St. Austel, in the Hundred of Powder, has of late years very much increased in consequence and population, through its vicinity to the great tin-mine of Polgooth, and from the Blackmore court (the most considerable of the Stannery courts) being held here. The high road from Plymouth to the Land's End runs through this town. The streets are very narrow, and at present ill paved. The church is a fine old fabric, dedicated to St. Austin; the burial ground is some distance from the church : the tower is curiously ornameuted with fanciful gothic sculpture. The living is a vicarage formerly appendant to St. Austel manor, as parcel of the dutchy of Cornwall; but at present, from long exercise of the right, the gift is now considered as belonging to the King, and valued in the Liber Regis 21.

St. Austel is a market but not a borough town. The charter whereby they hold the weekly market was granted by Queen Elizabeth, and said to have been afterwards confirmed by Oliver Cromwell. An annual market or fair is also held here on Holy Thursday, which is well attended. The inhabitants of the town are chiefly employed in the pilchard fishery, mining, and in a small manufactory of serges. The population of St. Austel,as returned under the latt population act, appears to amount to 3,880 persons: the number of houses 707. The distance from London 254 miles.

The country between St. Austel and West Looe is of the most pleasing description.

---

ST. AUSTELL is a market and union town, parish and head of a county court district, 40 miles from Penzance, 14 north-east from Truro, 40 from Plymouth, 11 south-south-west from Bodmin, 93 from Exeter, 286 from London and 2 west from the port of Charlestown, with a station on the Great Western railway, and is in the Mid division of the county, western division of the hundred of Powder, petty sessional division of Powder East, rural deanery of St. Austell, archdeaconry of Cornwall and diocese of Truro. The town, seated on the southern slope of a hill, is of comparatively modern date, and owes its prosperous condition to the numerous tin and copper mines and china clay works in the surrounding district. The streets, though still narrow and irregular, have been much improved through the modernising of the old shops and the erection of new buildings. The town is governed by an urban district council of 15 members, formed under the provisions of the “Local Government Act, 1894” (56 and 57 Viet. c. 73), which supersedes the local board established 1864; water is supplied from a reservoir at Trenance, holding 1,000,000 gallons, and the property of the Council, the stream coming from Carn Stents and brought in by the Council at a cost of £5,000; gas is supplied by a Limited Company, formed in 1871, and since March, 1886, the principal business establishments and public buildings have been lighted with the electric light, from works the property of Messrs. Veale and Co. Limited.

The church of the Holy Trinity, standing in the centre of the town, is a structure of Pentewan stone, in the Early Decorated and Perpendicular styles, consisting of chancel, nave of five bays, aisles, south porch, with parvise, and an embattled tower 96 feet high, with pinnacles and richly ornamented with niches, containing statues of the Deity, the Saviour, Angels, Bishops, the Virgin Marv, and various saints, and containing a clock with 3 dials and Westminster chimes, placed in the tower in 1885 at a cost of £200, and 8 fine-toned bells, all cast in 1810 : on the buttresses of the south side are sculptured the instruments of the Passion : the chancel, which inclines towards the south, is Early Decorated and has a reredos of alabaster and mosaic, erected in 1872 : the font is Norman and has shafts at the angles : there are memorial windows to the Rev. Fortescue Todd LL.B, vicar 1838—81, the Right Rev. J. W. Colenso D.D. Bishop of Natal, d. 20 June, 1883, Mrs. Graves-Sawle, Edward Coode esq. Thomas Drew, and others : the church was restored some time since, when a new open timber roof was placed over the chancel, and the whole interior reseated with open benches, at a total cost of £2,300; a new organ was erected in 1880, at a cost of £800; and a sculptured pulpit in 1881, at a cost of £130, and since then the chancel has been refitted with oak stalls and screens, at a cost of £700; in 1889 a vestry was built on the north to the memory of Mrs. Edmund Carlyon, at a cost of £350 : there are 700 sittings. The churchyard has been levelled on the north and east and inclosed with handsome railings, at a cost of £180: an ancient Latin cross found on the manor of Treverbyn stands in the churchyard. The “Menagew,” or “Mengu” stone has been removed from its ancient site and fixed in the pavement at the corner of Menacuddle street, and the spot is marked by a brass plate, presented by Mr. Edmund Carlyon; this stone is said to have marked the boundary of the three ancient manors of Treverbyn, Trenance and Tewington. The register dates from the year 1505. The living is a vicarage, net yearly value £310, with residence and 1 acre of glebe, in the gift of the Crown, and held since 1881 by the Rev. Joseph Hammond B.A., LL.B, of London University, Hon. Canon of Truro, and surrogate.

