Gorran Haven

Human settlement in England

Gorran Haven

Location within Cornwall

Population1,271 (Parish, 2001)OS grid referenceSX009414Civil parish

St Goran

Unitary authority

Cornwall

Ceremonial county

Cornwall

Region

South West

CountryEnglandSovereign stateUnited KingdomPost townST. AUSTELLPostcode districtPL26Dialling code01726Police Devon and Cornwall Fire Cornwall Ambulance South Western UK Parliament

St Austell and Newquay

List of places: UK; England; Cornwall

50°14′28″N 4°47′35″W / 50.241°N 4.793°W / 50.241; -4.793

Gorran Haven (Cornish: Porthust)^[1] is a fishing village, in the civil parish of St Goran, on the south coast of Cornwall, England, UK. It is about 2 miles (3.2 km) south of Mevagissey and lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).^[2]

Overview

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 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]

The Cinema Museum in London holds home movies of the village in the 1950's. [1]

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,^[7] there is a plaque to his memory in the village.
Ben Peach (1842–1926), son of Charles, geologist, was born in the village.^[8]
Colin Wilson (1931–2013), author, lived in the village for over 50 years.^[9]^[10]

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.
^ ^a ^b 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. ISBN 9780715355909.
^ "Haven Church - Who we are". www.havenchurch.co. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
^ Oldroyd, David (23 September 2004). "Peach, Charles William". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/21665. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ 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.)
^ Ezard, John (9 December 2013). "Colin Wilson obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
^ Lachman, Gary (2016). Beyond the Robot. TarcherPerigee. p. XII. ISBN 978-0399173080.