View source for Camborne

{{Short description|Town in Cornwall, England}}
{{About|the place in Cornwall}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{infobox UK place
| country = England
| official_name = Camborne
| static_image_name = Camborne Commercial Square.jpg
| static_image_caption = Commercial Square, Camborne Town Centre
| static_image_2 = Coat of arms of Camborne, Cornwall.svg
| static_image_2_width = 100
| static_image_2_caption = Coat of arms
| civil_parish = Camborne
| unitary_england = [[Cornwall]]
| lieutenancy_england = [[Cornwall]]
| cornish_name = Kammbronn
| website = [http://www.camborne-tc.gov.uk// www.camborne-tc.gov.uk]
| population = 21,600
| population_ref = ''(2013)''
| region = South West England
| constituency_westminster = [[Camborne and Redruth (UK Parliament constituency)|Camborne and Redruth]]
| post_town = CAMBORNE
| postcode_district = TR14
| postcode_area = TR
| dial_code = 01209
| os_grid_reference = SW645400
| coordinates = {{coord|50.213|-5.300|display=inline,title}}
}}
'''Camborne''' ([[Cornish language|Cornish]]: ''Kammbronn'', "crooked hill")<ref>Official Maga Placenames list, November 2012; [http://www.magakernow.org.uk/default.aspx?page=520 p. 520] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130515091028/http://www.magakernow.org.uk/default.aspx?page=520 |date=15 May 2013 }}</ref> is a town in [[Cornwall]], England.<ref name=EB1911>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Camborne}}</ref><ref>Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' {{ISBN|978-0-319-23148-7}}</ref> The population at the 2011 Census was 20,845.<ref>Office for National Statistics, Key Figures for 2011 Census: Key Statistics, Area: Camborne parish</ref><ref name="Town populations">{{cite web|title=Data from the 2011 Census (Office for National Statistics)|url=http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=31822|publisher=Cornwall Council|access-date=15 November 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://www.explorebritain.info/browse/cornwall/ Cornwall]; Explore Britain</ref> The northern edge of the parish includes a section of the [[South West Coast Path]], [[Hell's Mouth, Cornwall|Hell's Mouth]] and Deadman's Cove.
Camborne was formerly one of the richest [[Mining in Cornwall and Devon|tin mining]] areas in the world and home to the [[Camborne School of Mines]].
== Geography ==
Camborne is in the western part of the largest urban and industrial area in Cornwall with the town of [[Redruth]] {{convert|3|mi|km|0|abbr=off|spell=on}} east. It is the ecclesiastical centre of a large [[civil parish]] and has a [[town council]]. Camborne-Redruth is on the northern side of the [[Carn Brea, Redruth|Carn Brea]]/[[Carnmenellis]] granite upland which slopes northwards to the sea. The two towns are linked by the A3047 road which was [[Toll road|turnpiked]] in 1839 and the villages along the road (from the west) were Roskear, Tuckingmill, Pool and Illogan. Running north-south are a number of small streams with narrow river valleys which have been deeply-cut following centuries of [[Dartmoor tin-mining#Streaming|tin streaming]] and other industrial processes. An example is the [[Red River (Koner)|Red River]] valley which crosses the A3047 at Tuckingmill. To the north, the [[A30 (road)]] forms a boundary between the urban area and the agricultural land on the other side.<ref>{{cite map|title=OS Explorer Map 104. Redruth & St Agnes|date=2013|publisher=Ordnance Survey|location=Southampton|isbn=978 0 319 24034 2|edition=B2}}</ref><ref name="cahill">{{cite book|last1=Cahill|first1=Nick J|title=Cornwall Industrial Settlements Initiative. Camborne (Camborne-Redruth Area)|date=2002|publisher=Cornwall County Council|location=Truro}}</ref>
===Climate===
Camborne has an [[oceanic climate]] typical of Cornwall with particularly narrow temperature ranges even by [[Climate of the United Kingdom|British standards]]. The absence of a large landmass nearby means that warm air from the continent gets cooled down over the sea in summer. In winter, cold air masses get moderated by the same effect. Rainfall is frequent all year due to moist air from the [[Gulf Stream]].
