Gweek ( kw, Gwig, meaning ''forest village'') is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

and village in

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately three miles (5 km) east of

Helston Helston ( kw, Hellys) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map shee ...

. The civil parish was created from part of the parish of

Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...

by boundary revision in 1986. The name ''Gweek'' is first recorded as ''Gwyk'' in 1358 and is derived from the Cornish word ''gwig'', meaning "forest village", cognate with the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

''gwig'' and

Old Breton Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of t ...

''guic''. Gweek village has a pub, the ''Black Swan'', and a combined shop and post office. The village is also home to the

Cornish Seal Sanctuary The Cornish Seal Sanctuary is a sanctuary for injured seal pups, and is owned by The SEA LIFE Trust. The centre is on the banks of the Helford River in Cornwall, England, UK, next to the village of Gweek. History The origins of the seal sanct ...

. Gweek lies within the

Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty The Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty covers in Cornwall, England, UK; that is, about 27% of the total area of the county. It comprises 12 separate areas, designated under the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949 for s ...

(AONB). Almost a third of Cornwall has AONB designation, with the same status and protection as a National Park.

History

Gweek is at the head of navigation of the

Helford River The Helford River ( kw, Dowr Mahonyer) is a ria (flooded river valley) in Cornwall, England, fed by small streams into its many creeks. There are seven creeks on the Helford; from west to east these are Ponsontuel Creek, Mawgan Creek, Polpenwit ...

. It has been a port since Roman times and thrived in the Tudor period, with its own Customs House. In the 13th century, the townspeople of Helston bought the rights to the port of Gweek. During the mining boom, a tin-smelting

blowing house A blowing house or blowing mill was a building used for smelting tin in Cornwall and on Dartmoor in Devon, in South West England. Blowing houses contained a furnace and a pair of bellows that were powered by an adjacent water wheel, and they wer ...

operated at the quayside. In Lewis's ''Topographical Dictionary of England'' published in 1848, the village was described as:

''GWEEK, a small port, in the hundred of Kerrier, W. division of Cornwall, 3½ miles (E. by S.) from Helston. The pilchard-fishery is carried on extensively, 200 boats being employed in taking the fish, which are cured in the various creeks and coves within the limits of the port. In addition to the fishery, the chief trade consists in the exportation of copper-ore, corn, moorstone, and oysters, and the importation of timber, coal, and limestone.''

In an August 1880 edition of

The Cornishman ''The Cornishman'' is a weekly newspaper based in Penzance, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom which was first published on 18 July 1878. Circulation for the first two editions was 4,000. An edition is currently printed every Thursday. In early Fe ...

newspaper, Gweek (along with

Porthleven Porthleven () is a town, civil parish and fishing port near Helston, Cornwall, England. The most southerly port in Great Britain, it was a harbour of refuge when this part of the Cornish coastline was infamous for wrecks in the days of sail. The ...

) was described as a prominent seaport, supplying coal, lime, timber, slate, etc to the neighbouring mines and inhabitants. Timber was unloaded from ships at Merthen Hole and floated up-river to Gweek on barges. The western wharf was owned by Mr Basset of

Tehidy Tehidy Country Park is a country park in Illogan in Cornwall, England which incorporates of the parkland and estate around Tehidy House, a former manor house of the Tehidy manor . The park's facilities include an events field, barbecue hire ...

Musical activities

Gweek has a

silver band In Britain, a brass band (known regionally as a silver band or colliery band) is a musical ensemble comprising a standardized range of brass and percussion instruments. The modern form of the brass band in the United Kingdom dates back to the 1 ...

which performs locally and provides music at some Anglican services in the Gweek Mission Church. The band also organises a yearly "band week". This starts with a concert of three local brass bands in a field overlooking the

. Afterwards, there is a pig roast with stalls and entertainment and at the end of the week a clay pigeon shoot. The Cornwall Fiddle Orchestra was formed in 2007 by fiddle player Hudson Swan. He was a member of Scottish band,

The Tannahill Weavers The Tannahill Weavers are a band which performs traditional Scottish music. Releasing their first album in 1976, they became notable for being one of the first popular bands to incorporate the sound of the Great Highland Bagpipe in an ensemble ...

but now lives in Cornwall and works as a violin teacher for the Cornwall Music Service. The orchestra rehearses weekly at Helston School.

Antiquities

The three-cornered

Tolvan Holed Stone The Tolvan holed stone is a triangular-shaped Neolithic standing stone. The monument is 2.3 m high and consists of a circular hole near its base measuring 43 cm in diameter. The megalithic stone is located in the garden of Tolvan Cr ...

is an unusual megalith. It is about 800 metres north of Gweek behind Tolvan Cross Farm.

In literature

Gweek is featured in ''

The Meaning of Liff ''The Meaning of Liff'' (UK Edition: , US Edition: ) is a humorous dictionary of toponymy and etymology, written by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd, published in the United Kingdom in 1983 and the United States in 1984. Content The book is a " ...

'', a book by

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' developed into a " ...

and John Lloyd. A passage in

Charles Kingsley Charles Kingsley (12 June 1819 – 23 January 1875) was a broad church priest of the Church of England, a university professor, social reformer, historian, novelist and poet. He is particularly associated with Christian socialism, the working ...

's novel ''

Hereward the Wake Hereward the Wake (Traditional pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɛ.ward/, modern pronunciation /ˈhɛ.rɪ.wəd/) (1035 – 1072) (also known as Hereward the Outlaw or Hereward the Exile) was an Anglo-Saxon nobleman and a leader of local resista ...

'' features Gweek and its neighbouring woods. Kingsley received some of his education at nearby Helston Grammar School.

References

External links

The Village Website of Gweek
{{authority control Civil parishes in Cornwall Ports and harbours of Cornwall Villages in Cornwall