Cornwall County

"Cornwall - maritime County of England, forming its SW extremity; is bounded by Devon on the East, and washed on all the other sides by the sea; length, NE and SW, 75 miles; average breadth, 22 miles; coast line, about 200 miles; area, 863,065 acres, population 330,686. The South coast is much and deeply indented, and has some good harbours. The principal openings from West to East are Mounts Bay, Falmouth Bay and Harbour, St Austell Bay, Fowey Harbour, Whitsand Bay, and Plymouth Sound. Falmouth is one of the finest harbours in Britain. The indentations on the North consist of shallow bays with few or no harbours. The chief promontories are Land's End, where the granite cliffs are about 60 ft. high; and the Lizard, the most southerly point of England. The Isles of Scilly lie off Land's End, 25 miles to the SW. The Devonian range extends NE and SW, rising in Brown Willy to an altitude of 1368 feet. The streams are numerous, but small. The principal are the Tamar (which forms the boundary with Devon), Lyhner, Fowey, and Camel. There is much barren moorland, but the soil in the valleys is fertile. The prevailing rock is granite, of a grey or bluish-grey colour, which often rises above the surface in huge, rugged masses; clay slate also abounds. The tin and copper mines of Cornwall have been celebrated from remote ages, having been known, it is supposed, to the Phoenicians. Some of them are of very great depth, and have been carried beneath the sea. Silver, lead, zinc, arsenic, antimony, and bismuth are also found in considerable quantities. The fisheries, especially of pilchard and mackerel, are extensive and valuable. The county comprises 9 Hundreds, plus the Isles of Scilly, 219 parishes, the parliamentary borough of Penryn and Falmouth (1 member), and the municipal boroughs of Bodmin, Falmouth, Helston, Launceston, Liskeard, Penryn, Penzance, St Ives, and Truro. It is entirely in the diocese of Truro."

From Bartholomew's Gazetteer, 1887.

Cornwall is watered by six principal rivers: the Tamar, Lynher, Fowey, Camel (or Alan), Fal and Hayle. There are numerous minor rivers and streams in the county which serve to drain the land.

Bude

The parish of Bude Haven, better known as Bude, is located on the north Cornwall coast. The origin of the name is not known; it could have been taken from an unknown word, possibly connected with water. The parish of Bude Haven, or Budeham, was created in 1836 from part of Bude-Stratton parish. The town is now more commonly referred to as just Bude.

The town is famed for its canal. The idea of the Bude Canal was conceived in 1774 by Cornishman John Edyvean originally to carry the chemically rich Bude sea sand to poor inland soils. The project took a number of years to take shape and it was not until 1819 that the Bude Harbour and Canal Company was formed with 330 shareholders. The town is situated on the Atlantic Heritage Coast of Cornwall, adjacent to fine sandy beaches, and on the South West Coastal Path. Bude and nearby beaches provide some of the finest surfing to be had in all England; most beaches have lifeguard cover during the Summer months.

Towns & Villages

• Bude

Cemeteries