{{Weather box|location = Camborne, elevation: {{convert|87|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}} (1991–2020 normals), extremes 1973–present
|collapsed =
|metric first = y
|single line = y
|Jan record high C = 15.5
|Feb record high C = 16.0
|Mar record high C = 18.5
|Apr record high C = 22.3
|May record high C = 24.5
|Jun record high C = 27.7
|Jul record high C = 30.4
|Aug record high C = 30.4
|Sep record high C = 27.1
|Oct record high C = 23.8
|Nov record high C = 18.8
|Dec record high C = 15.3
|year record high C = 30.4
|Jan avg record high C = 12.4
|Feb avg record high C = 12.1
|Mar avg record high C = 14.1
|Apr avg record high C = 16.9
|May avg record high C = 20.1
|Jun avg record high C = 22.4
|Jul avg record high C = 23.5
|Aug avg record high C = 22.6
|Sep avg record high C = 21.5
|Oct avg record high C = 18.1
|Nov avg record high C = 15.1
|Dec avg record high C = 12.9
|year avg record high C = 24.7
|Jan high C = 9.2
|Feb high C = 9.2
|Mar high C = 10.2
|Apr high C = 12.1
|May high C = 14.5
|Jun high C = 16.9
|Jul high C = 18.7
|Aug high C = 19.0
|Sep high C = 17.5
|Oct high C = 14.6
|Nov high C = 11.8
|Dec high C = 9.9
|year high C =
|Jan mean C = 7.1
|Feb mean C = 6.9
|Mar mean C = 7.8
|Apr mean C = 9.4
|May mean C = 11.7
|Jun mean C = 14.1
|Jul mean C = 16.0
|Aug mean C = 16.2
|Sep mean C = 14.8
|Oct mean C = 12.3
|Nov mean C = 9.6
|Dec mean C = 7.8
|year mean C =
|Jan low C = 4.9
|Feb low C = 4.6
|Mar low C = 5.4
|Apr low C = 6.6
|May low C = 8.8
|Jun low C = 11.3
|Jul low C = 13.2
|Aug low C = 13.4
|Sep low C = 12.0
|Oct low C = 10.0
|Nov low C = 7.4
|Dec low C = 5.6
|year low C =
|Jan avg record low C = -0.5
|Feb avg record low C = -0.5
|Mar avg record low C = 0.8
|Apr avg record low C = 1.9
|May avg record low C = 4.6
|Jun avg record low C = 7.3
|Jul avg record low C = 9.4
|Aug avg record low C = 9.6
|Sep avg record low C = 8.0
|Oct avg record low C = 5.2
|Nov avg record low C = 2.1
|Dec avg record low C = 0.3
|year avg record low C = -2.2
|Jan record low C = -9.4
|Feb record low C = -6.3
|Mar record low C = -5.2
|Apr record low C = -2.3
|May record low C = 0.3
|Jun record low C = 4.8
|Jul record low C = 7.0
|Aug record low C = 7.4
|Sep record low C = 4.8
|Oct record low C = -0.3
|Nov record low C = -3.8
|Dec record low C = -4.7
|year record low C = -9.4
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 120.6
|Feb precipitation mm = 94.6
|Mar precipitation mm = 71.8
|Apr precipitation mm = 72.8
|May precipitation mm = 61.2
|Jun precipitation mm = 62.9
|Jul precipitation mm = 69.0
|Aug precipitation mm = 78.5
|Sep precipitation mm = 77.5
|Oct precipitation mm = 111.2
|Nov precipitation mm = 129.8
|Dec precipitation mm = 126.1
|year precipitation mm = 1075.8
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 16.6
|Feb precipitation days = 13.6
|Mar precipitation days = 12.1
|Apr precipitation days = 11.6
|May precipitation days = 9.8
|Jun precipitation days = 9.5
|Jul precipitation days = 9.8
|Aug precipitation days = 11.4
|Sep precipitation days = 11.4
|Oct precipitation days = 15.0
|Nov precipitation days = 17.5
|Dec precipitation days = 17.0
|year precipitation days = 155.3
|Jan sun = 61.1
|Feb sun = 84.5
|Mar sun = 125.3
|Apr sun = 187.5
|May sun = 216.2
|Jun sun = 214.6
|Jul sun = 198.9
|Aug sun = 187.2
|Sep sun = 159.7
|Oct sun = 111.6
|Nov sun = 70.2
|Dec sun = 55.4
|year sun = 1672.1
|source 1 = [[Met Office]]<ref name="Met Averages">{{cite web |url=https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/research/climate/maps-and-data/uk-climate-averages/gbujwtyv1 |title= Camborne 1991–2020 averages |access-date=5 March 2022 |publisher=Met Office}}</ref>
|source 2 = [[Royal Netherlands Met Institute|KNMI]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eca.knmi.nl/indicesextremes/customquerytimeseriesplots.php |title=Camborne extremes |access-date=8 November 2011 |publisher=[[KNMI (institute)|KNMI]]}}</ref> Infoclimat<ref name=Infoclimat>{{cite web|url=https://www.infoclimat.fr/climatologie/annee/1991/camborne/valeurs/03808.html|title=Climatologie de l'année à Camborne|publisher=Infoclimat|language=fr|access-date=1 October 2023}}</ref>
}}
The [[UK Met Office]] operate an Upper Air Station in Camborne.
