Members of Kerala Legislative Assembly from Payyanur Assembly Constituency

Local self governed segments in Payyanur Assembly Constituency
 

Payyannur is one of several extant ancient civilized places in Kerala. The northern town of Kerala claims a rich recorded history. The archaeological remains excavated from Payyannur and nearby places prove the existence of a city in this area centuries ago.
The earliest known mention of this town is in the Brahmanda Purana, when Garga Muni talks about this place to the Pandavas during their exile.
Several notable travelers have described this area in their writings. Ibn Battuta visited Ezhimala in AD 1342 and wrote about the large seaport and the Chinese ships anchored here. Abul Fida in AD 1273, Marco Polo in AD 1293, the Italian explorer Niccolò de' Conti in the 15th century and the Portuguese scholar and traveler Barbosa all visited this place and gave extensive accounts of Ezhimala port, which was then known as "Heli". The scholar and author Hermann Gundert and William Logan, the Malabar District Collector during the British Colonial rule, who wrote Malabar Manual, also visited Payyannur and studied the rich heritage of the area.

Centuries back, Payyannur was a part of the Ezhimala/Mushika/Kolathiri Kingdom. King Nandan was well known as a great warrior and ruler. The books written during the Sangam period describe the area and King. Ezhimala was also under the rule of the Cheras. A famous ruler there was Pazhassi Raja.
Payyannur Pattu, the ballad written by an unknown person belonging to the Chettiar community sometime during the 13th or 14th century, was set here.

Orator and freedom fighter KP Kunhirama Poduval, who founded Sanjayan Smaraka Grandhalayam at Annur (Sanjayan Memorial Library), is from here. Kelappan Service Center (perhaps the only institution built in memory of Kelappaji, also known as "Kerala Gandhi") and Payyannur Co-operative Stores are among a number of social organizations in the area.

Evolution of Payyannur

Payyannur Highway
In the past, the city of Kachil Patanam (presently Kavvayi) was the main town due to the proximity of waterways through Kavvayi River and its large seaport. It was both the administrative and business center during that time. According to historians, the ships from China and other countries used to visit this port and were anchored in the nearby river Changoorichal. Kavvayi retained its position during the rule of British East India Company also. They established the first Magistrate's court and Registrar's Office in Kavvayi.

Later, Kokkanisseri became the city center. The main road, which starts from Perumba, divided the town into two. The south of this road was called Payyannur village and the north Kokkanisseri village. The business center was called Kokkanisseri Bazaar. Later, the name Payyannur became common and thus the developed city of today came into existence.

Subrahmanya swamy Temple pond
During the regime of the Kolathiri Dynasty, Payyannur was a part of Kolathu Nadu, ruled by the Kolathiri Rajas based in Chirakkal near Kannur. During British rule, Payyannur was considered as a "farka" which in turn is a part of the Chirakkal Taluk. Until the formation of Kerala State in 1957, Payyannur remained in the Malabar District of the Madras State.
 

Payyannur derives its name from the renowned Sri Subrahmanya Swami Temple located here. Payyan is an appellation of Lord Subrahmanya and ooru means town or place. Thus Payyannur means the land of Lord Subrahmanya.