The Society of Friends have a meeting house in High Cross street with 350 sittings. There is a Baptist chapel at Western hill, with 350 sittings; and a Congregational chapel in Duke street, with 350 sittings. The Bible Christian chapel, in Tregonissey road, erected in 1890, at a cost of about £1,600, is a building of granite, and affords 600 sittings: the old chapel has been converted into a school-room and lecture-hall, and is also used for holding the sessions of the St. Austell County Court; the Primitive Methodist chapel, in South street, has 450 sittings; and the Free Methodist chapel, at East hill, 350 sittings. The Wesleyan Methodist chapel in Bodmin road is a large and substantial building, erected 1828 and restored in 1888 at a cost of £250, and again in 1892 at a cost of nearly £3,000; it is lighted by electricity, and has 1,000 sittings. A cemetery of 4 acres was formed in 1878, at an entire cost of £2,500, including purchase money, and has two mortuary chapels: it is under the control of a Joint Burial Committee of the Urban District Council and the Parish Council.

The Town Hall and Market House, erected in 1844, form one spacious building of granite ; the Town Hall, which is on the upper storey, will hold 500 persons; the market is conveniently arranged for general purposes, is well supplied with all kinds of provisions and is lighted by electricity. The market day is Friday, but a market is also held on Saturday afternoon, and is sometimes very numerously attended.

The County Court is held in the building of the old Bible Christian chapel.

The Public Rooms, Truro road, erected in 1895, at a cost of £5,000, by the St. Austell Public Rooms Co. Limited, are well adapted for public meetings, balls and concerts, and include a drill hall, council chamber, the offices of the Urban District Council, a fire-station, anterooms, and a large hall, 80 feet by 40 feet, with a balcony, and holding 1,000 persons: these rooms are licensed for dramatic purposes, and are lighted by electric light.

The Constitutional Club, formed in 1889, occupies premises in Vicarage hill, and has over 300 members ; the library of 1,000 volumes was purchased from the Literary Institute, now closed.

The Liberal Club, at the west end of Fore street, opened 16th July, 1890, was erected solely at the expense of Francis Layland-Barratt esq. J.P. of Tregarne Lodge, from the designs of Mr. S. Trevail, of Truro, and contains on the ground floor two spacious and convenient shops; on the first floor are reading and smoking rooms, library and kitchen, and on the second floor a billiard room containing two tables, also a secretary’s room and lavatories: there are about 400 members.

The St. Austell Cottage Gardening Society, established in 1848, holds an annual exhibition about the beginning of August, when many prizes are distributed; H. S. Hancock, hon. sec. and H. J. Bramble, assist, hon. sec.

Cattle fairs are held on the 5th April, 31st May, 26th July, 19th October and 30th November.

There are four banks, viz.:-The St. Austell Bank (Coode, Shilson & Co.), the Devon and Cornwall Banking Co. Limited, the Consolidated Bank of Cornwall, Church street, and the Cornish Bank, Limited, High Cross street.

Three weekly newspapers are published here, viz. the “St. Austell Weekly News and Cornish Advertiser,” “The St. Austell Star,” and “The St. Austell Gazette.”

The head quarters of the D Company of the 2nd Volunteer Battalion Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry are here.

The principal hotels are the “White Hart” and “Queen’s Head.”

