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A GUIDE TO THE PARISH

by Julia Symons Mosman

Treverbyn               Charlestown               St. Austell                   Legends                     Mining         

Please see our Photograph section for more extensive views of what we've described herein

St. Austell, located in the south-central section of Cornwall, is today Cornwall's largest town, with approximately 28,000 residents. The parish is part of the Hundred of Powder, and is bordered on the east by Par, St. Blazey, and Luxulyan parishes, on the north by Roche, and on the west by St. Stephen in Brannel, St. Mewan, and St. Ewe parishes. Mevagissey is just to its south. It is about 14 miles east of Truro. (see map).

Originally, the parish was quite large, covering 11,450 acres. In 1845, St. Blazey parish was created from areas of St. Austell. In 1847, the parish of Charlestown was created from the eastern section, and Treverbyn from the northern in 1850, leaving St. Austell a parish of 1,339 acres. Par was then created out of parts of St. Blazey and Tywardreath. Since then, there have been further divisions and re-organizations. St. Austell was governed by the Restormel Borough Council from 1974 to April 1, 2009. The duties have been taken on by the Cornwall County Council, a "unitary" government, and a newly formed "town council". Three more civil parishes will be created: St. Austell Bay, Carlyon, and Pentewan Valley.

The parish extends from the broad "spine" of granite running down the center of Cornwall with its moors and mines,drops to the urban center of St. Austell, which nestles in the semi-circle of granite deposits which defines "the Northern Quarter" from the Southern, then gently descends down to the sea. At one time it was a land of green valleys and spreading elm and elder trees. Since then, it has become a landscape noted for its lunar-like white cones rising wherever china clay was found.

St. Austell, with china clay "mountains" behind, circa 1966

At the time of the Domesday Book, St. Austell was not mentioned. However, there was a "sanctuary" which Robert Fitzwilliam, by his deed bearing the date of 1169, discharged of a payment to which it had been subject. Much of the territory was controlled by the Priory of Tywardreath. There were also lands under the jurisdiction of the Earl Cardock's manor of Towington (Tewington) which were mentioned in the Domesday book, as were Treverbyn and Trenance.

TREVERBYN

Treverbyn (Tre-verbin= the herb, rape, or root), in the north of the parish, was the voke lands of a considerable manor long before the Norman Conquest (as it appears from the Domesday book). Walter Treverbyn was Sheriff of Cornwall in 1223. The property descended through generations of family until Henry Courtenay, Marquess of Exon and Earl of Devon, son of a Treverbyn heiress, forfeited his lands to the crown for treason against Henry VIII. A part of Treverbyn manor was retained by the Trevannion family, who also had a Treverbyn daughter marry into their line, and the manors became known as "Treverbyn Courtney" and "Treverbyn Trevanion". Much of the lands of Treverbyn Courtney were later sold to local families such as the Rashleighs, Sawles, and Carlyons under the Land-Tax Redemption Act, while the Trevanion's held their land into the 1800's. The duchy, of course, retained their interests in other lands, as well. (see the Cornwall Manorial Rents and Surveys: Treverbyn Courtenay)

There appeared to be ruins of the original Treberbyn manor house into the late 1600's, but by 1815 nothing was visible, and only the oldest inhabitants could remember the remains of a crumbled wall. The location of the church, which was open to the public "long before St. Austell's Holy Trinity was built", and it's burying ground, have also been lost.

For centuries Treverbyn was the territory of tinners, copper miners, and "hard-scrabble" farming. Then china clay was discovered circa 1769 - and the region became one of white mountains and deep pits throughout it's length and breadth. Carn Rosemary, one of the principal villages by 1841, was renamed "Bugle", and still continues as a centre for the population today, with a sizeable population of Portugese living nearby, but many of the villages and hamlets of yore have been subsumed by the ever-expanding mines.

