Torpoint
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The Ellis Memorial in memory of James B. Ellis a Torpoint man who drowned in July 1897 trying to save two boys from the river Tamar. | |
Location within Cornwall | |
Population | 8,364 (2011) |
OS grid reference | SX438552 |
Civil parish |
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Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | TORPOINT |
Postcode district | PL11 |
Dialling code | 01752 |
Police | Devon and Cornwall |
Fire | Cornwall |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Website | http://www.torpointtowncouncil.gov.uk |
Torpoint (Cornish : Penntorr [1] ) is a town and civil parish on the Rame Peninsula in southeast Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated opposite the city of Plymouth across the Hamoaze which is the tidal estuary of the River Tamar. [2] Torpoint had a population of 8,457 at the 2001 census, decreasing to 8,364 at the 2011 census. [3] Two electoral wards also exist (Torpoint East and Torpoint West). Their combined populations at the same census were 7,717. [4]
Torpoint is linked to Plymouth (and Devonport) by the Torpoint Ferry. The three vessels that operate the service are chain ferries – that is, they are propelled across the river by pulling themselves on fixed chains which lie across the bed of the river. The journey takes about seven minutes.
It is said that Torpoint's name is derived from Tar Point, a name given because of the initial industry on the west bank of the Hamoaze. However this is actually a nickname given by workers, Torpoint meaning "rocky headland". [5]
Torpoint is an eighteenth-century planned town. The grid-based design for the town was commissioned by Reginald Pole Carew in the Parish of Antony in 1774. His family continue to have a strong influence in the area, having become the Carew Poles in the twentieth century, and still reside at their family seat, Antony House.
In 1796 Torpoint was the setting for a shooting battle between the crew of a government vessel, the Viper, and a large party of armed liquor smugglers, in which one person was killed and five people seriously wounded. [6]
Due to the presence of Devonport Dockyard, the town grew as Dockyard workers settled there. The establishment of the Royal Navy's main training facility, HMS Raleigh also increased the population of Torpoint. [7]
Torpoint has 4 parish churches known at "Maryfield Church", "Torpoint Cornerstone Church" , "Catholic Church of Saint Joan of Arc" and "St James Church"
See Category:People from Torpoint
Educational institutions in Torpoint include: [8]
Torpoint has a non-league football club, Torpoint Athletic F.C., which plays at The Mill.
Cornish wrestling tournaments, for prizes, were held in Torpoint in the 1700s. [9]
Torpoint is twinned with Benodet (Benoded) in Brittany, France. [10]
1894 The Torpoint Town Council was established with Joseph Shepheard as its chairman. [11]
Ron Widdecombe was the first Mayor of Torpoint. [12]
The Town Council has Gary Davis as the town mayor and Julie Martin as the deputy mayor. [13]
The Town Council is made up of 15 East Ward councillors and 1 West Ward councillor. [14]
Freedom of Torpoint march [15]
St Piran's day [16]
Armed Forces Day [17]
Commonwealth Day [18]
Day of Accession Council and Principal Proclamation [19]
Merchant Navy Day [20]
St George's Day [21]
Christmas Lights Switch On [22]
Civic Service [23]
Cornwall is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised by Cornish and Celtic political groups as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, Devon to the east, and the English Channel to the south. The largest urban area in the county is a conurbation that includes the former mining towns of Redruth and Camborne, and the county town is the city of Truro.
The Hamoaze is an estuarine stretch of the English tidal River Tamar, between its confluence with the River Lynher and Plymouth Sound.
The Torpoint Ferry is a car and pedestrian chain ferry connecting the A374 which crosses the Hamoaze, a stretch of water at the mouth of the River Tamar, between Devonport in Plymouth and Torpoint in Cornwall. The service was established in 1791 and chain ferry operations were introduced by James Meadows Rendel in 1832.
The Tamar is a river in south west England that forms most of the border between Devon and Cornwall. A large part of the valley of the Tamar is protected as the Tamar Valley National Landscape, and some is included in the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape due to its historic mining activities.
Devonport, formerly named Plymouth Dock or just Dock, is a district of Plymouth in the English county of Devon, although it was, at one time, the more important settlement. It became a county borough in 1889. Devonport was originally one of the "Three Towns" ; these merged in 1914 to form what would become in 1928 the City of Plymouth. It is represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom as part of the Plymouth Sutton and Devonport constituency. Its elected Member of Parliament (MP) is Luke Pollard, who is a member of the Labour and Co-operative Party. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 14,788.
