Bodmin
From Free net encyclopedia
Template:Infobox England place with map Bodmin is a town in Cornwall in the United Kingdom, with a population of 12,778 (2001 census). It was formerly the county town of Cornwall, but that is now Truro.
Bodmin lies in the centre of the county, along the western edge of Bodmin Moor. St. Petroc founded a priory here in the 6th century; he gave the alternate name to Bodmin which is Petrockstow. Bodmin is one of the oldest towns in the county, and the only Cornish settlement of size recorded in the Domesday Book of the late 11th century. In the 15th century the Norman church of St. Petroc was heavily rebuilt and stands as one of the largest churches in Cornwall. Also built at that time was an abbey, now mostly ruined. For most of Bodmin's history, the tin industry was a mainstay of the economy.
It has been suggested that the town's name comes from an archaic word in the Cornish "bod" (meaning a dwelling; the later word is "bos") and a contraction of "menegh" (monks). This speculation is both unproven and unprovable since the name is also thought to predate the institution of the monastery which is popularly supposed to support it; it may however refer to an earlier monastic settlement instituted by St. Guron, which St. Petroc took as his site.
Bodmin Parkway railway station is served by main line trains and is situated on the Great Western Main Line about 3.5 miles south-east from the town centre. A heritage railway, the Bodmin and Wenford Railway, runs from Bodmin Parkway station via Bodmin General railway station to Boscarne Junction where there is convenient access to the Camel Trail.
Bodmin Gaol, 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 10 at a time) rather than communally. This grim place was also site of Britain's last public hanging in 1809. Also, during the First World War the prison was deemed worthy to hold some of Britain's priceless national treasures including the Domesday Book and the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.
Other buildings of interest include the former Shire Hall, now a tourist information centre, and the Regimental Barracks of the now defunct Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, now a regimental museum.
Town twinning
- Template:Flagicon Grass Valley, California
- Template:Flagicon Bederkesa, Germany
- Template:Flagicon Relecq-Kerhuon, Brittany, France