The area around Grampound was settled in prehistoric times, and in the early medieval period the parish of Creed and the manor of Tybesta were established here. Grampound grew after the Norman conquest as the main crossing place on the Fal, a focus for travellers and traders moving between west Cornwall and England. Thus Grampound became one of the most important towns in medieval Cornwall with a rich and vibrant history. The bridge from which the town took its name is first recorded in 1296. The first charter was granted by the Earl of Cornwall in 1332 and the town remained important until the 15th century. Thereafter it declined and John Norden refers to the inhabitants as "few and poore" in his account published in 1584.