Minions, Cornwall

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Minions, Cornwall

Minions is a village in Cornwall, England, located on Bodmin Moor about four miles north of Liskeard. It sits high on the moor and is one of the highest villages in Cornwall (around 300 metres above sea level). The village’s Cornish name is Menyon.

Geography and history
Minions is in the parish of Linkinhorne, in the area formerly known as Caradon. It was first recorded in 1613, and its exact meaning is unknown. The hill nearby, Caradon Hill, rises to 371 metres and has a TV transmission mast at the top, with a road up to the summit. A quarry on the hill’s western side has restarted work, cutting granite. The area has a mining heritage, including the Phoenix United Mine, which closed in 1914. There are many disused quarries and old mine buildings nearby; there are no plans to reopen tin or copper mines in the area.

Nearby sights
- The Hurlers, a stone circle on the western side of the village
- Rillaton Barrow, a Bronze Age tomb where a gold beaker was found
- Cheesewring, a distinctive rock formation about a mile northwest of the village

Climate
Minions has an oceanic climate. Its higher location makes it cooler, windier, and wetter than many parts of Cornwall, but there are some fine, warm days in summer. Winters bring frosts and occasional snow, though snow is not usually heavy.

Community facilities
The village has two main car parks and a mining history museum housed in a disused engine house to the north. There are two tearooms and a general store that also runs the post office. The Cheesewring pub suffered a fire in 2021.

Popular culture
In May 2015, a custom welcome sign for Minions featured images of the Minions from the Despicable Me films. The sign drew traffic as visitors stopped to take photos; it was replaced with a plain sign, but then stickers of Minions appeared again on the plain sign. Filming for Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children took place in 2015. A short film titled Tony & The Bull about a local resident and a Highland cow gained attention.