# Bissoe

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**Bissoe** (Cornish: ***Besow***, meaning *birch trees*) is a [hamlet](/source/Hamlet_(place)) in west [Cornwall](/source/Cornwall), England, United Kingdom. It is situated five miles (8 km) east of [Redruth](/source/Redruth) in a former [tin mining](/source/Mining_in_Cornwall_and_Devon) area.[1] It is in the [civil parish](/source/Civil_parish) of [Kea](/source/Kea,_Cornwall).

Bissoe was the site of an early [arsenic](/source/Arsenic) extraction works, the second such commercial works in Britain.[2] [Frederick Hamilton Davey](/source/Frederick_Hamilton_Davey) succeeded his father as Works Manager of the Cornwall Arsenic Company's factory at Bissoe in 1902, having acted as his father's assistant for several years.

The name is believed to derive from the Cornish word *besow* meaning *birch trees*. Bissoe is the home of a small number of businesses, Bissoe Bike Hire, a [concrete](/source/Concrete) products company and an environmental [waste management](/source/Waste_management) company called [Clear-flow](/source/Clear-flow) Ltd.

The Bissoe Trail is a world famous cycling trail. Many bikes have been claimed by the challenging conditions of the trail.

Bissoe lies on the *Coast to Coast Trail* [long-distance footpath](/source/Long-distance_footpath) and cycle trail. The trail is 11 miles (17.5 km) long and links the interior of west Cornwall to the harbour of [Portreath](/source/Portreath) on the north coast and the former port of [Devoran](/source/Devoran) in the south. The trail follows the course of now-disused railways formerly used to carry imported coal and extracted minerals for export. *Bissoe Valley Nature Reserve* lies to the south of the hamlet.

## Cornish wrestling

[Cornish wrestling](/source/Cornish_wrestling) tournaments, for prizes, have been held in Bissoe. Venues have included the field adjoining the Miners' Arms at Bissoe Bridge.[3][4]

## References

1. Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 *Truro & Falmouth* ISBN 978-0-319-23149-4

1. ["Bissoe Arsenic Works, Cornwall"](http://www.sealsanctuary.co.uk/corn1.html). *World Heritage Cornwall*. Retrieved 2009-10-26.

1. West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser, 6 July 1849.

1. Royal Cornwall Gazette, 6 July 1849.

## External links

- [Bissoe arsenic works web page](http://www.worldheritagecornwall.com/mines/bissoe-arsenic-works.htm)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bissoe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bissoe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bissoe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.