- Redruth
- Redruth, together with its neighbour Camborne, was the centre of the Cornish
Tin mining industry. hence today the whole area round Redruth is covered with
old mine workings and buildings. Redruth itself has a range of architecture
from Georgian to Victorian and Art Deco. The name Redruth comes from the Cornish
words for red river. And this river now runs under the foot of the
steep main street. There is a large granite railway viaduct in the lower part
of the town, and one can follow the tree lined Trewirgie Road to Redruth's
old churchtown. the Georgian church of St Euny, has a 15th century tower,
and is notable for its long lych gate, which allowed for many coffins to rest
there after major mining accidents.
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- To the south is Carn Brea Hill, 748 feet high which has a complete cross
section of history. There are Neolithic hut circles, an Iron Age fort, a small
castle that was used in Elizabethan times as a hunting lodge (it had been
converted into a restaurant but when we were there in 1997 the restaurant
had been closed for some time!), an obelisk built in 1836 in memory of Francis
Bassett.
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- Roche
- Pronounced Roach , the village gets its name from a granite outcrop
east of the village. On the rock is a hermitage chapel of St Michael, built
in 1409. The ruins of the chapel were last occupied by the family of local
landowners when they contracted leprosy, and stayed here so that they would
not infect the village. Admission to the chapel is free.