Padstow (; Cornish: Lannwedhenek [lanːwɛˈðɛnɛk] ) is a town, civil parish and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The town is situated on the west bank of the River Camel estuary, approximately 5 miles (8.0 km) northwest of Wadebridge, 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Bodmin and 10 miles (16 km) northeast of Newquay. As well as Padstow itself, the parish also includes the village of Trevone and surrounding rural areas. At the 2021 census the population of the parish was 2,669 and the population of the built up area was 2,298.
The geology of the low plateau west of Padstow has resulted in such features as Tregudda Gorge where erosion along the faultline has caused sheer cliffs to form; and Marble Cliffs which has alternating dark grey and light grey strata. The Round Hole is a collapsed sea cave.
In English, Padstow was originally named Adelstow after Æthelstan who was reported by John Leland to be 'chief governor of privileges onto it'. Adelstow was commuted into Petroc-stow, Petroc-stowe, or 'Petrock's Place', after the Welsh missionary Saint Petroc, who landed at Trebetherick around AD 500. After his death a monastery (Lanwethinoc, the church of Wethinoc, an earlier holy man) was established here which was of great importance until Petroces stow (probably Padstow) was raided by the Vikings in 981, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Whether as a result of this attack or later, the monks moved inland to Bodmin, taking with them the relics of St Petroc. The cult of St Petroc was important both in Padstow and Bodmin.
Padstow is recorded in the Domesday Book (1086) when it was held by Bodmin Monastery. There was land for 4 ploughs, 5 villeins who had 2 ploughs, 6 smallholders and 24 acres of pasture. It was valued at 10 shillings (half of a pound sterling).
In the medieval period, Padstow was commonly called Aldestowe ('old place' in contrast to Bodmin, the 'new place'). or Hailemouth (heyl being Cornish for 'estuary'). The modern Cornish form Lannwedhenek derives from Lanwethinoc and in a simpler form appears in the name of the Lodenek Press, a publisher based in Padstow.
Padstow had considerable importance in the middle ages as a manor belonging to Bodmin monastery and as the site of a safe haven (one of the few on the north coast). So it became a busy fishing port and the site of nine chapels in addition to the parish church. The manor was leased to the family of Prideaux by the last prior before the dissolution in Henry VIII's reign. The town prospered through trade with Ireland and the English and Welsh ports on the Bristol Channel. Later trade was the export of tin, copper, lead, slate, cured fish and dairy produce, as well as the importing of timber from Norway and Sweden, salt and wine from France, and hemp, iron and jute from Russia. The population in 1841 was 1,791.
In the first half of the 19th century it was a significant port of embarcation for emigrants, in particular those bound for Canada. Later on a shipbuilding industry developed with five shipyards though by 1900 this had declined. The North Cornwall Railway reached Padstow in 1899, a large hotel was built and there was a revival of the fishing industry.
The seal of the borough of Padstow was a ship with three masts, the sails furled and an anchor hanging from the bow, with the legend "Padstow".
The TV archaeology programme Time Team filmed in Padstow for the episode "From Constantinople to Cornwall," broadcast on 9 March 2008.
There are two Cornish crosses in the parish: one is built into a wall in the old vicarage garden and another is at Prideaux Place (consisting of a four-holed head and part of an ornamented cross shaft). There is also part of a decorated cross shaft in the churchyard.
During World War II, in 1940, a single aircraft dropped some bombs on the town, one of which hit and demolished a terrace of houses in New Street, killing three.
The church of St Petroc is one of four said to have been founded by the saint, the others being Little Petherick (or St Petroc Minor), Parracombe and Bodmin. It is quite large and mostly of 13th- and 14th-century date. There is a fine 15th-century font of Catacleuse stone; the pulpit of c. 1530 is also of interest. There are two fine monuments to members of the Prideaux family (Sir Nicholas, 1627. and Edmund, 1693): there is also a monumental brass of 1421. The benefice is a rectory: Padstow (St Petroc), St Merryn and St Issey with St Petroc Minor (Little Petherick) now form a group within the deanery of Pydar.
There are two tiers of local government covering Padstow, and parish (town) and unitary authority level: Padstow Town Council and Cornwall Council. The town council is based at Station House, part of the former Padstow railway station.
Padstow was an ancient parish in the Pydarshire Hundred of Cornwall. In 1583 the town was incorporated as a borough, but its borough status later lapsed.
In 1866 a Padstow local government district was established which just covered the town itself. It was administered by an elected local board. Such districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894. The 1894 Act also directed that civil parishes could no longer straddle district boundaries, and so the part of Padstow parish outside the urban district became a separate parish called Padstow Rural. Padstow Urban District was enlarged in 1934 to take in the area of the Padstow Rural parish, which was abolished.
Padstow Urban District was abolished in 1968. The former urban district then made a rural parish within the Wadebridge and Padstow Rural District and given a parish council. Wadebridge and Padstow Rural District was abolished six years later in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, becoming part of the new North Cornwall district. As part of the 1974 reforms, parish councils were given the right to declare their parishes to be a town and take the title of town council, which Padstow Parish Council took, becoming Padstow Town Council.
North Cornwall was in turn abolished in 2009. Cornwall County Council then took on district-level functions, making it a unitary authority, and was renamed Cornwall Council.
Traditionally a fishing port, Padstow is now a popular tourist destination. Although some of its former fishing fleet remains, it is mainly a yachting haven on a dramatic coastline with few easily navigable harbours. The influence of restaurateur Rick Stein can be seen in the port, and tourists travel from long distances to eat at his restaurant and cafés. This has led to the town being dubbed "Padstein", by food writers in the British media.