==History==
===Early history===
[[File:The Clock Tower ^ Old Market, Camborne - geograph.org.uk - 3647669.jpg|thumb|The [[Market House, Camborne|Market House]]]]
The first mention of the [[Middle Ages|medieval]] Camborne churchtown is in 1181 although in 1931 the ruins of a probable [[Roman Empire|Romano-British]] [[Roman villa|villa]] were found at Magor Farm, Illogan, near Camborne, and excavated that year under the guidance of the [[Royal Institution of Cornwall]].<ref name="cahill"/><ref>B.H. St. J. O'Neil, "Roman villa in Cornwall", ''Antiquity'' 5 (1931), pp. 494–5, with photographs</ref>
There are also early Christian sites such as an inscribed [[altar]] stone, (now in the Church of [[Martin of Tours|St Martin]] and [[St Meriadoc]]), and dated to the 10th or 11th centuries, which attests to the existence of a settlement then.<ref name="Elisabeth Okasha 1993 pp.82-84">See the discussion and bibliography in Elisabeth Okasha, ''Corpus of early Christian inscribed stones of South-west Britain'' (Leicester: University Press, 1993), pp.82–84.</ref>
Langdon (1896) records seven stone crosses in the parish of which two are at Pendarves. By the late Middle Ages [[Manor (feudal Europe)|manorial holdings]] developed in the surrounding area, and church-paths linked the churchtown to the outlying hamlets. [[Mystery play#Miracle play|Cornish medieval mystery plays]] were held in a [[Plen-an-gwary|playing place]] and the churchyard is said to have had a pilgrimage chapel and holy well. [[John Norden]] visited in 1584 and described Camborne as "{{lang|enm|A churche standinge among the barrayne hills}}". At this time there would have been moors and rough grazing as well as small fields in the surrounding countryside.<ref name="cahill"/>
By 1708 Camborne had rights to hold markets and three fairs a year. A sign of increasing industrial activity and increasing industrial population is the first chapel built in 1806 and the development of a local [[Methodist]] community. In 1823 the population was around 2,000 and in 1841 it was 4,377, with 75 [[Blacksmith|smiths]] recorded and over two-thirds of the working population employed in the mining industry. In the expanding town [[gasworks]] were opened in 1834, the [[Hayle Railway]] was built (1834–37) and [[Holman Brothers|Holmans]] opened a small foundry in 1839.<ref name="cahill"/> The current [[Market House, Camborne|Market House]] was completed in 1866.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=The Berkeley Centre|num=1311028|access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref>
===Mining===
[[File:Tin-mining-cornwall-c1890.jpg|thumb|View east from [[Dolcoath Mine]], 1893]]
Mining is first recorded locally in the 1400s with early exploitation of the small streams cutting through the mineralised area and from shallow mines following lodes. [[Adit|Adit mining]] was first recorded in the 16th century.<ref name="cahill"/> The town is best known as a centre for the former Cornish [[tin]] and copper mining industry, having its working heyday during the later 18th and early 19th centuries. Camborne was just a village until transformed by the mining boom which began in the late 18th century and saw the Camborne and Redruth district become the "richest square mile in the old world".<ref name=dark>{{cite news|url=https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/dark-day-cornwalls-last-mine-3965461|title=The dark day when Cornwall's last mine at South Crofty closed down|date=25 March 2020|newspaper=Cornwall Live|access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref>
As the economic recession of the 1870s led to the first years of mining decline in Camborne, social tensions mounted. In October 1873 thousands of miners, aided and abetted by the townspeople, rioted against a hated, authoritarian police force. One of the greatest shows of mining defiance in Cornish history left the Town Hall vandalised, the Police Station ransacked, and the estimated fifty constables present in the town beaten and scattered. The militia were called in from Plymouth to quell the insurrection, and the Home Secretary, [[Robert Lowe]], asked to be kept informed of events. The Camborne riots were reported in the national newspapers and [[Colman Rashleigh|Sir Colman Rashleigh]], JP for Cornwall, had to address the Grand Jury regarding the tumult. The entire Camborne police force was found to be at fault and either removed from duty or transferred as a result. No rioter was ever convicted.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Camborne Riots of 1873|url=https://camborneriot1873.com/|access-date=2021-04-10|website=The Camborne Riots of 1873}}</ref>
[[File:Harriets.jpg|thumb|left|Harriets Pumping Engine house, part of [[Dolcoath Mine]], built in 1860]]
[[Dolcoath Mine]], (English: ''Old Ground Mine''), the 'Queen of Cornish Mines' was, at a depth of 3,500 feet (1,067 m), for many years the deepest mine in the world, not to mention one of the oldest before its closure in 1921. The ''last'' working tin mine in Europe, [[South Crofty]], which closed in 1998, is also to be found in Camborne.<ref name=dark/>
====Mining related====
[[File:Holmans drill 1955.jpg|thumb|right|Holmans Rock Drill from 1955 (taken from the 55 vol. of [[Camborne School of Mines|CSM]] Magazine)]]
Apart from the mines themselves, Camborne was also home to many important related industries, including the once world-renowned [[foundry]] of [[Holman Bros Ltd]] ([[CompAir]]). Holmans, a family business founded in 1801, was for generations, Camborne's, and indeed Cornwall's largest manufacturer of industrial equipment, even making the famous [[Sten]] [[submachine gun]] for a stint during the [[Second World War]]. The [[Holman Projector]] was used by the [[Royal Navy]]. At its height Holmans was spread over three sites within Camborne, employing some three and half thousand men. Despite Britain's [[deindustrialization|industrial decline]], Compair Holmans Camborne factory finally closed in 2003.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/7195356.millions-lost-at-compair/|title=Millions lost at Compair|date=8 May 2003|newspaper=Somerset County Gazette|access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref>
