Gwennap is situated in the Deanery and Hundred of Kerrier. It is bounded on the North by St Agnes, and a detached part of Kenwyn and Kea, on the East by Perranarworthal, on the South by Stithians, and on the West by Wendron and Redruth. Villages in the parish are the Churchtown, Carharrack, Trevarth, Crofthandy and Sunnycorner. Two new parishes were created from parts of this parish: St Day in 1833 and Lanner in 1845. Gwennap Parish Council was formed on 4 December 1894 and Carharrack formed part of the area looked after by that Council until a Government review and pressure from the local inhabitants, Carharrack became a civil parish in its own right in 1985. The first meeting of the newly-formed Carharrack Parish Council took place on 28 May 1985.