In 1847, while troops were descending upon St. Austell to deal with potentially rioting miners, Elias Martyn of Carthew stopped the van, and demanded they divert from their mission to protect his shop, as he thought the gathering miners were marching against him. Evidently, his mines paid using the "truck system"*, which the town leaders in St. Austell deplored. But as the clay workers weren't miners, they were not protected by the laws against the truck system, and the arrangement continued. (West Briton accounts of the riot.)

In the 1970s, archaelogical excavations were done on a "round hill" near Trethurgy, which was directly in the way of a china clay mine expansion. It was found to be the remains of a Roman era village, and the way the people lived changed academic thought regarding Roman influence; the village was well-organized, and people lived in relative comfort well before the advent of the Romans. There's a very nice explanation regarding these excavations on the Cornwall Council website - see the St. Austell Resources page for links.

CHARLESTOWN to PENTEWAN

At the opposite end of the parish, another manor that was included in the Domeday book was Tewington, with it's center at Towan (heaps of sand, or hillocks) . The coastal village of Pentewan, part of the manor, slowly replaced Towan over the centuries as its role as a place for shipping of ore, etc. became more important. There has been a quarry in the area which produces stone that is unusually strong which has been used for many of the famous buildings throughout Cornwall. Nearby Pentewan a manor named Polruddon once stood; John Polruddon built the house near a cliff, with a stirring view of the sea. However, lights from the house apparently attracted pirates or privateers, for one night John Polrudden disappeared, leaving the house to slowly disintegrate. (Some say it was the French who took him, others slavers, but there is no proof for any theory.) Stones from Polrudden were used to build Penwarne, once home to Mr. Otwell Hill, then owned by the Scobells. Windows and mullions from Polrudden were said to have been used in the building of the nearby Pentewan church and terrace.

All Saints church and terrace in Pentewan were built by Sir Charles Hawkins in 1821. The south wall of the church is possibly Norman. Always subject to sedimentation, after Charles Rashleigh built Charlestown Pentewan's trade diminished. Then, during WWI, the tiny railroad which ran between Pentewan and St. Austell, carrying coal one way and china clay the other, was stopped. The tracks were pulled up, and the harbour lost to silt. The one-time port became a "sleeping treasure". It is now a sailing centre, and a lovely little seaport that is largely unchanged.

Between Pentewan and Charlestown is the small village of Porthpean, one of the favourite destinations for Wesleyan Sunday School picnics in the late 1800's and early 1900's. The tiny church, St. Levan, built by the Sawle family, is still open for services, and acts as a community centre. The wide, smooth beach is used by holiday makers to this day.

What of Charlestown? In 1790, it was named Porthmear (or West Polmear), and comprised 9 people. In 1769 Charles Rashleigh - a partner with Edward Fox, the Quaker, in Polgooth mine - envisioned building a facility to ship the increasing output of the area mines by digging a port - by hand - from the rock where the tiny fishing enclave once existed. In time, his project became a model Georgian "new town" named Charlestown. It handled much of the ore and clay being sent all over the world. In 1847, it became the hub of the new administrative parish of Charlestown. The parish church, St. Paul's, was built in the 1850's, but the tower wasn't finished until 1971, when a fibre glass spire was lowered by helicoper onto the waiting structure.

Rashleigh also built a 6-mile long leat to carry water from Cam Bridges in Luxulyan Valley to Charlestown. The water was then kept in 2 reservoirs, where the water was used to keep ships in the dock afloat at low tide and to periodically flush sand and debris from the harbour. (In fact, Valerie Brokenshire records that the Charlestown leat also provided water for the animals and washing clothes at Tregrehan Mills when their stream failed.) It remains in working order today, and the ruts are still cut through the rocks where the wagons once passed. The industry developed unique wagons to transport clay from the mines to the port; they were capable of carrying huge loads of up to 4,500 lbs. They'd rumble up and down the streets, shaking the building foundations, day and night. At a later date a system was devised to send china clay slurry to the port via underground conduits. The town today is still a working port, while also being a tourist site and the location for several movie "shoots".