A modest quantity of South Crofty tin was purchased by a local enterprise and this gradually dwindling stock is used to make specialist tin jewellery, branded as the South Crofty Collection. Tin originally mined at South Crofty was used to form the bronze medals awarded in the 2012 London Olympics.<ref>[http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Cornish-tin-form-Olympic-medal/story-15523762-detail/story.html Cornish tin to form part of Olympic medal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324201141/http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/Cornish-tin-form-Olympic-medal/story-15523762-detail/story.html |date=24 March 2012 }} Western Morning News Thursday, 15 March 2012</ref>
====Camborne School of Mines====
Because of the prior importance of metal mining to the Cornish economy, the [[Camborne School of Mines]] (CSM) developed as the only specialist hard rock education establishment in the United Kingdom, until the [[Royal School of Mines]] was established in 1851. Plans for the school were laid out in 1829, leading to the current school in 1888. It now forms part of the [[University of Exeter]]; it moved to the university's Tremough campus (now known as [[Penryn Campus]]) in 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lib-archives.ex.ac.uk/record.aspx?src=CalmView.Catalog&id=CSM|title=Camborne School of Mines|publisher=Exeter University Archives|access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref>
===Steam locomotion===
[[File:Camborne Library And Richard Trevithick Statue - geograph.org.uk - 23241.jpg|thumb|Camborne Public Library, with [[Richard Trevithick]]'s statue in front]]
On Christmas Eve 1801, the [[Puffing Devil]] – a steam-powered road locomotive built by Camborne engineer [[Richard Trevithick]] – made its way up [[Camborne Hill]] in Cornwall.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/uncovered/stories/august2004/walk_through_time/06.shtml |title=BBC Cornwall – Nature – Camborne History<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=20 December 2019 |archive-date=11 March 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050311225256/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cornwall/uncovered/stories/august2004/walk_through_time/06.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was the world's first self-propelled passenger carrying vehicle. The events have been turned into a local song:<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.oldcornwall.org/camborne_hill.htm|title=Camborne Hill |publisher=Old Cornwall |access-date=26 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908095836/http://www.oldcornwall.org/camborne_hill.htm|archive-date=8 September 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
:''Going up Camborne Hill, coming down,''
:''Going up Camborne Hill, coming down,''
:''The horses stood still,''
:''The wheels turn around,''
:''Going up Camborne Hill, coming down.''
==Cornish language==
The [[Cornish language]] was the language of the area around Camborne until the beginning of the 18th century and it is recorded that everyone living west of Truro spoke Cornish in 1644.<ref name="Spriggs, 2003.">{{cite journal|last=Spriggs|first=Matthew|title=Where Cornish was spoken and when: a provisional synthesis|journal=Cornish Studies|year=2003|series=Second Series|issue=11|pages=228–269}}</ref> [[Nicholas Boson]] wrote that Cornish was spoken as far east as Redruth and Falmouth circa 1700.<ref name="Spriggs, 2003." /> In 1700 the pioneering Celtic linguist [[Edward Lhuyd]] came to Cornwall to study the language and visited Camborne, detailing many aspects of the parish.<ref name="Williams, 1993">{{cite book|last1=Williams|first1=Derek R.|title=Prying into Every Hole and Corner: Edward Lhuyd in Cornwall in 1700|date=1993|publisher=Dyllansow Truran|page=15}}</ref>
One of the most important surviving works of medieval Cornish literature is [[Beunans Meriasek]], the Life of [[Meriasek|St Meriadoc]] the patron saint of Camborne.<ref name="Berresford Ellis, 1974.">{{cite book|last1=Ellis|first1=Peter Berresford |title=The Cornish Language and its Literature|date=1974|publisher=Routledge & kegan Paul Ltd|location=London}}</ref> In the 19th century the nickname for Camborne people was Mera-jacks, or Merry-geeks, and those who washed in St Meriasek's well were called Merrasicks, Merrasickers, Moragicks or Mearagaks.<ref name="Ball, 1990">{{cite book|last1=Ball|first1=Martin John|title=Celtic Linguistics|date=1990|publisher=John Benjamins Publishing|page=255|isbn=9789027278302|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GQBCAAAAQBAJ|access-date=7 February 2016}}</ref>
In the 20th century several Cornish words and phrases were noted as still in use amongst the inhabitants of Camborne. These include ''taw tavas'' (silent tongue) and ''allycumpoester'' (all in order).<ref name="Berresford Ellis, 1974." /><ref name="Glossary of Celtic Words in Cornish Dialect">{{cite book|last=Nance|first=Robert Morton|title=Glossary of Celtic Words in Cornish Dialect|year=1923|publisher=Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society|location=Falmouth}}</ref>
