Gwennap is a small village approximately 5 miles South East of Redruth. Like several villages in this part of Cornwall its underlying geology resulted in considerable wealth in the 18th and early 19th centuries when Gwennap became the richest copper mining district in Cornwall. However, unlike other copper rich areas in Cornwall which found rich seams of tin below the copper, Gwennap had no such large deposits and the wealth and prosperity soon dwindled when the copper markets collapsed in the 1860s.

Gwennap parish church is dedicated to St Wenappa and originally built in 13th century but was largely rebuilt in the 1500s due to a population growth caused by the early discovery of copper in the area. There are records of  several Grenfells being married here between 1763 – 1854. 

Further information can be found on the Gwennap page of the Cornwall Online Parish Clerks website and  the Genuki page dedicated to Gwennap.