Padstow is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of
CornwallCornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
,
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The town is situated on the west bank of the
River CamelThe River Camel is a river in Cornwall, UK. It rises on the edge of Bodmin Moor and together with its tributaries drains a considerable part of North Cornwall. The river issues into the Celtic Sea area of the Atlantic Ocean between Stepper Point and Pentire Point having covered a distance of...
estuary approximately five miles northwest of
WadebridgeWadebridge is a civil parish and town in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel five miles upstream from Padstow....
, ten miles northwest of
BodminBodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...
and ten miles northeast of
NewquayNewquay is a town, civil parish, seaside resort and fishing port in Cornwall, England. It is situated on the North Atlantic coast of Cornwall approximately west of Bodmin and north of Truro....
. The population of Padstow civil parish was 3,162 in the
2001 censusA nationwide census, known as Census 2001, was conducted in the United Kingdom on Sunday, 29 April 2001. This was the 20th UK Census and recorded a resident population of 58,789,194....
.
History
Padstow was originally named
Petroc-stow (Petroc-stowe, or 'Petrock's Place'), after the Welsh missionary
Saint PetrocSaint Petroc is a 6th century Celtic Christian saint. He was born in Wales but primarily ministered to the Britons of Dumnonia which included the modern counties of Devon , Cornwall , and parts of Somerset and Dorset...
, who landed at nearby
TrebetherickTrebetherick is a village on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated on the east side of the River Camel estuary approximately six miles north of Wadebridge and half-a-mile south of Polzeath....
around
AD and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
500. After his death a monastery (Lanwethinoc, the church of Wethinoc an earlier holy man) was established here which was of great importance until the town was raided by the Vikings in 981 (the Vikings laid waste "Petroces stow" (probably Padstow) according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle). Either as a result of this attack or later the monks moved inland to
BodminBodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...
taking with them the relics of St Petroc. The cult of St Petroc was important both in Padstow and Bodmin.
In the medieval period Padstow was commonly called Aldestowe (as the 'old place' in contrast to Bodmin the 'new place'). The modern Cornish form
Lannwedhenek derives from
Lanwethinoc and in a simpler form appears in the name of the Lodenek Press, a publisher based in Padstow.
Churches
The church of St Petroc is one of a group of three said to have been founded by the saint, the others being
Little PetherickLittle Petherick is a village and civil parish in north Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated two miles south of Padstow and 6 miles west of Wadebridge....
and
BodminBodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...
. It is quite large and mostly of 13th and 14th century date. There is a fine font of Catacleuse stone which is 15th century: the pulpit of ca. 1530 is also of interest. There are two fine monuments to members of the Prideaux family (Sir Nicholas, 1627 and Edmund, 1693): there is also a monumental brass of 1421.
Maritime traffic
During the mid-nineteenth century, ships carrying timber from
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
(particularly
Quebec CityQuebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
) would arrive at Padstow and offer cheap travel to passengers wishing to emigrate. Shipbuilders in the area would also benefit from the quality of their cargoes. Among the ships that sailed were the
barqueA barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
s
ClioThe Clio was a three-masted barque built of black birch, pine and oak at Granville, Nova Scotia, .She was registered at St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador on completion. For many years she crossed back and forth over the Atlantic, bringing timber from Quebec, Canada which was then sailed to...
,
Belle and
Voluna; and the
brigA brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
Dalusia.
The approach from the sea into the River Camel is partially blocked by the
Doom BarThe Doom Bar is a bank of sand at the estuary of the River Camel where it meets the Celtic Sea on Cornwall's north coast. It represents a significant hazard to shipping, and there have been many ships wrecked there through the centuries...
, a bank of sand extending across the estuary which is a significant hazard to shipping and the cause of many
shipwreckA shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
s.
For ships entering the estuary, the immediate loss of wind due to the cliffs was a particular hazard, often resulting in ships being swept onto the Doom Bar. A manual capstan was installed on the west bank of the river (its remains can still be seen) and rockets were fired to carry a line to ships so that they could be winched to safety.