Although a limited amount of Cornish was taught in some schools in west Cornwall during the 19th and early 20th centuries the first school to properly dedicate itself to teaching revived Cornish was the Mount Pleasant House school run by [[E. G. Retallack Hooper]] in the post-[[Second World War]] period.<ref name="Berresford Ellis, 1974." /> By 1984 Cornish was being taught in Troon and Camborne primary schools as well as Camborne secondary school and there was a Cornish language playgroup. In 2000 Roskear and Weeth schools were teaching Cornish.<ref>{{cite book|last1=O'Néill|first1=Diarmuid|title=Rebuilding the Celtic Languages: Reversing Language Shift in the Celtic Countries|date=2005|publisher=Y Lolfa}}</ref>
In the [[2011 United Kingdom census]], although there was no specific Cornish language question, thirty people living in the parish of Camborne declared that Cornish was their main language at home, thirteen in Troon and Beacon.<ref>UK 2011 Census</ref>
==Governance==
===Parliamentary representation===
The [[Camborne and Redruth (UK Parliament constituency)|Camborne and Redruth]] [[county constituency|constituency]] was created for the [[2010 United Kingdom general election|2010 general election]], following a review of parliamentary representation in [[Cornwall]] by the [[Boundary Commissions (United Kingdom)|Boundary Commission for England]], which increased the number of seats in the county from five to six.<ref name="BCECornwall">{{cite web|url=http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/review_areas/downloads/FR_NR_Cornwall_the_Isles_of_Scilly.doc |archive-url=http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20091102212641/http://www.boundarycommissionforengland.org.uk/review_areas/downloads/FR_NR_Cornwall_the_Isles_of_Scilly.doc |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 November 2009 |title=Final recommendations for Parliamentary constituencies in the county of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly |publisher=[[Boundary Commission for England]] |date=9 January 2005 |access-date=1 January 2010 }}</ref>
It is primarily a successor to the former [[Falmouth and Camborne (UK Parliament constituency)|Falmouth and Camborne]] seat.
In the [[2024 United Kingdom general election]] the results were:
{{Election box begin|title=[[2024 United Kingdom general election|General election 2024]]: Camborne and Redruth<ref>{{cite web |author1=Kate Kennally |title=Statement of Persons Nominated, Notice of Poll and Situation of Polling Stations – Camborne and Redruth |url=https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/media/g03dtbv5/statement-of-persons-nominated-notice-of-poll-and-situation-of-polling-stations-camborne-and-redruth.pdf |website=[[Cornwall Council]] |access-date=8 June 2024 |date=7 June 2024}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|party=Labour Party (UK)|candidate=[[Perran Moon]]|votes=19,360|percentage=40.5|change=+6.3}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Conservative Party (UK)|candidate=Connor Donnithorne|votes=11,554|percentage=24.2|change=-29.1}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Reform UK|candidate=Roger Tarrant|votes=8,952|percentage=18.7|change=+18.7}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Liberal Democrats (UK)|candidate=Thalia Marrington|votes=4,113|percentage=8.6|change=+0.1}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Green Party of England and Wales|candidate=Catherine Hayes|votes=2,840|percentage=5.9|change=+3.1}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Liberal Party (UK, 1989)|candidate=Paul Holmes|votes=624|percentage=1.3|change=0.0}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Socialist Labour Party (UK)|candidate=Robert Hawkins|votes=342|percentage=0.7|change=+0.7}}
{{Election box majority|votes=7,806|percentage=16.3|change=+2.3|}}{{Election box turnout|votes=48,007|percentage=64.6|change=-7.1|}}
{{Election box gain with party link|winner=Labour Party (UK)|loser=Conservative Party (UK)|swing=+17.7}}
{{Election box end}}
===Local government===
[[File:Old Council Offices (geograph 6137336).jpg|thumb|The [[Old Council Offices, Camborne|old council offices]]]]
The Camborne Local Board was established in 1873; the seal was a mine shaft and engine house depicted with the date 1873 and the legend "The Local Board for the District of Camborne".<ref>{{cite book|last=Pascoe|first=W. H.|title=A Cornish Armory|page=132|year=1979|publisher=Lodenek Press|location=Padstow, Cornwall|isbn=0-902899-76-7}}</ref> This was replaced by the [[Camborne Urban District]] in 1895 which commissioned the [[Old Council Offices, Camborne|council offices]] in 1903.<ref name="cahill"/> The urban district was merged with that of Redruth and parts of [[Redruth Rural District]] and [[Helston Rural District]] (both of which were being abolished) in 1934 to form the [[Camborne-Redruth Urban District]]. The urban district persisted until it was merged into the [[Kerrier]] district of Cornwall under the [[Local Government Act 1972]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Local Government Act 1972. 1972 c.70|publisher=The Stationery Office Ltd|isbn=0-10-547072-4|year=1997}}</ref>
====Cornwall Council====
Until May 2021, Camborne was represented by five electoral divisions: [[Camborne Pendarves (electoral division)|Camborne Pendarves]], [[Camborne Roskear (electoral division)|Camborne Roskear]], [[Camborne Trelowarren (electoral division)|Camborne Trelowarren]], [[Camborne Treslothan (electoral division)|Camborne Treslothan]], and [[Camborne Treswithian (electoral division)|Camborne Treswithian]]. From the [[2021 Cornwall Council election]], Camborne will be covered by four divisions: Four Lanes, Beacon and Troon; Camborne Roskear and Tuckingmill; Camborne Trelowarren; and Camborne West and Treswithian.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Whitehouse|first=Richard|date=2021-05-05|title=Big hitters are going head-to-head Cornwall Council elections|url=https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/cornwall-news/key-battlegrounds-weeks-cornwall-council-5373561|access-date=2021-05-05|website=CornwallLive}}</ref>
