is a
Town in
Cornwall in the
United Kingdom , with a population of 12,778 (2001 census). It was formerly the
County Town of Cornwall, but that is now
Truro .
Bodmin lies in the centre of the county, along the western edge of
Bodmin Moor .
St. Petroc founded a priory here in the
6th Century ; he gave the alternate name to Bodmin which is ''Petrockstow''. Bodmin is one of the oldest towns in the county, and the only Cornish settlement of size recorded in the
Domesday Book of the late
11th Century . In the
15th Century the Norman church of St. Petroc was heavily rebuilt and stands as one of the largest churches in Cornwall. Also built at that time was an abbey, now mostly ruined. For most of Bodmin's history, the
Tin industry was a mainstay of the economy.
It has been suggested that the town's name comes from an archaic word in the
Cornish "bod" (meaning a dwelling; the later word is "bos") and a contraction of "menegh" (monks). This speculation is both unproven and unprovable since the name is also thought to predate the institution of the monastery which is popularly supposed to support it; it may however refer to an earlier monastic settlement instituted by
St. Guron , which St. Petroc took as his site.
Bodmin Parkway Railway Station is served by main line trains and is situated on the
Great Western Main Line about 3.5 miles south-east from the town centre. A
Heritage Railway , the
Bodmin And Wenford Railway , runs from Bodmin Parkway station via
Bodmin General Railway Station to Boscarne Junction where there is convenient access to the
Camel Trail .
Bodmin Gaol , now a semi-ruin, was built in the late
18th Century , and was the first British prison to hold prisoners in separate cells (though often up to 10 at a time) rather than communally. This grim place was also site of Britain's last public hanging in 1809. Also, during
World War I the prison was deemed worthy to hold some of Britain's priceless national treasures including the Domesday Book and the
Crown Jewels Of The United Kingdom .
Other buildings of interest include the former
Shire Hall , now a tourist information centre, and the Regimental Barracks of the now defunct
Duke Of Cornwall's Light Infantry , now a regimental museum.