Saltash is a town and civil parish in south Cornwall, England. It had a population of 16,184 in 2011 census. Saltash faces the city of Plymouth over the River Tamar and is popularly known as "the Gateway to Cornwall". Saltash’s landmarks include the Tamar Bridge which connects Plymouth to Cornwall by road, and the Royal Albert Bridge. The area of Latchbrook is part of the town.
Antony is a coastal civil parish and a village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
Callington is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about 7 miles (11 km) north of Saltash and 9 miles (14 km) south of Launceston.
St Just, also known as St Just in Penwith, is a town and civil parish in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies along the B3306 road which connects St Ives to the A30 road. The parish encompasses the town of St Just and the nearby settlements of Trewellard, Pendeen and Kelynack: it is bounded by the parishes of Morvah to the north-east, Sancreed and Madron to the east, St Buryan and Sennen to the south and by the sea in the west. The parish consists of 7,622 acres (3,085 ha) of land, 12 acres (4.9 ha) of water and 117 acres (47.3 ha) of foreshore. The town of St Just is the most westerly town in mainland Britain and is situated approximately 8 miles (13 km) west of Penzance along the A3071. St Just parish, which includes Pendeen and the surrounding area, has a population of 4,637. An electoral ward of the same name also exists: the population of this ward at the same census was 4,812.
Daniel John Rogerson is a Cornish Liberal Democrat politician. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for North Cornwall from the 2005 general election until his defeat at the 2015 general election. In October 2013, he became the Liberal Democrat Minister at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, holding the office until losing his Parliamentary seat to Conservative candidate Scott Mann.
The Rame Peninsula is a peninsula in south-east Cornwall. It is surrounded by the English Channel to the south, Plymouth Sound to the east, the Hamoaze to the northeast and the estuary of the River Lynher to the north-west. On a clear day, the Atlantic Ocean can be seen from advantageous points from Rame Head. The largest settlement is Torpoint, which is on the eastern coast, facing Devonport in Plymouth, Devon.
Perranzabuloe is a coastal civil parish and a hamlet in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Perranzabuloe parish is bordered to the west by the Atlantic coast and St Agnes parish, to the north by Cubert parish, to the east by St Newlyn East and St Allen parishes and to the south by Kenwyn parish. The hamlet is situated just over a mile (2 km) south of the principal settlement of the parish, Perranporth; the hamlet is also seven miles (11 km) south-southwest of Newquay. Other settlements in the parish include Perrancoombe, Goonhavern, Mount and Callestick. The parish population was 5,382 in the 2001 census, increasing to 5,486 at the 2011 census.
Saint Piran's Day, or the Feast of Saint Piran, is the national day of Cornwall, held on 5 March every year. The day is named after one of the patron saints of Cornwall, Saint Piran, who is also the patron saint of tin miners.
St John is a coastal civil parish and a village in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, 3 miles (4.8 km) south of Saltash and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-west of Torpoint.
Cornish cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with Cornwall and the Cornish people. It has been heavily influenced by the geography of the county as well as its social history.
A civil parish is a country subdivision, forming the lowest unit of local government in England. There are 218 civil parishes in the ceremonial county of Cornwall, which includes the Isles of Scilly. The county is effectively parished in its entirety; only the unpopulated Wolf Rock is unparished. At the 2001 census, there were 501,267 people living in the current parishes, accounting for the whole of the county's population. The final unparished areas of mainland Cornwall, around St Austell, were parished on 1 April 2009 to coincide with the structural changes to local government in England.
Wilcove is a small coastal village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated one mile (1.6 km) north of Torpoint and one mile (1.6 km) west of Devonport across the Hamoaze, the tidal estuary of the River Tamar.
The Cornish Pasty Association is a British trade association, based in Cornwall, England. As of 2013 the association included about 50 independent bakers of Cornish pasties. The association successfully sought to have the name "Cornish Pasty" protected as one of the Protected geographical indications. Despite the resolution of the 2012 "Pasty tax" matter, the BBC has reported that some Cornish Pasty Association members are still unsure whether Value Added Tax applies to their baked goods.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cornwall: Cornwall – ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. Cornwall is a peninsula 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 is also a royal duchy of the United Kingdom. It has an estimated population of half a million and it has its own distinctive history and culture.
Presented below is an alphabetical index of articles related to Cornwall: