North Country

Toponymy

The form Unyredruth (Euny being the patron saint) is recorded in 1563. Earlier forms are Ridruthe (1259), Rudruth (1283) and Riddruth (1291).

The name Redruth derives from its older Cornish name, Rhyd-ruth, meaning 'red ford' — literally 'ford-red': the first syllable rhyd means 'ford'; the second ruth means 'red'. It is therefore the -ruth and not the red- part of the name which means the colour red.

Rhyd is the older form of res, which is a Cornish equivalent to a ford (across a river), a common Celtic word: Old Cornish rid, Welsh rhyd (Old Welsh rit), Old Breton rit or ret, Gaulish ritu-, all from Indo-European *prtus derived word in *-tu from the root *per, 'to cross, to go through', Proto-Germanic *furdúz (English ford, German Furt), Latin portus, all cognate to the Celtic word.

Béroul's Roman de Tristan features a location in Cornwall called Crois Rouge in Norman French, 'red cross' in English.

History

Traditionally in the Penwith Hundred, the town has developed away from the original settlement, which was near where the present Churchtown (around St. Euny's Church) district of Redruth stands today. This location is a steeply wooded valley, with Carn Brea on one side and the now-called Bullers Hill on the other. The presence of shallow lodes of tin and copper, 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; this process turned the colour of the river red.

Historically, Redruth was a small market town tgat was overshadowed by its neighbours, until a boom in the demand for copper ore during the 18th century. Copper ore had mostly been discarded by the Cornish tin-mining industry, but was now needed to make brass, an essential metal alloy in the Industrial 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.

Redruth was connected to the electric telegraph network in 1863, when the Electric and International Telegraph Company opened stations at Truro, Redruth, Penzance, Camborne, Liskard and St Austell.

In the 1880s and 1890s, the town end of Clinton Road gained a number of institutions, notably a School 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. The Mining 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 miners emigrated 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 the Golden Jubilee and this part of town had taken on its present appearance; this was 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 at Pool between Redruth and Camborne, closed in March 1998.

Geography

Redruth forms the eastern part of a loose conurbation which stretches to Camborne, 3 miles (4.8 km) to the west. At the 2011 census, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) 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. Cornwall Council similarly defined what it called Camborne/Pool/Redruth, which had a population of 55,400 in 2011. Following a change in methodology for the 2021 census, Redruth is now considered a separate built-up area by the ONS, with a population of 15,455.

On 7 November 2007, Redruth won an annual UK town centre environment award jointly with Luton, which is run by the BCSC. The judges praised the cast bronze dogs and also liked the large amount of work that had been done to the town in terms of landscaping the central area.

Governance

There are two tiers of local government covering Redruth, at parish (town) and unitary authority level: Redruth Town Council and Cornwall Council. The former is based at the Civic Centre, which was completed in 1880; it was originally the Redruth District Bank and the town's main post office.

Since the 2010 general election, the town has formed part of the Camborne and Redruth parliamentary constituency. The seat was won at the 2024 general election by Perran Moon of the Labour Party.

Administrative history

Redruth was an ancient parish in the Penwith Hundred of Cornwall. In 1837, the Redruth poor law union was created, grouping several parishes around Redruth together for the purposes of administering their responsibilities under the poor laws. They built a workhouse just west of Redruth in 1838, which eventually became the Camborne Redruth Community Hospital.

In 1853, the parish of Redruth was made a local board district, administered by an elected local board. Such local board districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894. The 1894 Act also established rural districts based on the poor law unions; the parts of the Redruth poor law union that were not included in urban districts became the Redruth Rural District.

Redruth Urban District Council established its headquarters in a former bank at 2 Station Hill, remaining there until the council's abolition. Redruth Urban District was abolished in 1934. The area was then merged with the abolished urban district of Camborne, the parish of Illogan, and parts of the parishes of Gwennap and Wendron to become the new Camborne–Redruth Urban District. Camborne-Redruth Urban District Council based itself in Camborne.

Camborne–Redruth Urban District was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, when the area became part of the Kerrier district.

The area of the pre-1974 Camborne-Redruth Urban District became an unparished area at the time of the 1974 reforms. Eight new civil parishes were subsequently created in 1985, covering the area of the former urban district, including one called Redruth. The new parish council adopted the name Redruth Town Council.

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.

Education

Redruth School, a Technology College, is a secondary school for ages 11–16. It used to have a sixth form, for students aged 16 to 18; however, it stopped applications for new students in 2016 and closed in 2020, due to funding cuts.

The town used to have a co-educational 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. 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. The former School of Science and Art is also the work of James Hicks; the later additions were built for the School of Mines.

Notable buildings

The Parish Church of St Uny, which is some distance from the town centre, is of Norman foundation but was rebuilt in 1756; it is grade II* listed. The patron saint is also honoured at Lelant. The tower is two centuries earlier and the whole church is built of granite. A chapel of ease was built in the town in 1828, but it is no longer in use. The parish of St Euny is part of a group ministry with the parishes of Pencoys, Lanner and Treleigh. 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).

The Mining Exchange building was used as a housing advice centre; it was built in 1880 as accommodation for share brokers.

The Old Courthouse was completed in 1850 and served the town until 1977; it later became offices for the solicitor who acted as clerk to the Redruth Rural District Council.

Murdoch House

The house now called Murdoch House in the middle of Cross Street was erected in the 1660s as a chapel and it later 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 of Boulton and Watt. He fitted the house out with gas lighting from coal 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 the Society of Friends (Quakers). Murdoch House has since been fully restored and is now regularly used by the Redruth Old Cornwall Society, as well as the Cornish-American Connection and the Redruth Story Group. St Rumon's Gardens is next door.

