Bodmin
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 Bodmin Public Rooms (Capitol Cinema) | |
  Bodmin Location withinCornwall | |
| Population | 16,909 (Parish, 2021)[1] |
| Demonym | Bodminite[citation needed] |
| OS grid reference | SX071665 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | BODMIN |
| Postcode district | PL31 |
| Dialling code | 01208 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| 50°27′58″N4°43′05″W / 50.466°N 4.718°W /50.466; -4.718 | |
Bodmin (Cornish:Bosvena[2]) is a town andcivil parish inCornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west ofBodmin Moor.[3]
The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered to the east byCardinham parish, to the southeast byLanhydrock parish, to the southwest and west byLanivet parish, and to the north byHelland parish.[4] At the2021 census the population of the parish was 16,909.
Bodmin became thecounty town of Cornwall in 1838 when the main courts for the county moved there fromLaunceston. Bodmin gradually lost county town functions toTruro; in 1889 the newCornwall County Council chose to base itself in Truro, and the county's main courthouse moved to Truro in 1988.
The name of the town probably derives from the Cornish "Bod-meneghy", meaning "dwelling of or by the sanctuary of monks".[5] Variant spellings recorded includeBotmenei in 1100,Bodmen in 1253,Bodman in 1377 andBodmyn in 1522.[5] TheBodman spelling also appears in sources and maps from the 16th and 17th centuries,[6] most notably in the celebrated map of Cornwall produced byJohn Speed but actually engraved by the Dutch cartographerJodocus Hondius the Elder (1563–1612) inAmsterdam in 1610 (published in London by Sudbury and Humble in 1626).[7]
The hamlets of Cooksland, Little Kirland,Dunmere andTurfdown are in the parish.[8]
St. Petroc founded a monastery in Bodmin in the 6th century[9] and gave the town its alternative name ofPetrockstow. The monastery was deprived of some of its lands at theNorman Conquest but at the time ofDomesday still held eighteen manors, including Bodmin,Padstow and Rialton.[10] Bodmin is one of the oldest towns in Cornwall, and the only large Cornish settlement recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086.[11] In the 15th century the Norman church of St Petroc was largely rebuilt and stands as one of the largest churches in Cornwall (the largest after the cathedral at Truro). Also built at that time was an abbey of canons regular, now mostly ruined. For most of Bodmin's history, thetin industry was a mainstay of the economy.
An inscription on a stone built into the wall of a summer house in Lancarffe furnishes proof of a settlement in Bodmin in the earlyMiddle Ages. It is a memorial to one "Duno[.]atus son of Me[.]cagnus" and has been dated from the 6th to 8th centuries.[12]
Arthur Langdon (1896) records three Cornish crosses at Bodmin; one was near the Berry Tower, one was outside Bodmin Gaol and another was in a field near Castle Street Hill.[13] There is alsoCarminow Cross at a road junction southeast of the town.
TheBlack Death killed half of Bodmin's population in the mid 14th century (1,500 people).[14]
Bodmin was the centre of three Cornish uprisings. The first was theCornish Rebellion of 1497 when a Cornish army, led byMichael An Gof, ablacksmith fromSt. Keverne andThomas Flamank, alawyer from Bodmin, marched toBlackheath in London where they were eventually defeated by 10,000 men of the King's army under Baron Daubeny. Then, in the autumn of 1497,Perkin Warbeck tried to usurp the throne fromHenry VII. Warbeck was proclaimed King Richard IV in Bodmin but Henry had little difficulty crushing the uprising. In 1549, Cornishmen, allied with other rebels in neighbouringDevon, rose once again in rebellion when the staunchly ProtestantEdward VI tried to impose a newPrayer Book. The lower classes of Cornwall and Devon were still strongly attached to theRoman Catholic religion and again a Cornish army was formed in Bodmin which marched across the border into Devon to lay siege toExeter. This became known as thePrayer Book Rebellion. Proposals to translate the Prayer Book into Cornish were suppressed and in total 4,000 people were killed in the rebellion.[15]
The song "Bodmin Town" was collected from the Cornishman William Nichols atWhitchurch,Devon, in 1891 bySabine Baring-Gould who published a version in hisA Garland of Country Song (1924).[16]
There are two tiers of local government covering Bodmin, atparish (town) andunitary authority level: Bodmin Town Council andCornwall Council. The town council is based at the Shire House on Mount Folly, which had been built around 1840 as lodgings for visiting judges hearing cases at theShire Hall on the opposite side of the road.[17][18]
Bodmin Town Council is made up of sixteen councillors who are elected to serve a term of four years. Each year, the council elects one of its number as mayor to serve as the town's civic leader and to chair council meetings.[19]
The town is part of theNorth Cornwall parliamentary constituency, which is represented byBen Maguire MP.
