In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Penwith like this:
PENWITH, a hundred in the extreme S W of Cornwall; containing Madron parish and twenty-six other parishes, and cut into two divisions, E and W. Acres of the E div., 49, 546. Pop. in 1851, 53, 757. Houses, 9, 878. Acres of the W.-div., 49, 872. Pop. in 1851, 28, 781. Houses, 5, 269. Pop. of the whole in 1861, 88, 953. Houses, 17, 191. Penwith proper is the Lands End; called by the ancient British Penwith, signifying"the left-hand headland; " and was known to the Saxons as Penwithsteort.
Penwith through time
Click here for graphs and data of how Penwith has changed over two centuries. For statistics for historical units named after Penwith go to Units and Statistics.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Penwith in Cornwall | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
URL: https://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/17208
Date accessed: 19th April 2024
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