In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Gorran like this:
GORRAN, two villages and a parish in St. Austell district, Cornwall. The villages stand 2 miles N of Dodman point, 2 S of Mevagissey, and 6½ S of St. Austell r. station; and have a post office under St. Austell. One of them is on the coast, at the entrance of Mevagissey bay; bears the name of Gorran Haven, or Port-east; is a coast-guard station; has a very old pier, said to have been constructed by some of the Bodrugan family; is supposed to have been anciently a place of some consequence; and has still some trade in importing coals and in pilchard fishing. ...
The parish includes also the hamlets of Treninick, Trevear, Menegwins, and Trevarrick. Acres, 4, 725. Real property, £5, 519. Pop. in 1851, 1, 188; in 1861, 1, 054. Houses, 234. The decrease of pop. was caused partly by the closing of a large mine, partly by the failure of the fisheries. The property is subdivided. The manor belonged to the Bodrugans; had a magnificent mansion, called Bodrugan Castle, long ago destroyed; and passed to Lord Mount-Edgecumbe. Sir Henry Bodrugan was attainted for treason, at the accession of Henry VII.; and, being in danger of capture, he fled to a vessel by a tremendous leap over a cliff, at a spot which is still called Bodrugan's Leap. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter. Value, £258.* Patron, the Bishop of Exeter. The church stands on an eminence; has a pinnacled tower of 1606; and was reported, in 1859, as not good. Chapels anciently stood at Gorran Haven, Bodrugan, and Galowres. There are chapels for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists.
Gorran through time
Gorran is now part of Restormel district. Click here for graphs and data of how Restormel has changed over two centuries. For statistics about Gorran itself, go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Gorran, in Restormel and Cornwall | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/1623
Date accessed: 01st May 2024
Not where you were looking for?
Click here for more detailed advice on finding places within A Vision of Britain through Time, and maybe some references to other places called "Gorran".