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Redruth
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|---|---|
| Town andcivil parish | |
 Fore Street, Redruth town centre | |
  Redruth Location withinCornwall | |
 Interactive map of Redruth | |
| Population | 15,626 (Parish, 2021)[1] 15,455 (Built up area, 2021)[2] |
| OS grid reference | SW699420 |
| Civil parish |
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| Unitary authority | |
| Ceremonial county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | REDRUTH |
| Postcode district | TR15 |
| Dialling code | 01209 |
| Police | Devon and Cornwall |
| Fire | Cornwall |
| Ambulance | South Western |
| UK Parliament | |
| Website | www |
| 50°13′58″N05°13′35″W / 50.23278°N 5.22639°W /50.23278; -5.22639 | |
Redruth (/rəˈdruːθ/rə-DROOTH,Cornish:Resrudh[3]) is a town andcivil parish inCornwall, England. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of theA393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London toLand's End trunk road (now theA30), and is approximately 9 miles (14 km) west ofTruro, 12 miles (19 km) east ofSt Ives, 18 miles (29 km) north east ofPenzance and 11 miles (18 km) north west ofFalmouth. At the2021 census the population of the parish was 15,626 and the population of the built up area was 15,455.
The formUnyredruth (Euny being the patron saint) is recorded in 1563.[4] Earlier forms areRidruthe (1259),Rudruth (1283) andRiddruth (1291).[5]
The name Redruth derives from its older Cornish name,Rhyd-ruth, meaning 'red ford' — literally 'ford-red': the first syllablerhyd means 'ford'; the secondruth means 'red'. It is therefore the-ruth and not thered- part of the name which means the colour red.[6]
Rhyd is the older form ofres, which is a Cornish equivalent to aford (across a river), a common Celtic word: Old Cornishrid,Welshrhyd (Old Welshrit),Old Bretonrit orret,Gaulishritu-, all fromIndo-European*prtus derived word in*-tu from the root*per, 'to cross, to go through',Proto-Germanic*furdúz (Englishford,GermanFurt),Latinportus, allcognate to the Celtic word.[7]
Béroul'sRoman deTristan features a location in Cornwall calledCrois Rouge inNorman French, 'red cross' in English.[8]
Redruth forms the eastern part of a looseconurbation which stretches toCamborne, 3 miles (5 km) to the west. At the2011 census, theOffice for National Statistics 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.[9]Cornwall Council similarly defined what it called "Camborne/Pool/Redruth", which had a population of 55,400 in 2011.[10] Following a change in methodology for the 2021 census, Redruth is now considered a separate built up area by the Office for National Statistics, with a population of 15,455.[2]
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Traditionally in thePenwith Hundred, the town has developed away from the original settlement, which was near where the present Churchtown (aroundSt. Euny's Church) district of Redruth stands today. This location is a steeply wooded valley, withCarn Brea on one side and the now-calledBullers Hill on the other. The presence of shallowlodes oftin andcopper 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, and this process turned the colour of the river red.
Historically, Redruth was a smallmarket town overshadowed by its neighbours until a boom in the demand for copperore during the 18th century. Copper ore had mostly been discarded by the Cornishtin-mining industry but was now needed to makebrass, an essential metal in theIndustrial 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 theElectric and International Telegraph Company opened stations at Truro, Redruth, Penzance, Camborne, Liskard and St Austell.[11]
In the 1880s and 1890s the town end of Clinton Road gained a number of institutions, notably aSchool 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. TheMining 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 minersemigrated 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 theGolden Jubilee and this part of town had taken on its present appearance – 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 atPool between Redruth andCamborne, closed in March 1998.
There are two tiers of local government covering Redruth, atparish (town) andunitary authority level: Redruth Town Council andCornwall Council. The town council is based at the Civic Centre on Alma Place.[12] The building had been completed in 1880 and was originally the Redruth District Bank and the town's main post office.[13] The building now serves both as the town council's headquarters and a library.[14]
Since the2010 general election the town has formed part of theCamborne and Redruth constituency.[15] The seat was won at the2024 general election byPerran Moon of theLabour Party.