While Charles Rasleigh was building Charlestown, he was also building a manor house, on a commanding rise called Duporth. It also was a model Georgian building, with lovely terraces, gardens, and a timbered park. Along with that, naturally, came the curved Duporth beach, restricted to the use of Duporth inhabitants only. In later life, Charles was involved in a long court case, the result of which was that his lawyer owned Duporth. It remained intact until 1988, when the house was demolished, and stones from it went to repair several National Trust houses, one of which was Antony House, Torpoint. The land became a holiday caravan site. His "town house" became the premier hotel in St. Austell.

However, there were problems using Charlestown harbour for the newer, ever-larger ships which started to carry china clay. Therefore, Par Harbour was built by J. T. Austen (Treffry) in the early 1820's, when Par was still considered to be part of St.Austell. By the mid-1840's, there was not only a southern and northern breakwater, but smelters and every function needed for granite and ore handling. It became the primary point for shipping ore and clay, and continues its role today.

ST. AUSTELL

The town of St. Austell is in the center of all this. While not recorded in the Domesday book, A. L. Rowse, in his book "St. Austell: Church, Town, and Parish", cites records which show a church was dedicated October 9, 1262, by Bishop Bronescombe, and other records show a church there in 1169, dedicated to Saint Austolus.

Though small, it acted as a market town for the surrounding area, and the population stayed stable for centuries. (A market charter had been granted by Oliver Cromwell to a gentleman named May, whose seat was near the town.) In 1804, the Church of England estimated a population of just over 1,400 souls. However, as the importance of the natural resources became paramount, the size of the population grew. Eventually, it became a market and union town, and was the polling place for the eastern division of the county. It was the head of the county court district, as well as being a transportation hub - and for a few short years in the 1840's acted as a coinage town. By then, the parish population was over 10,000, and the town consisted of 4,100 souls.

Holy Trinity church was originally built in the 13th-14th centuries.The baptisimal font dates from the late 1200's, when Bishop Bronescombe dedicated the site. The early church building remains today in the chancel; the round pier and low pointed arches of the south arcade are 13th century. In 1291 Philip Cornwallis, Archdeacon of Winchester,(who had been born in St. Austell), gave the church of St. Clether for the endowment of a still-standing chantry chapel - St. Michael's chapel, which stands in the south-eastern corner. The church was extended in 1498-99, and the places where two sections are joined are evident. It was again heavily remodeled in Victorian times, but still retains a wonderfully ornamented tower which is carved from Pentewan stone. The tower was probably in place before the 1498 'remodeling'; precisely when it was built is in dispute. It has been called "the finest tower in Cornwall" (Rowse), with "rich pinnacles, and grotesques on the walls looking as though they would leap down". It is divided into 3 sections, to represent the Trinity, and is "a Bible in stone". A pew-end still exists from the 1498 restoration, showing a worshipper gazing up at a fox as it preaches from the pulpit! Palms once grew in the churchyard, but have been since removed, as have all but a few of the graves in the churchyard, due to road-widening projects and church remodeling. The register dates from 1564. According to the 1874's Kelly's Directory, the priest was provided a residence and 2 acres of glebe (browsing land), a gift of the crown, along with a vicarage valued at £500 per year - at a time when many families were living on 7s. per week!

For those unable to earn their shillings, the Union Workhouse was built in 1839 for 300 persons. It served the following parishes: St. Austell, St. Blazey, Charlestown, Creed, St. Dennis, St. Ewe, Fowey, Golant, Gorran, Grampound, Holmbush, Mevagissey, St. Mewan, St. Michael Caerhayes, Roche, St. Stephen in Brannel, and Treverbyn. Workhouses were abolished in the U.K. in 1930.