====List of mayors====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="2" | Member
! Party
! Date
|-
| style="background-color:{{party color|Mebyon Kernow}}" |
| Zoe Fox
| [[Mebyon Kernow]]
| 2021<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mayor of Camborne {{!}} Camborne Town Council|url=https://www.camborne-tc.gov.uk/mayor-camborne|access-date=2021-05-21|website=camborne-tc.gov.uk}}</ref>
|}
'''Political composition of Town Council'''
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! colspan="2" | Party
! Councillors
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Mebyon Kernow}}
| 7
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Independent (politician)}}
| 3
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}
| 4
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Green Party of England and Wales}}
| 1
|-
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}}
|3
|-
! colspan="2" | Total
! 18
|-
| colspan="3" | Source:<ref>{{Cite web |title=Councillors {{!}} Camborne Town Council |url=https://www.camborne-tc.gov.uk/councillors |access-date=2023-04-11 |website=camborne-tc.gov.uk}}</ref>
|}
====List of Town Criers====
*Henry Eva Hocking, circa 1850–1873
*Joseph Treloar, 1873–1886
*Charles Rosevear, 1886–1901
*George Rosevear, 1901–1934
==Church history==
[[File:Camborne Parish Church - geograph.org.uk - 189351.jpg|thumb|Camborne Parish Church]]
[[File:Two ancient crosses in the grounds of Camborne Parish Church - geograph.org.uk - 1017203.jpg|thumb|Two ancient crosses in the grounds of Camborne Parish Church]]
[[St Martin and St Meriadoc’s Church, Camborne|Camborne's parish church]] is dedicated to [[Martin of Tours|St Martin]] and [[St Meriadoc]]: it is entirely of granite, of 15th century date, but incorporating earlier structural features, including a Norman chevron stone in the west wall of the north aisle found in 2009 and is [[Listed building|listed]] Grade I. St Martin was added to the original dedication to St Meriadoc in the 15th century. There is a western tower about 60 feet high containing eight bells (with a clock before 1882) and the aisles are identical in design: the building was gutted and restored in 1861-62 and an outer south aisle was added in 1878–79 to a design by [[James Piers St Aubyn]].<ref>Pevsner, N. (1970) ''Cornwall'', 2nd ed., revised by Enid Radcliffe. Penguin Books; pp. 49–50</ref> The church was re-opened on 7 August 1879 by [[Edward Benson (bishop)|Edward Benson]], the [[Bishop of Truro]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Camborne Church Enlarged and Re-Opened|work=The Cornishman|issue=57|date=14 August 1879|page=7}}</ref>
An inscribed [[altar]] stone found at Chapel Ia, Troon (now set up as the Lady Chapel altar in the parish church), and dated to the 10th or 11th centuries, attests to the existence of a settlement then.<ref name="Elisabeth Okasha 1993 pp.82-84"/> It is inscribed '{{lang|la|Leuiut iusit hec altare pro anima sua}}'. The chapel of St Ia was recorded in 1429 and a holy well was nearby. The site was called Fenton-ear (i.e. the well of Ia). The stone is very similar to one now used as the mensa of the Lady Chapel altar at Treslothan Parish Church, formerly used from c.1841 to 1955 as the base for a sundial in the grounds of Pendarves House.<ref name="Cornish Church Guide 1925 p. 71">''Cornish Church Guide'' (1925) Truro: Blackford; p. 71</ref>
Camborne churchyard contains a number of crosses collected from nearby sites: the finest is one found in a well at Crane in 1896 but already known from [[William Borlase]]'s account of it when it was at Fenton-ear. Arthur Langdon (1896) records six crosses in the parish, including two at [[Troon, Cornwall|Pendarves]], two at Trevu and one outside the institute.<ref>Langdon, A. G. (1896) ''Old Cornish Crosses''. Truro: Joseph Pollard</ref> There is a cross at Camborne Park Recreation Ground.<ref>{{NHLE|desc=Wayside Cross at Camborne Park Recreation Ground|num=1003049|access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref>
Two other chapels are known to have existed in the medieval period: one not far from the parish church was dedicated to Our Lady and St Anne and one at Menadarva (derived from Merther-Derwa) was one of Celtic origin dedicated to St Derwa, Virgin, but mentioned in 1429.<ref name="Cornish Church Guide 1925 p. 71"/>
==Transport==
The [[A30 road|A30]] [[trunk road]] now by-passes the town around its northern edge. The old A30 through the town has become the A3047.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/1517/made|title=The A30 Trunk Road (Treswithian Junction, Camborne, to Scorrier Junction, Near Redruth, Cornwall) (Temporary Prohibition and Restriction of Traffic) Order 2010|publisher=UK Legislation|access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref>
The railway station is a half-mile south from the town centre, with a [[level crossing]] and [[footbridge]] at its eastern end. [[Camborne railway station]] used to be famous for its short platforms, which meant that passengers on main line services between [[Paddington railway station|London Paddington]] and [[Penzance railway station|Penzance]] could only board and alight from certain carriages. Partly because of this not all services stopped at Camborne, preferring nearby [[Redruth railway station|Redruth]] (which is also classed by [[Great Western Railway (train operating company)|Great Western Railway]] (GWR) as a short station stop). The platforms have been upgraded but the memory lives on, again partly in stories by the comedian [[Jethro (comedian)|Jethro]]. Camborne railway station is served by [[CrossCountry]] and GWR trains. CrossCountry provide one service in each direction from Plymouth-Penzance.<ref>{{NRtimes|May 2018|51 & 135}}</ref>
