Camelford Town
The official web site of Camelford Town Council
The Town Trail (Contd.)
6. The Town Hall
chamber is reached from Chapel Street by a double flight of granite steps and in 1906, was still the meeting place for the Petty Sessions, County Court and the Education Committee. The building is now the town library. By the entrance can be seen an old bell, presented to the town by the Mayor. W. Prideaux. in 1699. It used to hang in the cupola (the small dome over the clock tower) and served to warn townspeople of fire or any other calamity. The stained glass Venetian window above this entrance carries the old borough's arms and was a gift to the town from T.E. Wakefield in 1933.
Facing the Town Hall across a small car park is the Darlington Inn. Culled by fire in 1995. the building has been scrupulously restored to its previous appearance. The earliest remaining parts of the building arc late 16th Century. The fire revealed that the first floor was originally jettied out over the ground floor, forming an open gallery supported by granite posts, one of which can still be
7. The Darlington Inn
seen at the corner. The gallery was later closed in with slate cladding.
Going up Fore Street you will notice, on both sides, alleyways or "opes" between the houses, which gave the householders and shopkeepers access to their rear premises and provide short cuts between Fore Street and Chapel Street or Front and Back Streets, as they were once known. Further up the hill on the left is "The Indian King", part of an L-shaped building which was formerly an inn. The name "Indian King" dates back lo the 18th century, when a Cherokee Indian King, his wife and son, were brought over from North America. They may well have travelled up-country from a Cornish port
8. An Ope
and would, certainly, have aroused great interest at the places where they stayed en route. In 1735 the name was changed to the Higher King's Arms. By the 19lh century it was simply known as the King's Arms and the name has now come back full circle lo the "Indian King".
9. The Indian King
10. North Cornwall Museum
11. Cobbled Gulley
Part way down the hill on the right is the Old Slaughter House. The chapel after which the street is named is about halfway down the hill on the left. The date.1810, is over the door, but this building replaced an earlier one built in 1785, during John Wesley's lifetime. Wesley was a regular preacher in Camelford from 1747 onwards. At his first visit he was stoned and hounded out of the town, but he later built up a strong following. Facing the Methodist Chapel is the old Sunday school. The imposing building to the right of the gateway was once the Manse or minister's house.
12. Methodist Chapel