There have been ferries across the Camel estuary for centuries and the current service, the
Black Tor FerryThe Black Tor Ferry, also known as the Padstow to Rock Ferry, is a passenger ferry which crosses the tidal River Camel in north Cornwall, United Kingdom. The ferry carries pedestrians and cyclists only .-History:...
, carries pedestrians between Padstow and
RockRock is a coastal village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated opposite Padstow on the northeast bank of the River Camel estuary. The village is in the civil parish of St Minver Lowlands approximately four miles northwest of Wadebridge.-Geography:The main residential area is set back from...
daily throughout the year.
Economy
Traditionally a
fishingFishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
port, Padstow is now a popular
tourist destinationA tourist destination is a city, town, or other area that is dependent to a significant extent on the revenues accruing from tourism. It may contain one or more tourist attractions and possibly some "tourist traps."...
. Although some of its former fishing fleet remains, it is mainly a yachting haven on a dramatic coastline with few easily navigable harbours. The influence of restaurateur
Rick SteinChristopher Richard "Rick" Stein OBE is an English chef, restaurateur and television presenter. He is currently the head chef and co-owner of "Rick Stein at Bannisters" at Mollymook, New South Wales, Australia, owns four restaurants in Padstow, a fish and chip shop in Falmouth, Cornwall and has...
can be seen in the port, and tourists travel from long distances to eat at his restaurant or cafés.
However, the boom in the popularity of the port has caused house price inflation both in the port and surrounding areas, as people buy homes to live in, or as second or holiday homes. This has meant significant numbers of locals cannot afford to buy property of their own now, with prices often well over 10 times the average salary of around £15,000.
Plans to build a skatepark in Padstow have been put forward and funds are currently being raised to create this at the Recreation Ground (Wheal Jubilee Parc).
Railway
From 1899 until 1967
Padstow railway stationPadstow railway station was the western terminus of the North Cornwall Railway. It was opened in 1899 by the London and South Western Railway to serve the port of Padstow...
was the westernmost point of the former
Southern RailwayThe Southern Railway was a British railway company established in the 1923 Grouping. It linked London with the Channel ports, South West England, South coast resorts and Kent...
. The station was the terminus of an extension from
WadebridgeWadebridge railway station was on the Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway. It opened in 1834 to transport goods between the market town of Wadebridge, the limit of navigation on the River Camel, and inland farming and mining areas...
of the former
Bodmin and Wadebridge RailwayThe Bodmin and Wadebridge Railway was a railway line opened in 1834 in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It linked the important town of Bodmin with the harbour at Wadebridge and also quarries at places such as Wenford...
and
North Cornwall RailwayThe North Cornwall Railway was a railway line running from Halwill in Devon to Padstow in Cornwall via Launceston, Camelford and Wadebridge, a distance of 49 miles 67 chains. Opened in the last decade of the nineteenth century, it was part of a drive by the London and South Western Railway to...
. These lines were part of the
London and South Western RailwayThe London and South Western Railway was a railway company in England from 1838 to 1922. Its network extended from London to Plymouth via Salisbury and Exeter, with branches to Ilfracombe and Padstow and via Southampton to Bournemouth and Weymouth. It also had many routes connecting towns in...
(LSWR), then incorporated into the Southern Railway in 1923 and British Railways in 1948, but were proposed for closure during the
Beeching AxeThe Beeching Axe or the Beeching Cuts are informal names for the British Government's attempt in the 1960s to reduce the cost of running British Railways, the nationalised railway system in the United Kingdom. The name is that of the main author of The Reshaping of British Railways, Dr Richard...
of the 1960s.
The LSWR (and Southern Railway) promoted Padstow as a holiday resort; these companies were rivals to the
Great Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
(which was the larger railway in the West of England). Until 1964, Padstow was served by the
Atlantic Coast ExpressThe Atlantic Coast Express was an express passenger train in England between Waterloo station, London and seaside resorts in the south-west...
– a direct train service to/from London (Waterloo) – but the station was closed in 1967. The old railway line is now the Camel Trail, a footpath and cycle path which is popular owing to its picturesque route beside the River Camel. One of the railway mileposts is now embedded outside the Shipwright's Arms public house on the Harbour Front.
