Gorran Haven
Gorran Haven (Cornish: Porthust)[1] is a fishing village on the south coast of Cornwall, England, UK. It is about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Mevagissey.[2] According to the Post Office at the 2011 census the population was included in the civil parish of St Goran
Gorran Haven
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Gorran Haven | |
Gorran Haven Location within Cornwall | |
Population | 1,271 (Parish, 2001) |
OS grid reference | SX009414 |
Civil parish | |
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | ST. AUSTELL |
Postcode district | PL26 |
Dialling code | 01726 |
Police | Devon and Cornwall |
Fire | Cornwall |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
The village lies in a cove between two sandy beaches.[2] Vault Beach (also known as Bow beach) is south of Gorran Haven and Great Perhaver Beach is to the north, both beaches are naturist beaches.[3][4]
Gorran Haven lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).
Gorran Haven was an ancient fishing harbour; its first pier was built in the 15th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries it became a port handling merchandise brought from Fowey by barges and lighters. The pier was rebuilt in the 1820s and reconstructed in 1888.[5]
There are two churches in the village, Haven Church (previously Mount Zion,) and St Just Church. St Just Church had been used as a fish cellar for over a century. In 1812 the Congregationalists of Mevagissey moved into the Haven using St Just as their Meeting House and referring to it as the old Chapel Cellar. Haven Church is a non-denominational church.[6]
Notable residents
- Sir Richard Dearlove (1945- ), civil servant, was born in and spent his early childhood in the village.
- Charles William Peach (1800-1886), naturalist and geologist, lived in the village and worked in the surrounding landscape, there is a plaque to his memory in the village.
- Ben Peach (1842-1926), son of Charles, geologist, was born in the village.[7]
- Colin Wilson (1931-2013), author, lived in the village during the 1950s.[8]
References
- Place-names in the Standard Written Form (SWF) Archived 15 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine : List of place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel Archived 2013-05-15 at the Wayback Machine. Cornish Language Partnership.
- Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 Truro & Falmouth (Roseland Peninsula) (Map). Ordnance Survey. 2009. ISBN 978-0-319-23290-3.
- "Great Perhaver Beach". Cornwall Beach Guide. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- "Vault Beach (Gorran Haven)". Cornwall Beach Guide. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- Todd, Arthur Cecil; Laws, Peter (1972). The industrial archaeology of Cornwall. David and Charles. p. 226.
- "Haven Church - Who we are". www.havenchurch.co. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
- Oldroyd, David. "Peach, Benjamin Neeve (1842–1926)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/37839. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- Lachman, Gary (2016). Beyond the Robot. TarcherPerigee. p. XII. ISBN 0399173080.