The Perran Piper is dressed in the traditional St. Piran Cornish Dress Tartan. Each colour in a National Tartan has a special meaning, and in this case the colours represent the white on black of the St. Piran’s Banner (The Patron Saint of Tinners). The narrow red stripes represent the beak and legs of the Chough, the Cornish National bird.

Saint Piran

Saint Piran traveled through Wales, Cornwall and Brittany, spreading the Christian faith and starting churches. It is believed that he arrived in Cornwall at Perranporth (Perran's Port), where he founded his first church and monastery in the sand hills at Perranzabuloe (Perran in the Sands).

St Piran is probably most famous for his accidental rediscovery of tin-smelting, when he overheated a blackstone on his fire and white liquid rose to the top in the form of a white cross (forming the basis of the Cornish flag). This was liquid tin, and Saint Piran became the patron saint of tin-miners (and the national saint of Cornwall). His feast day, on the 5th March, was celebrated with a day off from work and a bonus of money.

Piran or Perran?

The Cornish translation of Piran is Perran, which is also The Perran Piper's wife's maiden name.

The Perran Pipes

The bagpipes of The Perran Piper are a modified version of the traditional Highland Bagpipes, the difference being in the chanter tuning and the substitution of a sub-bass drone instead of the typical bass drone. This set of pipes is unique and specially adapted by The Perran Piper to produce a more powerful, warmer sound.