Redruth was anancient parish in thePenwith Hundred of Cornwall.[16] In 1837 the Redruthpoor law union was created, grouping several parishes around Redruth together for the purposes of administering their responsibilities under thepoor laws. They built a workhouse just west of Redruth in 1838, which eventually became theCamborne Redruth Community Hospital.[17]
In 1853 the parish of Redruth was made alocal board district, administered by an elected local board.[18] Such local board districts were reconstituted asurban districts under theLocal Government Act 1894. The 1894 Act also establishedrural districts based on the poor law unions; the parts of the Redruth poor law union that were not included in urban districts became theRedruth Rural District.[19]
Redruth Urban District Council established its headquarters in a former bank at 2 Station Hill, remaining there until the council's abolition.[20] Redruth Urban District was abolished in 1934.[21] The area was then merged with the abolished urban district of Camborne, the parish ofIllogan and parts of the parishes ofGwennap andWendron to become the newCamborne–Redruth Urban District.[22] Camborne-Redruth Urban District Council based itself in Camborne.[23]
Camborne–Redruth Urban District was abolished in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, when the area became part of theKerrier district.[24][25]
The area of the pre-1974 Camborne-Redruth Urban District became anunparished area at the time of the 1974 reforms. Eight newcivil parishes were subsequently created in 1985 covering the area of the former urban district, including one called Redruth.[26] The new parish council adopted the name Redruth Town Council.[12]
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.[27][28]
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Redruth School, aTechnology College, is a secondary school, for ages 11–16. It used to have asixth form, for students aged 16 to 18, however, it closed applications for new students in 2016 and officially closed in 2020 due to funding cuts.The town used to have a coeducational 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.[29] The Curnow Community Special School caters for students with special needs.
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.[30] The former School of Science and Art is also the work of James Hicks; the later additions were built for the School of Mines.[31]
The Parish Church of St Uny, which is some distance from the town centre, is ofNorman foundation but was rebuilt in 1756; it is grade II*listed.[32][33] The patron saint is also honoured at Lelant. The tower is two centuries earlier and the whole church is built of granite. Achapel of ease was built in the town in 1828 but it is no longer in use.[34] The parish of St Euny is part of a group ministry with the parishes of Pencoys, Lanner and Treleigh.[35] 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).[34]
The Mining Exchange building was used as a housing advice centre (it was built in 1880 as accommodation for share brokers).
TheOld Courthouse was completed in 1850 and served as a courthouse until 1977. It also served for some years as offices for the solicitor who acted as clerk to the Redruth Rural District Council.[36]
The house now called Murdoch (or, sometimes Murdock) House in the middle of Cross Street was erected in the 1660s as a chapel and it afterwards 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 ofBoulton and Watt.He fitted the house out withgas lighting fromcoal 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 theSociety of Friends (Quakers).[37] Murdoch House has since been fully restored and is now regularly used by the RedruthOld Cornwall Society, as well as the Cornish-American Connection and the Redruth Story Group. Next door areSt. Rumon's Gardens.
Kresen Kernow, on the site ofRedruth Brewery, houses the archives and collections of the former Cornwall Records Office and Cornish Studies Library. It also holds the Cornwall Tapestries (the work of the Tregellas Foundation) which depict the history of Cornwall in embroidery.[38]
Abronze sculpture of a Cornish miner by artistDavid Annand standing at 6 feet 7 inches was erected in April 2008.[39]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.David Annand was selected from over 70 artists who responded to an advert placed by Cornwall Arts Centre Trust, the project managers, for expressions of interest in August 2006.
Redruth is a small commercial town. It istwinned withPlumergat and Meriadec in Brittany, France;Mineral Point, Wisconsin in the United States; andReal del Monte in Mexico.[40] A museum organised by theOld Cornwall Society[41] is housed in the town council office at the bottom of the main street.
It is home to Cornwall's first ILR radio station,Pirate FM. On 20 June 2008, the town held its first regularfarmers' market in Market Place: the market will now be held every Friday throughout the year.[citation needed]
Key shops and other outlets within thetown centre include a multi-screencinema, a coveredmarket way, an old butter market, variousantique shops, a second handbook shop and two supermarkets, plus Greens Newsagents, and the local cash and carry Jims. Off the main street (Fore Street), there are two separate specialist shopping areas, Bond Street (to the south of therailway station) and Green Lane to the north.
Street landscaping in Redruth includes wooden seating, with granite furniture,signposts,street lights andlitter bins, and two sets ofbronze 'dogs', which were cast from the boots of former tin miners by sculptor David Kemp. The town has a burgundy colour theme, which is in thepublic realm regeneration work to highlight the town's name. A project to light variouspublic buildings around the town withLED coloured lights has already begun. Some of the buildings opposite the railway station and St Rumon's Gardens have now (April 2008) been completed.