Footpaths
The
South West Coast PathThe South West Coast Path is Britain's longest waymarked long-distance footpath and a National Trail. It stretches for , running from Minehead in Somerset, along the coasts of Devon and Cornwall, to Poole Harbour in Dorset. Since it rises and falls with every river mouth, it is also one of the more...
runs on both sides of the River Camel estuary and crosses from Padfstow to Rock via the Black Tor ferry. The path gives walking access to the coast with
Stepper PointStepper Point is a headland on the Atlantic coast in north Cornwall, England, UK.Stepper Point and Pentire Point stand at either side of the mouth of the River Camel; Stepper to the south-west, Pentire to the north-east....
and
Trevose HeadTrevose Head is a headland on the Atlantic coast of north Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately west of Padstow. The South West Coast Path runs around the whole promontory and is within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Trevose Head Heritage Coast...
within an easy day's walk of Padstow.
The
Saints' WayThe Saints' Way is a long-distance footpath in Cornwall, in the United Kingdom.The footpath runs from Padstow in the north to Fowey in the south, a distance of 26 miles . The path is well marked and guide books are available....
long-distance footpath runs from Padstow to
FoweyFowey is a small town, civil parish and cargo port at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,273.-Early history:...
on the south coast of Cornwall.
The Camel Trail cycleway follows the course of the former railway (
see above) from Padstow. It is open to walkers, cyclists and horse riders and suitable for disabled access. The 17.3 miles (27.8 km) long route leads to
WadebridgeWadebridge is a civil parish and town in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town straddles the River Camel five miles upstream from Padstow....
and on to Wenford Bridge and
BodminBodmin is a civil parish and major town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated in the centre of the county southwest of Bodmin Moor.The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character...
and used by an estimated 400,000 users each year generating an income of approximately £3 million a year.
'Obby 'Oss festival
Padstow is best known for its "'Obby 'Oss" festival. Although its origins are unclear, it most likely stems from an ancient
fertility riteFertility rites are religious rituals that reenact, either actually or symbolically, sexual acts and/or reproductive processes: 'sexual intoxication is a typical component of the...rites of the various functional gods who control reproduction, whether of man, beast, cattle, or grains of seed'..They...
, perhaps the
Celtic festivalCeltic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure...
of
BeltaneBeltane or Beltaine is the anglicised spelling of Old Irish Beltaine or Beltine , the Gaelic name for either the month of May or the festival that takes place on the first day of May.Bealtaine was historically a Gaelic festival celebrated in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man.Bealtaine...
. The festival starts at midnight on
May EveMay Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....
when townspeople gather outside the Golden Lion Inn to sing the "Night Song". By morning, the town has been dressed with greenery and flowers placed around the
maypoleA maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, particularly on May Day, or Pentecost although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer...
. The excitement begins with the appearance of one of the 'Obby 'Osses. Male dancers cavort through the town dressed as one of two 'Obby 'Osses, the "Old" and the "Blue Ribbon" 'Obby 'Osses; as the name suggests, they are stylised kinds of horses. Prodded on by
acolyteIn many Christian denominations, an acolyte is anyone who performs ceremonial duties such as lighting altar candles. In other Christian Churches, the term is more specifically used for one who wishes to attain clergyhood.-Etymology:...
s known as "Teasers", each wears a mask and black frame-hung cape under which they try to catch young maidens as they pass through the town. Throughout the day, the two parades, led by the "Mayer" in his top hat and decorated stick, followed by a band of accordions and drums, then the 'Oss and the Teaser, with a host of people - all singing the "Morning Song".
http://www.lyricspy.com/8766/Rankin_Family_lyrics/Padstow_(the_May_Morning_Song)_lyrics.html - pass along the streets of the town, never meeting. Finally, late in the evening, the two 'osses do meet, at the maypole, before returning to their respective stables where the crowd sings of the 'Obby 'Oss death, until its resurrection the following May Eve.