Camborne was, for a quarter of a century, one of the termini of [[Camborne and Redruth Tramways|Cornwall's only tram service]]. This system was opened in November 1902 and ran a regular service to Redruth until it closed in September 1927.<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Camborne tram cars to stop. Passenger service ceases end of month
|url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000331/19270914/002/0002 |newspaper=Cornishman |location=England |date=14 September 1927 |access-date=17 April 2016 |via = British Newspaper Archive |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
==Sport==
[[Camborne RFC]] were established in 1878 and are one of the most famous clubs in Cornwall, having produced numerous Cornwall players over the years. In 1987 Camborne were the highest placed Cornish club in the newly formed National leagues when they entered at [[1987–88 Courage Area League South]] (equivalent to [[National League 2 South]] today). Camborne is one of the grounds used by the [[Cornish rugby]] team and has hosted many notable international sides including the [[New Zealand]] '[[All Blacks]]' in 1905, 1924 and 1953, [[Australia national rugby union team|Australia]] in 1908, 1947 and 1967, [[South Africa national rugby union team|South Africa]] 1960, [[United States national rugby union team|United States]] 1977 and numerous other touring sides such as the [[South African Barbarians]] and [[Canterbury Rugby Football Union|Canterbury (NZ)]]. Since 2006 it was agreed to ground share the Recreation Ground with local [[RFU Championship|Division One]] team the [[Cornish Pirates]] and the ground has undergone major refurbishment including a new stand for the 2007–08 and 2008–09 seasons.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cornish-pirates.com/stadium.htm |title=Pirates groundshare at Camborne RFC starts in 2006 |access-date=31 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080827020648/http://www.cornish-pirates.com/stadium.htm |archive-date=27 August 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Notable local rugby players include [[Josh Matavesi]] 18-year-old debut for [[Fiji national rugby union team|Fiji]] against [[Scotland national rugby union team|Scotland]] in 2010, his younger brother Sam, debut against [[Canada national rugby union team|Canada]] in 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/22796070|title=Plymouth Albion forward Sam Matavesi makes Fiji debut|publisher=BBC Sport|access-date=23 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Sam-Matavesi-player-profile/story-19819942-detail/story.html|title=Sam Matavesi player profile|access-date=23 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303222327/http://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/Sam-Matavesi-player-profile/story-19819942-detail/story.html|archive-date=3 March 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref>
===Cornish wrestling===
Camborne has been a major centre for [[Cornish wrestling]] for many centuries. There were various venues where tournaments were held including: the field adjoining the Pendarves Arms Inn at Beacon,<ref name="RCG02111877">Royal Cornwall Gazette, 2 November 1877.</ref><ref name="CRT13101921">Cornubian and Redruth Times, 13 October 1921.</ref> the Unicorn Inn,<ref name="WBCA11091857">The West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 11 September 1857, p1.</ref> the White Hart Inn<ref name="WBCA19071839">The West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 19 July 1839, p3.</ref> and the recreation ground.<ref name="CG23081928">Cornish Guardian, 23 August 1928.</ref> There were various local cups that were competed for including the "Mrs Bramble Cup",<ref name="CPMN10071926">Cornish Post and Mining News, 10 July 1926.</ref> the "Allen Cup"<ref name="CPMN09071927">Cornish Post and Mining News, 9 July 1927.</ref> and the "Moreing Cup".<ref name="C06071927">Cornishman, 6 July 1927.</ref>
Sam Ham (1880–1946),<ref name="WMN31032010">''Solved: mystery of a stolen wrestling trophy'', The Western Morning News, 31 March 2010, p5.</ref> was born in [[Higher Condurrow|Condurrow]] near Camborne, was the 1910 middleweight Cornish wrestling champion of South Africa.<ref name="C13101910">''Our South African Letter'', Cornishman, 13 October 1910, p8.</ref><ref name="C31101946">''Mr S Ham'', Cornishman, 31 October 1946, p2.</ref>
See [[Roskear#Cornish wrestling|Cornish wrestling in Roskear]] and [[Pool, Cornwall#Cornish wrestling|Cornish wrestling in Pool]]
==Education ==
A Church of England National School was built in College Street in 1844 (replaced by a newer building further up the street towards the parish church in 1896-now demolished); in the following year a school for four hundred boys was opened in the Centenary Methodist Chapel and in 1847 the Basset Road British (Methodist) School was opened. A [[Camborne School of Mines|School of Mines]] started in 1872 with the [[Basset family]] paying for chemistry laboratories.<ref name="cahill"/> The town now has a number of schools covering all age ranges, notably the main secondary school, [[Camborne Science and International Academy]] (founded in 1956 as Treswithian School), and a campus of [[Cornwall College (England)|Cornwall College]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cornwall.ac.uk/locations/cornwall-college-camborne/|title=Cornwall College Camborne|access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref>
A private girls' school was founded in 1877 as Redbrook College with about 20 pupils. It became a state grammar school for girls in 1908 as [[Camborne Grammar School]], and merged with Treswithian School in the change to comprehensive education in the 1970s.