In this district the principal industry is the working of the china clay and china stone mines, the substance known as “china clay” being the Kaolin of the mineralogist and the hydrous silicate of alumina of the chemist ; it is estimated that in the various processes connected with this manufacture over 3,000 persons are employed: all the leading firms have offices in St. Austell, which is the capital of the china clay district; the ports of export being chiefly Par, Fowey, Charlestown and Newquay. The principal firms are Messrs. Martin Brothers Limited, of St. Austell and Plymouth; Messrs. Lovering, of St. Austell and St. Blazey; The West of England China Stone and Clay Co. of St. Austell and St. Stephens; Mr. Olver, St. Stephens; Messrs. Higman, of St. Austell; Messrs. Knight, St. Blazey; Messrs. Thriscutt and Bale, of Caudle down; Mr. David Cock, of Roche; The Lower Lansalson Clay Co.; The Single Rose China Clay Co.; The Wheal Annea Clay Co.; Messrs. Joseph Rogers and Co. of St. Austell and Truro; and Messrs. Stocker, of St. Austell and St. Stephens; about 400,000 tons of this clay are annually exported to the Potteries and into Lancashire, where it is largely used in the calico weaving districts of Blackburn and other cotton towns, the china clay being the principal ingredient in the sizing with which the cloth is heavily loaded; it is also used in chemical works: the chief districts in Cornwall yielding china clay are St. Austell, Blisland and Penzance, and it is also found at Lee Moor, in Devon; besides these, no other localities are at present known producing china clay and stone of such excellent quality and in such abundance. These mineral substances were first discovered in Cornwall in 1763, and about this time Josiah Wedgwood, the great English potter, in conjunction with a Mr. Carthew, became lessee of certain china mines near St. Austell, and the manufacture of porcelain from this clay, skilfully superintended by Wedgwood, was highly successful. The peculiar nature of the mineral seems as yet to be but partially understood, but it is supposed to be the result of an unhealthy or diseased state of the soil, being, in its first state, a greyish-looking plastic clay, formed in compact masses immediately beneath the surface soil, by the disintegration of the felspar and fine white granite, common to these localities; it has an unctuous, greasy feel, and in some cases shows the crystalline structure of the felspar. The clay is mixed with water, and while held in suspension is pumped up and passed over a very slight incline, depositing in its passage all heavy matter, after which it is further purified in washing pits and dried ready for use. The men employed in this industry earn good wages and work short hours, the average working day being 8 hours only; there are but few young persons employed: up to 1884 this trade was very prosperous, but the price then fell considerably and is still said by the trade to be too low.

Carclaze mine or works are 2 miles north of the town, at an altitude of 665 feet. From the summit of this rising ground the mine is sunk to the depth of 150 feet, open, and somewhat in the shape of an enormous basin, the surface of which measures upwards of 15 acres, with a circumference of more than a mile: it is supposed to have been worked for more than 400 years,’ and until about 1851 for tin exclusively, but now produces china clay (Kaolin), of which an immense quantity is washed from the decomposed granite forming the strata of the mine.

The Trenance Flour Mills are worked by Mr. Thomas Hitchins.

There is an extensive steam brewery, erected in 1893 by Mr. W. Hicks.

Near Higher Blowing House, formerly part of Mena-cuddle Wood, and about half a mile north of the town, is an ancient baptistery or well chapel, close to which was formerly a chapel attached to the priory of Tywardreath, but abolished in the reign of Henry VIII.; the last incumbent, in the succeeding reign, received a pension of £5 a year; the existing building, much overgrown and surrounded with trees, is an Early Gothic structure, 11 feet in length, by 9 wide and 11 feet high; there are two entrances, each consisting of a pointed arch, on clustered shafts, opposite each other, one on the north and the other on the south side, and respectively 5 feet 2 inches and 2 feet 9 inches in height; at the west end is a small window; the spring, rising at the east end, flows into a divided basin of granite; adjoining this baptistery is the Chapel Main, said to be an ancient burial place; a similar well exists at Towan, in this parish. On the extreme north and north-west boundaries of the parish, about a mile distant from each other, and on the highest land in the parish, are two large barrows, called “Cock’s Barrow” and “Hen’s Barrow,” the latter, 1,034 above the sea level, being also known as “The Archbeacon of Cornwall”; from the top of these, on a clear day, the whole county of Cornwall can be readily viewed.

The suburban residences and gentlemen’s seats include :-Penrice, the residence of Sir Charles Brune Graves-Sawle bart. B.A., D.L., J.P.; Porthpean House, of Mrs. Petherick; Duporth, of Henry Hodge esq. ; Trenarren, of Lieut.-Col. Arthur S. Hext; Moor Cottage, of Richard Carlyon Coode esq. J.P.; Ponddhu, of Mrs. T. Coode; Trewhiddle, of Daniel Henry Shilson esq.; Polcarne, of Mrs. John Coode; Trevarna, of William Coode esq. M.A.; Trevarrick, of Robert G. Lakes esq. J.P. ; Polkyth, of Edmund Carlyon esq. ; The Brake, of Walter Hicks esq.; Trevarthian, of Arthur Coode esq. J.P.; and North Hill, of Mrs. Veale.