Bodmin was anancient parish. As well as the town itself, the parish also covered surrounding rural areas, particularly to the west and north of the town. Bodmin was also anancient borough, being described as a borough from at least the 12th century. It was aseigneurial borough controlled bySt Petroc's Priory until the priory wasdissolved in 1539. A newmunicipal charter was issued byElizabeth I in 1563 incorporating the borough, granting it certain rights of self-government.[20][21]
The borough only covered the central part of the parish around the town itself. From the 17th century onwards, parishes were gradually given various civil functions under thepoor laws, in addition to their original ecclesiastical functions. In some cases, including Bodmin, the civil functions were exercised by subdivisions of the parish rather than the parish as a whole. In Bodmin, poor law functions were administered separately for the areas inside and outside the borough boundary.[22] In 1866, the legal definition of 'parish' was changed to be the areas used for administering the poor laws, and so the old parish was split into twocivil parishes: 'Bodmin Borough' matching the borough, and 'Bodmin' covering the rural parts of the old parish outside the borough.[23] The Bodmin parish was renamed 'Bodmin Rural' in 1934, and was abolished in 1939, when it was split between the neighbouring parishes ofHelland to the north andLanivet to the west.[24][25]
In 1836, the borough was reformed to become amunicipal borough under theMunicipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country.[26] The borough council met atBodmin Guildhall on Fore Street, parts of which date back to the 17th century.[27][28]
The borough was abolished in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, with district-level functions passing to the newNorth Cornwall District Council.[29][30] Asuccessor parish called Bodmin was created at the same time covering the area of the abolished borough, with its parish council taking the name Bodmin Town Council.[31] North Cornwall 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.[32][33]
As part of being made a municipal borough in 1836, Bodmin was given its own police force, replacing the old system of parish constables. Bodmin Borough Police existed from 1836 to 1866. The creation of theCornwall Constabulary in 1857 put pressure on smaller municipal police forces to merge with the county force. The two-man force of Bodmin came under threat almost immediately, but it would take until 1866 for terms of amalgamation to be agreed. After a public enquiry, the borough force was disbanded in January 1866 and policing of the borough was transferred to the county force.[34]
The primary function of counties until the 19th century was the administration of justice. Cornwall's senior courts, theassizes, were generally held atLaunceston until 1838. A new courthouse,Shire Hall, opened in Bodmin in 1838 for hosting the assizes and other courts.[35] Bodmin was thereafter described as the county town rather than Launceston.[36][37]
When county councils were established in 1889, Cornwall County Council chose to base itself inTruro rather than Bodmin. Truro therefore became the seat of local government for the county, but the county's assizes continued to be held at Shire Hall in Bodmin until assizes were abolished in 1972.[38][39] Shire Hall continued to serve as a courthouse until 1988, when a new courthouse opened in Truro.[35][40] Shire Hall was subsequently bought by the town council in 1994 and now serves as a visitor centre.[41]
Much of the existing church building dates from a reconstruction in 1469–72. The tower is older, being the main surviving part of the earlier Norman church; it stands on the north side of the church (the upper part is 15th-century). The tower formerly had a 150 feet (45 metres) high spire, but this was removed in 1699. St Petroc's was the largest church in Cornwall untilTruro Cathedral was built in the late 19th century. The building underwent two Victorian restorations and another in 1930. It is now listed Grade I. There are a number of interesting monuments, most notably the blackDelaboleslate memorial to Richard Durant, his wives and twenty children, carved inlow relief, and that of Prior Vivian which was formerly in the Priory Church (Thomas Vivian's effigy lying on a chest, all in blackCatacleuse stone). There is also a twelfth-centuryivory casket which is thought to have once contained relics of St Petroc. The font of a type common in Cornwall is of the 12th century: large and finely carved inelvan.[42][43]
The Chapel of St Thomas Becket is a ruin of a 14th-century building in Bodmin churchyard. The holy well of St Guron is a small stone building at the churchyard gate. The Berry Tower is all that remains of the former church of the Holy Rood and there are even fewer remains from the substantial Franciscan Friary established ca. 1240: a gateway in Fore Street and two pillars elsewhere in the town. The Roman CatholicAbbey of St Mary and St Petroc, formerly belonging to theCanons Regular of the Lateran was built in 1965 next to the already existing seminary.[44] The Roman Catholic parish of Bodmin includes a large area of North Cornwall and there are churches also at Wadebridge, Padstow and Tintagel (St Paul's Church, Tintagel).[45] In 1881 the Roman Catholic mass was celebrated in Bodmin for the first time since 1539. A church was planned in the 1930s but delayed by theSecond World War: the Church of St Mary and St Petroc was eventually consecrated in 1965:[46] it was built next to the already existing seminary.[44] There are also five other churches in Bodmin, including a Methodist church.