Mummers' or Darkie Day
On
Boxing DayBoxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
and
New Year's DayNew Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
, it is a tradition for some residents to don
blackfaceBlackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
and parade through the town singing '
minstrelA minstrel was a medieval European bard who performed songs whose lyrics told stories of distant places or of existing or imaginary historical events. Although minstrels created their own tales, often they would memorize and embellish the works of others. Frequently they were retained by royalty...
' songs. This is an ancient
BritishGreat Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
midwinter celebrationWinter solstice may refer to:* Winter solstice, astronomical event* Winter Solstice , former band* Winter Solstice: North , seasonal songs* Winter Solstice , 2005 American film...
that occurs every year in Padstow and was originally part of the pagan heritage of midwinter celebrations that were regularly celebrated all over Cornwall where people would
guise danceGuise dancing is a folk practice celebrated between Christmas Day and Twelfth Night in Cornwall, UK...
and disguise themselves by blackening up their faces or wearing masks. (Recently the people of
PenzancePenzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
have revived its midwinter celebration with the
Montol FestivalThe Montol Festival is an annual heritage, arts and community festival in Penzance, Cornwall held between the 16th and 22nd of December each year. The festival is a revival or reinterpretation of many of the traditional Cornish midwinter customs & Christmas traditions formerly practiced in and...
which like Padstow at times would have had people darkening or painting their skin to disguise themselves as well as masking.)
Folklorists associate the practice with the widespread British custom of blacking up for mumming and morris dancing, and suggest there is no record of slave ships coming to Padstow. Once an unknown local charity event, the day has recently become controversial, perhaps since a description was published. Also some now suggest it is racist for white people to "black up" for any reason. Although "outsiders" have linked the day with racism, Padstonians insist that this is not the case and are incredulous at both description and allegations. Long before the controversy Charlie Bate, noted Padstow folk advocate, recounted that in the 1970s the content and conduct of the day were carefully reviewed to avoid potential offence. The Devon and Cornwall Constabulary have taken video evidence twice and concluded there were no grounds for prosecution. Nonetheless protests resurface annually. The day has now been renamed
Mummer's day in an attempt to avoid offence and identify it more clearly with established Cornish tradition. The debate has now been subject to academic scrutiny.
Other similar traditions that use the black-face disguise and are still celebrated within the United Kingdom are the
- Border Morris
The term Border Morris refers to a collection of individual local dances from villages along the English side of the Wales-England border in the counties of Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire. They are part of the Morris dance tradition.- History :...
dancers
- Britannia nutters of Bacup
Bacup is a town within the Rossendale borough of Lancashire, England. It is located amongst the South Pennines, along Lancashire's eastern boundary with West Yorkshire. The town sits within a rural setting in the Forest of Rossendale, amongst the steep-sided upper-Irwell Valley, through which the...
and
- Molly dance
Molly dancing is a form of English Morris dance, traditionally done by out of work ploughboys in midwinter in the 19th century.-History:Molly dancing has been recorded in many parts of the English Midlands and East Anglia. It died out finally in the 1930s, the last dancers seen dancing in Little...
rs of the East MidlandsThe East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...
and East AngliaEast Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
Antiquities
Time Team visited Padstow for the episode "From Constantinople to Cornwall", broadcast on 9 March 2008.
Notable residents
- Rick Stein
Christopher Richard "Rick" Stein OBE is an English chef, restaurateur and television presenter. He is currently the head chef and co-owner of "Rick Stein at Bannisters" at Mollymook, New South Wales, Australia, owns four restaurants in Padstow, a fish and chip shop in Falmouth, Cornwall and has...
, restaurateurA restaurateur is a person who opens and runs restaurants professionally. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who owns a restaurant, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of the restaurant business.-Etymology:The word...
and celebrity chefA celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become famous and well known. Today celebrity chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations via mass media, especially television. Historically, celebrity chefs have included Antoine Carême and Martino da Como.-External...
- Enys Tregarthen
Nellie Sloggett was an author and folklorist who wrote under the names Enys Tregarthen and Nellie Cornwall.- Life and work :...
, author and folklorist
External links