Sir C. B. Graves-Sawle bart. D.L., J.P. is lord of the manor of Tewington.

The principal landowners are H.R.H. The Duke of Cornwall K.G.; the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe P.C., D.C.L., L.L.; Sir Charles Brune Graves-Sawle bart.; George Richard Gwavas Carlyon esq. of Tregrehan, Par; John Tremayne esq. of Heligan; Henry Edward Lamb esq.; Richard Carlyon Coode esq.; John Edward Veale esq.; Robert Gould Lakes esq.; Francis Barratt esq. of Prideaux, Par Station and Christopher Henry Thomas Hawkins esq. of Trewithan, Probus.

The rateable value is £52,817; and the population of the parish in 1881 was 11,286, and in 1891, 11,377.

This parish is very extensive, occupying an area of 12,125 acres, including the ecclesiastical parishes of TREVERBYN and CHARLESTOWN, formed in 1846 out of portions of the east (Charlestown) and north (Treverbyn) of St. Austell.

The union comprises the following parishes :-St. Austell (urban & rural), St. Blazey, Creed, St. Dennis, St. Ewe, Fowey, Gorran, Grampound, Mevagissey, St. Mewan, St. Michael Carhayes, Roche, St. Stephen’s-in-Brannell, St. Sampson’s & Tywardreath. The area of the union is 58,266 acres; rateable value in 1897, £150,768; the population in 1891 was 30,695.

PLACES OF WORSHIP, with times of services

Holy Trinity Church, Rev. Joseph Hammond B.A., LL.B, vicar; Rev. Richard Tolson Schlesinger Tolson B.A. & Rev. John Charles Frederick Brindley M.A. curates; 8 & 11 a.m. & 6.15 p.m.; Wed. 7.30 p.m.

St. Levan Chapel of Ease, Porthpean.

Catholic, Duke street, served from Par; first Sunday in the month at 11 a.m.

Society of Friends’ Meeting House, High Cross street; public meetings for worship, first day, morning, 11 a.m. evening at 6; fourth day, morning, 11 a.m.

Baptist, Old hill; Rev. Edwin Osborne; 11 a.m. & 6.15 p.m.; Thur. 7.30 p.m.

Congregational, Duke street; Rev. John Naylor B.A.; 11 a.m. & 6.15 p.m.; Wed. 7.30 p.m.

Bible Christian, Tregonissey road; Rev. Mark Brokenshire; 10.45 a.m. & 6.15 p.m.; Tues. 7.15 p.m.

Primitive Methodist, South street; Rev. Joseph Beale; 11 a.m. & 6.15 p.m. ; Wed. 7.30 p.m.

Primitive Methodist, Mount Charles, Rev. Joseph Beale; 11 a.m. & 6 p.m.; Thur. 7 p.m.

United Methodist Free Church, East hill, was built in 1854; Rev. William T. Symons; 10.45 a.m. & 6.15 p.m.; Wed. 7.15 p.m.

United Methodist Free Church, Mount Charles, Rev. Wm. T. Symons, minister.

Wesleyan Methodist, Bodmin road, Rev. William Joseph Wilkinson; 11 a.m., & 6.15 p.m. ; Wed. 7.15 p.m.

Wesleyan Methodist, Mount Charles, Rev. William Joseph Wilkinson; 11 a.m. & 6 p.m.; alternate Mondays, 7.30 p.m.

SCHOOLS

A School Board of 7 members was formed June 28, 1871; H. Sydney Hancock, Sydney place, clerk to the board; Board room, Central schools, Western hill; Isaiah Burnard, Slades, St. Austell, attendance officer.

The Central Board School (boys, girls & infants), erected in 1871—2, occupy a site of three-quarters of an acre, adjoining the Western hill, & are built of local slate, with granite & white brick dressings, from designs by Mr. S. Trevail, architect, of Truro; they were formally opened on Dec. 2nd, 1872, by Sir C. B. Graves-Sawle bart. chairman of the school board, & will hold 600 children; average attendance, 176 boys, 144 girls & 112 infant.

Mount Charles Elementary Board (boys, girls & infants), built in 1871, to hold 500 children; average attendance, 143 boys, 124 girls & 112 infants.

Carclaze Elementary Board (mixed), is a handsome building of screeda granite, erected, with master’s residence, in 1879, for 330 children; average attendance, 209.

Porthpean (mixed), supported by Lady Graves-Sawle, for 40 children; average attendance, 35.