Bodmin, the county town of Cornwall, England, 26 m. W. N. W. of Plymouth; pop. of the municipal and parliamentary borough in 1871, 6,956. The town is built partly in a valley and partly on a hillside, and the streets are well paved and lighted with gas. The principal church, rebuilt in 1472, has a massive tower. Adjoining the town are a race course and the ruins of the hospital of St. Lawrence. A great fair for sheep and cattle, which was among the privileges granted to the hospital by Elizabeth, is still held here annually; and there are several other fairs for cattle and horses. The commerce in wool is considerable. The origin of Bodmin (Cornish, Bosvenna or Bosueniui, "the houses on the hill," also called Bosmana and Bodininian, "the abode of the monks"') is associated with St. Petroc, who lived here and died in 564. His hermitage was occupied by Benedictine monks till 936, when King Athel-stan founded a priory near its site. Some portions of the priory still remain, and are used for secular purposes.

In 981 the town was sacked by the Danes. In 1497 Perkin War-beck gathered here armed bands against Exeter. During the civil war it was taken by Fairfax in 1646.