Perranarworthal

The Perran Iron Foundry[5] was an innovative concern, which at its peak employed more than 400 men.[6] Run by the Fox family of Falmouth and other Quaker business families, it was set up on the site of a tin smelting works in 1791. The foundry was later operated in partnership with the Williams family, and in 1858, it was sold to them.

The creek serving the factory silted up and mining in Cornwall declined. Eight or nine barges at a time could be found at Perranwharf with a similar number of wagons waiting to be loaded. The wharf had been used to import timber for the mining industry from Scandinavia, as well as coal, lime and guano. The guano trade was estimated to bring in between £20,000 and £30,000 a year.[7]

The slump in the mining industry during the 1870s hit Perran Foundry badly and it closed in March 1879 with the loss of 400 jobs, causing great distress in the parish. In April 1879, the Royal Cornwall Gazette reported that a soup kitchen had been open since January: "793 people had attended and 1,240 quarts of soup were distributed". In July 1880 a preliminary notice of an intended auction for Perran Foundry was published. Williams's Perran Foundry covered an area of over 4 acres (1.6 ha) and had a lease of 99 years (commencing 24 August 1874) from Colonel Tremayne. The property contained a number of workshops, including a smithy, a hammermill, and a quay at Restronguet with access for 200-ton vessels.[8] The machinery, plant and stock were auctioned on 30 September and 1 October 1880. Large stocks of boiler plates and machinery at the Boiler Yard, Ponsanooth were auctioned, and at the Pattern Shop, Foundry Yard, 10 tons of copper, brass, lead, tin, pewter and other metals, 6 tons of steel, several thousand fire bricks, 50 tons coal and coke, timber and numerous other lots.[9] A chemical manure works known as Basset Foundry was sold to Mr T Rickard of Penryn for £101 in January 1883.[10]

The buildings – including Manor Mill on the opposite side of the road – were later adapted by the Edwards Brothers for the milling and storage of grains and animal foods, and also cloth dyeing; another waterwheel was added.[11] The site was used for various purposes until it closed in 1986.

In 2005, the owners, North Hill Estates Ltd, applied for planning permission to redevelop the site with a mix of live/work units and residential accommodation.[12][13][14] The first homes, converted from the hammer mill and other industrial buildings, were completed in 2013.[6]

The 15th-century Anglican parish church dedicated to Saint Piran was rebuilt to the design of James Piers St Aubyn between May 1881 and 1882, at a cost of £1,200. At the time of the consecration ceremony which took place on 16 May 1882, a further £150 was required to install the pews. While the church was closed, services were held in the old Wesleyan chapel.[18] The original granite tower remains from the 15th-century church. Pevsner described the church as "indifferent".[19]

The foundation stone of the Wesleyan chapel was laid on 17 March 1879 and the first service was held on Thursday, 5 February 1880. The chapel, designed by James Hicks of Redruth is built in the early English style at an estimated cost of £2,220 and can accommodate 600.[20]