Par, Cornwall

Par Cornish: Porth
The Par Inn
Par Location within Cornwall
OS grid reference	SX072536
Civil parish	Tywardreath and Par St Blaise
Unitary authority	Cornwall
Ceremonial county	Cornwall
Region	South West
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	PAR
Postcode district	PL24
Dialling code	01726
Police	Devon and Cornwall
Fire	Cornwall
Ambulance	South Western
UK Parliament	South East Cornwall
List of places UK England Cornwall 50°21′02″N 4°42′40″W / 50.3505°N 4.7111°W / 50.3505; -4.7111

Par (Cornish: An Porth, meaning creek or harbour^[1]) is a village and fishing port with a harbour on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is situated in the civil parish of Tywardreath and Par, although West Par and the docks lie in the parish of St Blaise.

Par is approximately 3.5 miles (5.6 km) east of St Austell.^[2] Par has a population of around 1,600 (in 2012).

It became developed in the second quarter of the 19th century when the harbour was developed, to serve copper mines and other mineral sites in and surrounding the Luxulyan Valley; china clay later became the dominant traffic as copper working declined, and the harbour and the china clay dries remain as distinctive features of the industrial heritage; however the mineral activity is much reduced.

Par Harbour and the beach at Par Sands are south of the village, and the latter includes a large static caravan holiday park; another small beach is at Spit Point west of the harbour. Between these two beaches the South West Coast Path takes an inland diversion through the village.

Par lies in a triangle of streets which form a one-way traffic system. There is a variety of shops, a post office, a public house and other businesses.