==Twinning==
Camborne is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with two places: [[Sainte-Anne-d'Auray|Santez-Anna-Wened]] in Brittany, France, and [[Pachuca, Hidalgo]] in Mexico. Camborne was twinned with Pachuca at a ceremony in Mexico on 3 July 2008.<ref>[http://www.cornish-mexico.org/news.htm Camborne twinned with Pachuca, Mexico] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151018161110/http://www.cornish-mexico.org/news.htm |date=18 October 2015 }}</ref>
The town name inspired the name of [[Camborne, New Zealand]], a seaside suburb of [[Porirua]] City developed by an investment company headed by an Arthur Cornish. Most of its street names are of Cornish origin. It adjoins the suburb of [[Plimmerton]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.porirualibrary.org.nz/Heritage/History-of-Plimmerton-and-Camborne/Plimmerton-and-Camborne-Signpost-Stories#Camborne|title=Plimmerton and Camborne Signpost Stories – Library, Porirua City, NZ.|website=porirualibrary.org.nz|access-date=2019-01-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118013547/http://porirualibrary.org.nz/Heritage/History-of-Plimmerton-and-Camborne/Plimmerton-and-Camborne-Signpost-Stories#Camborne|archive-date=2019-01-18|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Culture==
===Music===
*[[Camborne Town Band]] has been contesting music records from the late 19th century until the present day. It has performed on [[BBC Radio]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08hctbv|title=Camborne Town Band at 175|publisher=BBC|access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref>
*[[Holman Climax Male Voice Choir]], based in Camborne, was formed in 1940 by Edgar S. Kessell (1910–1981).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cornishnationalmusicarchive.co.uk/content/holman-climax-male-voice-choir/|title=Holman Climax Male Voice Choir|publisher=Cornish National Music Archive| access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref>
===Literature and film===
*[[Alan M. Kent]]'s 2005 novel ''Proper job, Charlie Curnow!'' is set in and around the Trelawney Estate, a fictional housing estate on the outskirts of Camborne.<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=aP7RAAAACAAJ   |title=Proper job, Charlie Curnow!|publisher=Halsgrove Press|first= Alan M.|last=Kent|year=2005|isbn=978-1841144887}}</ref>
* [[Zoie Palmer]] is an actress who was born in Camborne.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cornwalllive.com/news/celebs-tv/32-celebrities-who-went-school-6065712|title=32 celebrities who went to school in Cornwall|publisher=Cornwall Live|date=17 October 2021|access-date=28 May 2023}}</ref>
==Notable people==
*[[Annie Carvosso]] (1861–1932), activist and social reformer<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cherrington |first1=Ernest Hurst |title=Standard Encyclopedia of the Alcohol Problem |date=1925 |publisher=American Issue Publishing Company |volume=2 |via=Internet Archive |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/standardencyclop02cher/page/529 |page=529 |chapter=CARVOSSO, ANNIE (ADAMS) |access-date=18 December 2022}} {{Source-attribution}}</ref>
==References==
{{Portal|Geography|Cornwall}}
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.camborne-tc.gov.uk/ Camborne Town Council] – Information on the town
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20160106041352/http://crocat.cornwall.gov.uk/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Overview.tcl&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqSearch=((text)=%27camborne%27)&dsqPos=0&dsqNum=50 Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Camborne]
*[https://www.cambornetown.com/ Camborne Town Website]
{{Cornwall|state=collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Camborne| ]]
[[Category:Civil parishes in Cornwall]]
[[Category:Towns in Cornwall]]
[[Category:Mining in Cornwall]]
[[Category:Cornish Killas]]