Penryn Chamber of Commerce Penryn History

“Penryn was a flourishing town
When Falmouth was a furzy down.” Local ditty.

Founded in 1216 by the Bishop of Exeter, Penryn received its market charter in 1236 and its Charter of Incorporation as a Borough from James I in 1621.

The Collegiate Church of St Thomas, Glasney, usually known as Glasney College or Priory was an important centre for the training of priests and religious office bearers throughout the Middle Ages. Founded in 1265 it was dissolved in 1548 and demolished in 1549. Very little is left of it now but what there is can be seen at Glasney Recreation Ground and has had a preliminary excavation.

During the Middle Ages the town slowly grew as a seaport until in Tudor times it was one of the principal supply ports on the coast. It and other ports around the Falmouth natural harbour had more shipping than any port in the country. In the 17th century as Cornish tin and copper mining expanded. Penryn handled most of the early tin exports from the Redruth area.

Like the rest of Cornwall, Penryn was Royalist in the Civil War, but in 1661 the rival town of Falmouth, founded by the extraordinary Killigrew family, was given its charter as a Borough. This caused a serious decline in Penryn’s trade for many years until the granite quarrying industry developed in the early 19th century. Penryn became known as the Granite port until concrete came into fashion.

The Town Hall on its island in the middle of Market Street was probably built on the site of the medieval St Mary’s chapel and was the Market hall for many years before being extensively rebuilt in 1825. All sorts of relics of old Penryn can be seen in the Museum in the ground floor, open 10 am - 3.30 pm weekdays.

During the Second World War, Penryn was bombed as was Falmouth because of the immense importance of the area for shipping and air defence. The Memorial Gardens remember those who died. In the nine months leading up to the D Day landings, Penryn found itself full of American soldiers as they waited to embark to liberate Europe from the Nazis.

The closure of the docks in 1970 [when exactly?] hit Penryn hard, as did the arrival of out-of-town supermarkets on the ring road. Now with regeneration money, Tremough Campus and new business flowing into the town, Penryn is set for yet another renaissance – probably the fifth in its long and distinguished history.