Bodmin Jail, operational for over 150 years but now a semi-ruin, was built in the late 18th century, and was the first British prison to hold prisoners in separate cells (though often up to ten at a time) rather than communally. Over fifty prisoners condemned at the BodminAssize Court were hanged at the prison. It was also used for temporarily holding prisoners sentenced to transportation, awaiting transfer to the prison hulks lying in the highest navigable reaches of theRiver Fowey. Also, during 1918–19 in theFirst World War the prison held some material from Britain'sPublic Record Office, including theDomesday Book, but not theCrown Jewels as is commonly claimed: inWorld War II these were stored inWindsor Castle.[47]
Victoria Barracks was formerly a depot of the now defunctDuke of Cornwall's Light Infantry and is now the site of the regimental museum. It includes the history of the regiment from 1702, plus a military library. The original barracks house the regimental museum which was founded in 1925. There is a fine collection of small arms and machine guns, plus maps, uniforms and paintings on display. TheHoney Street drill hall was the mobilisation point for reservists being deployed to serve on theWestern Front.[48]
Bodmin County Lunatic Asylum, later known asSt Lawrence's Hospital,[49][50][51] was designed byJohn Foulston. The humorist,William Robert Hicks, was domestic superintendent in the mid-19th century.[52]
Walker Lines, named after Lieutenant-GeneralHarold Walker, was a Second World War camp built as an extension to the DCLI Barracks. It was used to harbour men evacuated fromDunkirk and later to house troops for theD-Day landings. In the 1950s it was the site of theJSSL. The site is now anindustrial estate but still known as 'Walker Lines'.
Bosvenna House, an Edwardian manor house, was formerly Bosvenna Hotel, and the home of theRoyal British Legion Club, but has since become a private residence.
There is a sizable single storey Masonic Hall in St Nicholas Street, which is home to no less than eight Masonic bodies.[53]
Bodmin Beacon Local Nature Reserve is the hill overlooking the town. The reserve has 83 acres (33.6 ha) of public land and at its highest point it reaches 162 metres (531 ft) with the distinctive landmark at the summit. The 44 metres (144 ft) tall granite monument to SirWalter Raleigh Gilbert[54] was built in 1857 by the townspeople of Bodmin to honour the soldier's life and work in India.
In 1966, the"Finn VC Estate" was named in honour ofVictoria Cross winnerJames Henry Finn who once lived in the town. An ornate granite drinking bowl which serves the needs of thirsty dogs at the entrance to Bodmin's Priory car park was donated by PrinceChula Chakrabongse ofThailand who lived at Tredethy.[55]
There are noindependent schools in the area.
Beacon ACE Academy opened as aprimary school for pupils aged between 3–11 in September 2017, following the merger of Beacon Infant and Nursery School and Robartes Junior School. Beacon ACE Academy is part of Kernow Learning Multi Academy Trust and is rated Good byOfsted. The school offers places for 420 pupils as well as 30 places within its Nursery and 10 places within its Area Resource Base for pupils withSpecial Educational Needs.
St Petroc'svoluntary aidedChurch of England Primary School, Athelstan Park, Bodmin, was given this title in September 1990 after theamalgamation of St. Petroc'sInfant School and St. Petroc's Junior School. St. Petroc's is a large school with some 440 pupils between the ages of four and 11. Eight of its fourteen governors are nominated by theDiocese of Truro or theParochial Church Council of St. Petroc's, Bodmin. It is currently rated as "Requires Improvement" byOfsted.
There are a further twoprimary schools within Bodmin; Berrycoombe School in the northwest corner of the town, andSt. Mary'sCatholic Primary School.
Bodmin College is a largestate comprehensive school for ages 11–18 on the outskirts of the town. The college is home to Bodmin College Jazz Orchestra.[clarification needed] In 1997, Systems & Control students at Bodmin College constructedRoadblock, arobot which entered and won the first series ofRobot Wars and was succeeded by "The Beast of Bodmin." The school also has one of the largest sixth forms in the county.[citation needed]
Callywith College is afurther education college in Bodmin that opened in September 2017.[56][57] A new-build college on a site close to the Asda supermarket, it will eventually cater for 1,280 students, with 197 staff employed. A total of 660 places were available in its first year.[58] It is being created with the assistance ofTruro and Penwith College to serve students aged 16–19 from Bodmin, North Cornwall and East Cornwall. It received the go-ahead in February 2016, funded as aFree School.[59][60]
Aspiring National Service Sergeant Instructors of theRoyal Army Education Corps underwent training at the Army School of Education, situated at the end of theSecond World War atBuchanan Castle,Drymen in Scotland,[61] and later, from 1948, at the Walker Lines, Bodmin,[62] until it moved toWilton Park, Beaconsfield.[63]
Bodmin Parkway railway station – once known as Bodmin Road – is a principal calling point on theCornish Main Line about 3.5 miles (5.6 km) south-east of the town centre. Buses to central Bodmin,Wadebridge,Padstow,Rock,Polzeath,Port Isaac andCamelford depart from outside the station entrance. It is connected to Bodmin town by a branch line that is home to the local steam railway,Bodmin and Wenford Railway.
