Heamoor
Encyclopedia
Heamoor is a village
in Cornwall
, United Kingdom
. Formerly a secondary settlement of the village of Madron
, Heamoor is now a suburb of Penzance
and is situated approximately one kilometre (two-thirds of a mile) northwest of the town centre.
Heamoor is in the civil parish
of Penzance
and forms a single ward on Penzance Town Council. The principal local authority is Cornwall Council.
Heamoor has a number of shops, The Sportsman's Arms pub, The British Legion and Scout group as well as several community facilities. There are two schools; Heamoor Community Primary School and Mount's Bay School and Community Sports College (formerly Heamoor Secondary Modern School
), a comprehensive school.
dyke (this rock is also called 'elvan
' in Cornwall) that can be seen forming the ridge where Poltair woods abuts onto the road leading from Heamoor to Trengwainton. This dyke channels water onto the ground lying below it giving rise to the swampy conditions. Further along the same road are a pair of reservoirs that form the former main supply of the nearby town of Penzance, the water for these reservoirs comes from this dyke, the main water supply for the town being Drift Reservoir
. Following World War II
Heamoor was identified by the then Penzance Borough Council as area of potential development for housing, during the 1970s and 1980s this was realised with the building of a number of large modern housing developments.
three centres of Christian worship: Wesley Rock Wesleyan
Chapel; a Bible Christian
Chapel; and the Church of England
Church of St Thomas.
Wesley Rock Methodist Church is so called because of the frequent visits by John Wesley
to the area where he is said to have preached from a rock in a field. The 'Rock' in question now forms the base of the pulpit
in Wesley Rock Church itself. It was moved upon completion of the building that now forms the Church, being previously held in the older adjacent building.
St Thomas's Church was built in Heamoor in the late 19th century as a Chapel of ease
to serve those living in the outskirts of Penzance. The Church is part of Madron parish and was dedicated in 1892: it was licensed for weddings in 1975.
As a hangover from when Heamoor was closely linked to Madron, Heamoor religious communities also celebrate Madron feast.
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Formerly a secondary settlement of the village of Madron
Madron
Madron is a civil parish and village in west Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is a large rural parish on the Penwith peninsula north of Penzance.Madron village is situated approximately two miles northwest of Penzance town centre....
, Heamoor is now a suburb of Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
and is situated approximately one kilometre (two-thirds of a mile) northwest of the town centre.
Heamoor is in the civil parish
Civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a territorial designation and, where they are found, the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties...
of Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
and forms a single ward on Penzance Town Council. The principal local authority is Cornwall Council.
Heamoor has a number of shops, The Sportsman's Arms pub, The British Legion and Scout group as well as several community facilities. There are two schools; Heamoor Community Primary School and Mount's Bay School and Community Sports College (formerly Heamoor Secondary Modern School
Secondary modern school
A secondary modern school is a type of secondary school that existed in most of the United Kingdom from 1944 until the early 1970s, under the Tripartite System, and was designed for the majority of pupils - those who do not achieve scores in the top 25% of the eleven plus examination...
), a comprehensive school.
History
Heamoor saw initial growth in the 19th century due to its proximity to a major crossroads and the need of farms for agricultural labour. The village originally consisted of two areas—the Hea which is the southern part of the village where the main road enters from Penzance and then to the east of this towards St Thomas's Church. The moor occupies the area at the opposite end of the village and could be seen as the poorly drained area now occupied by the playing fields of Mount's Bay School and the housing estate nearby. The reason for the moor was the poor drainage which in turn was due to the outcrop of a FelsiteFelsite
Felsite is a very fine grained volcanic rock that may or may not contain larger crystals. Felsite is a field term for a light colored rock that typically requires petrographic examination or chemical analysis for more precise definition...
dyke (this rock is also called 'elvan
Elvan
Elvan is a name used in Cornwall and Devon for the native varieties of quartz-porphyry. They are dispersed irregularly in the Upper Devonian series of rocks and some of them make very fine building stones...
' in Cornwall) that can be seen forming the ridge where Poltair woods abuts onto the road leading from Heamoor to Trengwainton. This dyke channels water onto the ground lying below it giving rise to the swampy conditions. Further along the same road are a pair of reservoirs that form the former main supply of the nearby town of Penzance, the water for these reservoirs comes from this dyke, the main water supply for the town being Drift Reservoir
Drift Reservoir
Drift Reservoir is a reservoir in Cornwall, UK, just north of Drift village, southwest of Penzance. The reservoir is approximately a mile long. It has a large dam at its southern end, and at the northern end, splits into a northwestern and a northeastern arm...
. Following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Heamoor was identified by the then Penzance Borough Council as area of potential development for housing, during the 1970s and 1980s this was realised with the building of a number of large modern housing developments.
Churches
Until the mid-20th century, Heamoor hadthree centres of Christian worship: Wesley Rock Wesleyan
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
Chapel; a Bible Christian
Bible Christian Church
The Bible Christian Church was a Methodist denomination founded by William O’Bryan, a Wesleyan Methodist local preacher, on 18 October 1815 in North Cornwall, with the first society, just 22 members, meeting at Lake Farm in Shebbear, Devon.-Early history:...
Chapel; and the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
Church of St Thomas.
Wesley Rock Methodist Church is so called because of the frequent visits by John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...
to the area where he is said to have preached from a rock in a field. The 'Rock' in question now forms the base of the pulpit
Pulpit
Pulpit is a speakers' stand in a church. In many Christian churches, there are two speakers' stands at the front of the church. Typically, the one on the left is called the pulpit...
in Wesley Rock Church itself. It was moved upon completion of the building that now forms the Church, being previously held in the older adjacent building.
St Thomas's Church was built in Heamoor in the late 19th century as a Chapel of ease
Chapel of ease
A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently....
to serve those living in the outskirts of Penzance. The Church is part of Madron parish and was dedicated in 1892: it was licensed for weddings in 1975.
As a hangover from when Heamoor was closely linked to Madron, Heamoor religious communities also celebrate Madron feast.