On 7 November 2007, Redruth jointly won (withLuton) the annual UK town centre environment awards, which are run by the BCSC (a retail property consortium).[42] The judges praised the cast bronze 'dogs'[43] and also liked the large amount of work that had been done to the town in terms of landscaping the central area (mainly Fore Street and the opes, i.e. alleys).
Just outside the town is a European funded visitor attraction, themed on the Robinson Shaft Mine, it offers parking, an adventure play ground for older children and a pleasant restaurant. At times the last workingCornish pumping engine can be seen working.[44] The museum is an Anchor point on theEuropean Route of Industrial Heritage.[45]
Redruth is an important transport hub. Therailway station is arailhead for bothHelston and theLizard, and there are frequent buses connecting the three places. Bus services to the town are provided byGo Cornwall Bus,First Kernow, andHopley's Coaches, all under theTransport for Cornwall scheme. The railway station is served byGreat Western Railway (GWR) operated trains fromPaddington,South Wales, and the Midlands, as well as a dailyCrossCountry service to the North. Redruth is next to the mainA30 road and thus has access to the main route out of the county as well as routes to thefar West,North Cornwall,South East Cornwall andPlymouth. Another road, the A393, bisects the town in a north–south direction, and links the A30 with the port ofFalmouth. A third road, the A3047, links Redruth withCamborne, some four miles (6.4 km) to the west.
The Barncoose by-pass connects between the Redruth Community Hospital and the BarncooseIndustrial Estate. It is intended to reduceHGV traffic using the main Camborne road and provide a direct access to the Industrial Estate. It did, however, provoke some controversy, as some residents in Barncoose lost their parking spaces to make way for the new road.[46] It was extended further towards Camborne in 2016.
Redruth Rugby Football Club currently play inNational League 2 South (tier 4 of rugby union in England). Players such asPhil Vickery,Rob Thirlby andRichard Sharp OBE have played for the club. A resident of Clinton Road with his mother and brother Nigel, he represented Redruth, Cornwall, and England, leading his country to theFive Nations title in1963. Redruthfootball club has not enjoyed as much success but still thrives in its regular fixtures. On the high street there is aTang Soo Do (Korean Karate) andKickboxing Academy named ISK Martial Arts.Duchy Hockey Club are based at Pool Academy on the outskirts of Redruth and compete in the West of England regional leagues.Redruth Cricket Club currently consists of 4 Men's playing XIs, one women's XI and multiple youth sides. Redruth First XI play in theCornwall Cricket League ECB Premier League, coming second in the 2019 season.[47] The Second XI placed second in County League One, the second division of Cornish Cricket, in the same year.[47]
Redruth has been a major centre forCornish wrestling for many centuries. The ancient traditional location for wrestling tournaments was atPlain-an-Gwarry, Redruth, which continued to be used as a venue, even after thePlen-an-gwary disappeared.[48] Many other venues started to be used in the 1800s onwards such as South Turnpike,[49] and the Recreation Ground/football ground.[50] In 1887, Redruth hosted 2 challenge matches for the world title in Cornish wrestling at the recreation ground. In July, John Pearce drew withJack Carkeek from the US.[51] The results of the fight were disputed and at a later brawl in a hotel between the two, Carkeek bit off Pearce's ear.[52] In August, Carkeek defeated Philip Hancock, although there were accusations that Hancock threw the fight.[53][54] In 1889, Redruth hosted the tournament for "Championship of World", where many wrestlers descended on Redruth, including Carkeek, who eventually won.[55][56] The Interceltic games were held in Redruth in 1933[57] and 1972.[58] Men from Redruth were very successful in Cornish wrestling throughout the world.[59][60][61]
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ActressKristin Scott Thomas (born 1960), electronic musicianLuke Vibert (born 1973),baritoneBenjamin Luxon (1937–2024), opera singerAlan Opie(born 1945), record producer and broadcasterTris Penna, and the co founder of and drummer withFleetwood Mac,Mick Fleetwood (born 1947), were all born here. The writer and comedianRory McGrath (born 1956) was born here and educated at the town's secondary school, Cornish artistJonathan Polkest studied art at The Redruth School of Art, the musicianAphex Twin (born 1971) grew up near Redruth.Luke Vibert (born 1973) has released an album calledChicago, Detroit, Redruth and has also recorded under the aliasKerrier District; a reference to name of the district in which Redruth is located.Hedluv + Passman (formed 2007) both grew up in Redruth, and wrote the song "'druth" in tribute to the town. The traditional Cornish dance and music group,Hevva is based in Redruth.
Redruth istwinned with:
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)I'm Cornish, and very proud of it. It's where I live now.
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