Bodmin is just off theA30 providing a connection to theM5 motorway atExeter, 62 miles (100 km) northeast.
Bus and coach services connect Bodmin with some other districts of Cornwall and Devon.
Bodmin has anon-league football clubBodmin Town playing in theSouth West Peninsula League; a level 10 league in theEnglish football league system. Their home ground is at Priory Park. Bodmin Rugby Club playrugby union at Clifden Parc and compete in theTribute Cornwall/Devon league; a level 8 league in theEnglish rugby union system.
The Royal Cornwall Golf Club (now defunct) was located on Bodmin Moor. It was founded in 1889 and became "Royal" in 1891. The club disbanded in the 1950s.[64][65]
There is an active running club, Bodmin RoadRunners.
Bodmin was a stage finish in 2021 cycling Tour of Britain (Stage 1, 5 September).
Bodmin has been a great centre forCornish wrestling over the centuries.[66] The Bodmin Wrestling Association was instrumental in the setting up of the Cornish Wrestling Association in 1923. At the base of the monument on The Beacon are the remains of thewrestling ring which many believe was aPlen-an-gwary.[67][68][69] More recentlyCornish wrestling tournaments are held as part of the revival ofBodmin Riding.
Other places in Bodmin whereCornish wrestling tournaments and matches were held include:
William George Fish, known as "Billy the Fish", from Bodmin, was the featherweight champion in 1927 and 1928 and the lightweight champion in 1933 and 1934.[77][78]
Some areas of the town have high levels of deprivation, and the proportion of children in poverty is higher than the average for Cornwall.[79][80][81] The town is in the most deprived 20% on theIndex of Multiple Deprivation, and a higher than average proportion of people living in the area have no qualifications.[82]
Bodmin has problems withdrug-dealing.[79][83] It is part of thecounty lines drug trafficking network.[79][84]Cuckooing is an issue locally.[81][85]
Cornish Guardian is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday in seven separate editions, including the Bodmin edition.
In October 2020, theBodmin Voice, sister paper to theNewquay Voice, was launched.[citation needed]
Bodmin is the home ofNCB Radio, an internet radio station which aims to bring a dedicated station to North Cornwall. The town is also served by county-wide radio stations,BBC Radio Cornwall,Heart West andGreatest Hits Radio South West.
Local TV coverage is provided byBBC South West andITV West Country. Television signals are received from theCaradon Hill and the local relay transmitters.[86][87]
See alsoCategory:People from Bodmin
Bodmin istwinned withBederkesa in Germany;Grass Valley, inCalifornia, United States; andLe Relecq-Kerhuon (Ar Releg-Kerhuon inBrittany), France.[91]
W. H. Pascoe's 1979A Cornish Armory gives the arms of the priory and the monastery and the seal of the borough.
On Halgavor Moor (Goats' Moor) near Bodmin there was once an annual carnival in July which was on one occasion attended by King Charles II.[92] Halgavor extends into the parish ofLanhydrock.[93]
The Cornish Games were once held on Halgavor Moor; the chief feature of these games was Cornish wrestling and Carew in his Survey (1602) gave an account of it.[94]Bodmin Riding, a horseback procession through the town, is a traditional annual ceremony.
In 1865–66William Robert Hicks was mayor of Bodmin, when he revived the custom ofbeating the bounds of the town. He was – according to theDictionary of National Biography – a very good man of business. This still takes place more or less every five years and concludes with a game ofCornish hurling. Hurling survives as a traditional part of beating the bounds at Bodmin, commencing at the close of the 'Beat'. The game is organised by theRotary club of Bodmin and was last played in 2015. The game is started by the Mayor of Bodmin by throwing a silver ball into a body of water known as the "Salting Pool". There are no teams and the hurl follows a set route. The aim is to carry the ball from the "Salting Pool" via the oldA30, along Callywith Road, then through Castle Street, Church Square and Honey Street to finish at the Turret Clock in Fore Street. The participant carrying the ball when it reaches the turret clock will receive a £10 reward from the mayor.[95]
In 2015, beating of the bounds and Cornish hurling took place at Bodmin 8 April organised by theRotary club of Bodmin.[96]
Offices: Priory House... Meeting: First Tuesday in month, Guildhall...
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