[1] The hamlet has been said to take its name from the "Bold Venture" that it must have appeared to build a farm in this moorland, but this is probably folk etymology, as "Bol-" is a common prefix in Cornish placenames.

Daphne du Maurier, a former resident, chose Bolventor as the setting for her novel about Cornish smugglers titled Jamaica Inn.

On 14 September 1945 a Royal Air Force Handley Page Halifax Mk VII (PN305) was operating a flight from RAF Tarrant Rushton, Dorset to Lajes Field, Azores, Portugal.

During the flight an electrical failure occurred causing a dingy inside the wing to inflate dislodge from stowage.

The dingy wrapped around the tail assembly and the aircraft went into a nose dive, crashing into the Priddacombe area of Bolventor.