.
  6. ^ The tramp's visit to Gwennap Pit and Redruth fair, The Cornishman, 9 June 1881, p8.
  7. ^ Cornish Echo and Falmouth & Penryn Times, 16 June 1877.