Callington, Cornwall

infobox UK place
country = England
map_type= Cornwall
official_name= Callington
cornish_name= Kelliwik
latitude= 50.5027
longitude= -4.3136
population= 4,783 (Parish, 2001)
civil_parish= Callington
shire_district= Caradon
shire_county= Cornwall
region= South West England
constituency_westminster=South East Cornwall
post_town= CALLINGTON
postcode_district = PL17
postcode_area= PL
dial_code= 01579
os_grid_reference= SX359696

Callington ( _kw. Kelliwik) is a small town and civil parish in southeast Cornwall, UK. The civil parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census, although recent figures show that the population has risen to around 6000.

Geography

The town is situated between Kit Hill and Bodmin Moor. A former agricultural market town, it lies at the intersection of the North-South Plymouth-Saltash-Launceston-Bude road and the East-West Tavistock-Liskeard road.

From Kit Hill, there are far reaching views of the River Tamar, Dartmoor, Bodmin Moor and Plymouth. Along with the town's mural trail they have proven to be popular with wandering tourists. Callington lies between four larger towns (Launceston, Liskeard, Tavistock and Saltash) and many inhabitants commute to Plymouth via the Tamar Bridge.

The town was formerly served by a railway station at Kelly Bray. Callington station was the terminus for a branch line that ran to Bere Alston where it joined the Southern Railways Tavistock to Plymouth line. The railway line beyond Gunnislake to the Callington terminus was closed in the 1960s, due to low usage and the fact that the final sections of the line had several severe gradients and speed restrictions which made operating difficult. It is still possible to travel by rail on the Tamar Valley Line from Plymouth as far as Gunnislake via Bere Alston, where trains reverse. For most of its journey the line follows the River Tamar.

Economy

Callington is the home of the Worldwide Headquarters of Ginsters, and the famous Ginsters Pasty Factory. Ginsters is the largest employer in the town today and employs hundreds of locals as well as many immigrants who have arrived as a consequence of the recent accession to the EU of a number of Eastern European countries.

Cornwall is a predominantly low wage economy with a high proportion of its income being derived from agriculture and tourism.

Culture

Callington is twinned with Guipavas, France and Barsbüttel, Germany.

Administration

The civil parish of Callington lies within the Caradon District.

History

In the 18th century, Callington was one of the most important mining areas in the United Kingdom. Deposits of silver were found nearby in Silver Valley. Today many old mining stacks dot the horizon, but there are no active mines apart from some granite quarrying on Hingston Down.

The Callington constituency elected two members to the unreformed House of Commons, and was considered a rotten borough. Its representation was abolished by the Reform Act 1832.

Development

In recent years, the town has seen rapid residential development at the end Liskeard Road. more developments, including social housing, are planned for the next few years. The Town Council are constantly asked if new development will be acceptable and base their opinion in the original Callington public interest. The neighbouring village of Kelly Bray has almost doubled in size in recent years with houses still being built in the area.

Twinning

*

ee also

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* East Cornwall Mineral Railway

External links

* [http://www.callington.uk.net/ Callington Town Council website]
* [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guipavas Guipavas] , an article on French Wikipedia about one of Callington's twin towns
* [http://www.callington.cc/ Callington Community College website]
* [http://crocat.cornwall.gov.uk/dserve/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=Overview.tcl&dsqSearch=((text)='callington') Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Callington]