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Camelford
Cornish: Ryskammel
The Town Hall, Camelford
Camelford  Camelford shown within Cornwall
Population	2,256 (Civil Parish, 2001)
OS grid reference	SX101831
Parish	Camelford
Unitary authority	Cornwall
Ceremonial county	Cornwall
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	CAMELFORD
Postcode district	PL32
Dialling code	01840
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Cornwall
Ambulance	South Western
EU Parliament	South West England
UK Parliament	North Cornwall
List of places: UK • England • Cornwall

Camelford

The town lies on the River Camel, and is a few miles north-west of the highest part of Bodmin Moor. The only large industrial enterprises in the area are the slate quarry at Delabole and the cheese factory at Davidstow but there is a small industrial estate at Highfield. Camelford Station was some distance from the town and closed in 1966: on the site is now the British Cycling Museum.

It is part of the North Cornwall parliamentary constituency, and it was the location of the administrative headquarters of Camelford Rural District before 1973, and before the improvements in transport a market town for the surrounding agricultural area. The Atlantic Highway passes directly through the town centre: the bypass planned many years ago has never been built.

Due to its name, it has been linked to the legendary Camelot, and even Camlann, but historians have been quick to refute these suggestions. (Also sometimes to Gafulford the site of a battle which is more likely to have been at Galford in Devon.) The origin of the name is probably from the original name of the river (Allen) in combination with cam- = crooked and the English 'ford', though this is not accepted by all.

The town elected two members to the Unreformed House of Commons: the first MPs sat in the Parliament of 1552. It was considered a rotten borough and its franchise was abolished in 1832: the article Camelford (UK Parliament constituency) provides more information.

In July 1988, the water supply to the town and the surrounding area was contaminated when 20 tons of aluminium sulphate was poured into the wrong tank at the nearby Lowermoor Water Treatment Works on Bodmin Moor. An independent inquiry into the incident (the worst of its kind in British history) was started in 2002, and a draft report issued in January 2005, but questions still remain as to the long-term effects on the health of local residents. Michael Meacher, who visited Camelford in his post as environment minister, called the incident and its aftermath, "A most unbelievable scandal."^[1]

The parish church of Camelford is at Lanteglos by Camelford though there is also a Church of St Thomas of Canterbury (opened in 1938) in the town.^[2] Langdon (1896) recorded the existence of seven stone crosses in the parish, including three at the rectory (Lanteglos Rectory was converted into a guesthouse in the mid-20th century). There was in medieval times a chapel of St Thomas which probably fell into disuse after the Reformation (it is recorded in 1312).^[3] The Rector of Lanteglos is also responsible for the adjacent parish of Advent.

In Market Place is the Methodist Church (originally a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel)^[4]. The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, visited Camelford on several occasions during his journeys in Cornwall.^[5] In the 1830s and 1840s the Camelford Wesleyan Methodist circuit underwent a secession by more than half the members to the Wesleyan Methodist Association.^[6] There is an older Methodist chapel (now disused) in Chapel Street.

Soul's Harbour Pentecostal Church is situated on the Clease adjacent to the car park. It is affiliated with The Assemblies of God of Great Britain and was founded in 1987. The building the Church occupies was built as the Church School in 1846.

Sir James Smith's School provides secondary education to the town and surrounding area and there is also a primary school.

Its position near the highest land in Cornwall makes the climate rather wet. Roughtor is the nearest of the hills of Bodmin Moor to the town and numerous prehistoric remains can be found nearby as well as a china clay works. The Town Hall was built in 1806, but is now used as a branch public library. By the riverside is Enfield Park; hamlets in the parish include Helstone, Tregoodwell and Valley Truckle. The economy depends largely on agriculture and tourism; there is a china clay works at Stannon.

Helstone (or Helston in Trigg) was in the Middle Ages one of the chief manors of the Hundred of Trigg and perhaps in Celtic times the seat of a chieftain. In the Domesday Book this manor was held by Earl Robert of Mortain: there were 2 hides, land for 15 ploughs; the lord had 4 ploughs & 18 serfs; 20 villagers & 18 smallholders had 8 ploughs; 10 acres of woodland; 6 square leagues of pasture; five kinds of livestock, in total 195 beasts. The manor of Penmayne was a dependency of this manor.^[7] It was one of the 17 Antiqua maneria of the Duchy of Cornwall.

It is the home of the North Cornwall Museum and Gallery. To the northwest at Slaughterbridge is an Arthurian Centre and at Camelford railway station nearby is the Cycling Museum. To the east are the hills of Roughtor and Brown Willy and to the south the old parish churches at Lanteglos and Advent.

For 70 years the town had a station on the North Cornwall Railway. The main road through Camelford is the A39 (Atlantic Highway) and there are infrequent bus services to Plymouth and parts of North Cornwall. Traffic problems have never been relieved by a planned bypass.

The naval officer Samuel Wallis was born near Camelford (among his achievements was the circumnavigation of the world). Francis Hurdon, the Canadian politician was also born at Camelford. Two members of the Pitt family held the title of Baron Camelford: Thomas Pitt, 1st Baron Camelford (1737–1793) and Thomas Pitt, 2nd Baron Camelford (1775–1804). Samuel Pollard, missionary to China was also born in Camelford.

For the patrons of the parliamentary borough see the separate article.