 There has been a settlement here since medieval times, with people gaining a living from the Herodsfoot and Deer Park forests as well as locally cultivated orchards, but it was not until silver and lead mines were dug into the steep valley walls that the population began to grow.Herodsfoot is one of 51 Thankful Villages in the UK and the only one in Cornwall (the 'thankful villages' are those that lost no men in World War I).It is "doubly thankful", as one of only 14 villages that lost no men in World War II either.