Kresen Kernow

Kresen Kernow, on the site of Redruth Brewery, houses the archives and collections of the former Cornwall Records Office and Cornish Studies Library. It also holds the Cornwall Tapestries, which depict the history of Cornwall in embroidery.

Tin Miner Statue

A bronze sculpture of a Cornish miner by artist David Annand, standing at 6 feet 7 inches, was erected in April 2008. 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.

Street landscaping

Street landscaping in Redruth includes wooden seating, with granite furniture, signposts, street lights and litter bins. Two sets of bronze dogs were cast from the boots of former tin miners by sculptor David Kemp. The town has a burgundy colour theme, which is in the public realm regeneration work to highlight the town's name. Several public buildings have been lit with LED coloured lights, including opposite the railway station and St Rumon's Gardens.

Amenities

Amenities within the town centre include a multi-screen cinema, a covered market way, an old butter market, several antique shops, a second-hand bookshop and two supermarkets. On Fore Street, there are two separate specialist shopping areas: Bond Street and Green Lane to the north.

On 20 June 2008, the town held its first regular farmers' market in Market Place; it was planned to be held subsequently every Friday.

Just outside the town is a visitor attraction, themed on the Robinson Shaft Mine, it offers parking, an adventure playground for older children and a restaurant. At times, the last working Cornish pumping engine can be seen working. The museum is an anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage.

A museum organised by the Old Cornwall Society is housed in the town council office at the bottom of the main street.

Transport

Railway

Redruth railway station lies on the Cornish Main Line; it is a railhead for both Helston and the Lizard. It is served by two train operating companies:

Great Western Railway operates regular inter-city services between London Paddington, Exeter St Davids, Plymouth and Penzance

CrossCountry operates a small number of services each day between Edinburgh Waverley, Birmingham New Street, Bristol Temple Meads and Penzance.

Buses

Local bus services are operated predominantly by Go Cornwall Bus; routes connect the town with Camborne, Falmouth, St Ives and Truro.

Roads

Redruth lies on the route of the main A30 road routes to Penwith, North Cornwall, South East Cornwall and Plymouth. Another road, the A393, bisects the town in a north–south direction, and links the A30 with the port of Falmouth. A third road, the A3047, links Redruth with Camborne, 4 miles (6.4 km) to the west.

Sport

Redruth Rugby Football Club currently plays in National League 2 South. Players such as Phil Vickery, Rob Thirlby and Richard Sharp have played for the club.

Redruth Cricket Club currently consists of four men's playing XIs, one women's XI and multiple youth sides. Redruth First XI plays in the Cornwall Cricket League ECB Premier League, coming second in the 2019 season. The Second XI was placed second in County League One, the second division of Cornish cricket, in the same year.

Redruth football club has not enjoyed as much success, but still thrives in its regular fixtures.

Duchy Hockey Club are based at Pool Academy, on the outskirts of Redruth, and competes in the West of England regional leagues.

Redruth was a major centre for Cornish wrestling for many centuries. The ancient traditional location for tournaments was at Plain-an-Gwarry; many other venues started to be used in the 1800s onwards, such as South Turnpike and the Recreation Ground. In 1887, the town hosted two challenge matches for the world title at the recreation ground and the Championship of World in 1889.

Notable people

Thomas Haweis (c.1734–1820), a Church of England cleric and a leading figure of the 18th century evangelical revival

William Pryce (1735–1790), medical man, antiquary, promoted the Cornish language and mining.

Henry Roach (1808–1889), a miner, captain of the Burra mine in South Australia from 1847 to 1867.

John Gray (1817–??), member of the Wisconsin State Assembly

John Passmore Edwards (1823–1911), Victorian philanthropist and journalist; born in nearby Blackwater

Harriet Carne (1831–1931), Canadian businesswoman, philanthropist, centenarian, born in Redruth

Nicholas Trestrail (1858–1922), mining engineer who designed Harvey's Engine, a Cornish beam engine

Fanny Moody (1866–1945), soprano, known as The Cornish Nightingale

Sidney Toy (1875–1967), architect and architectural historian

Hilda Moody (1876–1961), soprano and actress

Harold Hayman (1894–1966), politician, MP for Falmouth and Camborne, 1950-1966.

E. Florence Whitlock (1889–1978), composer and conductor

A. K. Hamilton Jenkin (1900–1980), a Cornish bard and historian

Svetlana Alliluyeva (1926–2011), daughter of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin

Performing arts

Benjamin Luxon (1937–2024), baritone and narrator

Alan Opie (born 1945), opera singer

Mick Fleetwood (born 1947), drummer and co-founder of the band Fleetwood Mac

Rory McGrath (born 1956), actor, writer and comedian

Dame Kristin Scott Thomas (born 1960), actress

Richard David James (born 1971), musician and DJ, also known as Aphex Twin, attended Redruth School

Ben Salfield (born 1971), lutenist, guitarist and composer

Luke Vibert (born 1973), musician and electronic music producer

Hedluv + Passman (formed 2007) both grew up in Redruth and wrote the song "Druth", in tribute to the town

Hevva, the traditional Cornish dance and music group, is based in Redruth.

Sport

James Davey (1880–1951), rugby union player and team silver medallist at the 1908 Summer Olympics

Bert Solomon (1885–1961), rugby union player, played 26 games for Cornwall and one for England

John Collins (born 1928), former rugby union player. played 3 games for England

Richard Sharp (1938–2025), rugby union player, played 28 games for Cornwall and 14 for England

Peter Tregloan (born 1957), former title-holding strongman and powerlifter

Rob Thirlby (born 1979) rugby union player who played 74 games and received call ups for England.

Twin towns

Redruth is twinned with:

Plumergat et Meriadec, Brittany, France

Mineral Point, Wisconsin, United States

Real del Monte, Hidalgo, Mexico