While many non-conformist chapels existed in the parish, (37 in 1839, according to the West Briton), and contributed much to the life of the people by way of their Sunday Schools, which taught people to read and write as well as understand the scriptures, to their "teas", where hundreds of people would gather, often at Pentewan and Porthpean, to share tea, saffron buns, cakes and a good time on the beach, as well as their two services each Sunday, spreading the word of God and teetotalism, only two chapels of St. Austell remain in operation today. Many of their burial grounds have been utilized in urban reconstruction efforts, unfortunately.

In St. Austell, the White Hart Hotel was once the town house of Charles Rashleigh, the visionary builder of Charlestown. It's been in the centre of events ever since. Hand-painted wallpaper from the White Hart, once the pride of Charles Rashleigh, is now in the V & A Museum, London, while some fine original pre-Raphelite paintings remain. Another 1600's manor house (Tewington) became the General Wolfe Inn - which has had many incarnations, including as a steak house. Penrice, the home of the Sawle family after they moved from Towan in 1596, became an old-age home upon the death of the last lady of the manor in 1971; it is now part of Penrice Community College, the first college in Cornwall which specializes in languages. Cornwall College, St. Austell campus, moved in 2004 into the former English Clay headquarters, known locally as "the John Keay house.".

Other notable places include the St. Austell Brewery, which was started by Walter Hicks, a wine and spirit merchant, in 1869. Originally sited at the old "London Inn", now Tregonissey House, just north of the church, the steam brewery became so successful under Walter Hicks jnr. it moved in 1893 to a site in Tregonissey Lane (now Trevarthian Road), and is open to visitors Monday through Friday, 9 am to 4:30 pm. His ales have spread the name of St. Austell worldwide, although their 167 licensed houses are limited to Cornwall, Devon, and the Isles of Scilly. (And, perhaps, London, as they just applied in 2009 to purchase outlets there.) They have also expanded into wine, and running inns all over Cornwall.

In 1940, there was a major fire downtown, which destroyed a block of commercial buildings and very old dwellings, and eventually led to a massive reconstruction project. Since then, several such efforts have created "new spaces" and changes in the town. There is currently, in 2008-9, another such project being conducted, making it difficult to navigate about the town centre.

In the middle of town, just in front of the General Wolfe Inn, was once embedded in the street the Meeting Stone (the Mengu stone) which marked the conjunction of the 3 original manors. At one time, it was the center of activity; witches were burnt there, all pronouncements of war and peace were proclaimed, and a cattle market for "unknown" animals was held. Now, due to urban renewal, it has been moved to a place beside the parish church.

Reposing in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is the oldest surviving church plate in the United Kingdom, which includes silver plate and an extremely rare silver scourge. This rich treasure horde was unearthed near Trewhiddle. It is thought to have been buried by a monk or abbot to keep it safe from marauding Norsemen about 875 AD. (And it is telling that no one retrieved the bundle!)

At Higher Blower House, formerly part of Menacuddle Wood, and about 1/2 mile north of town, is an ancient baptistry or well. Once a church stood nearby. For centuries sickly infants were dipped in its water to bring them to health. Menacuddle, in Cornish, means "the stone (or rock) wall" according to Rowse, but has been also interpreted by Cyril Bunn as "place of the Irish Monks" from the Irish "Menagh Codhal". Whatever the meaning of the name, the little stone building over the well was rated "one of the most beautiful in Cornwall" by A. Lane-Davies, and it's estimated to be over 500 years old. It's located next to the stream, surrounded by woods, making it a lovely escape from the busy street nearby.

Just off Carlyon Bay was Tregrehan, home to the Carlyons since 1565; it remains in the family today, but in a slightly altered form. The gardens, famous for their camellias and trees first planted in the 1600's, are open mid-March to mid-May, along with the green-house, which was built in 1846. The Lodge house, old stable, etc. are open for rental. (see Resources for a link to their webpage.) The historian A. L. Rowse's parents operated a small grocery on the main floor of their dwelling in Tregonissey, and were the proud purveyors of sundries to "the big house" for years. (His father also mined all his life - while his grandparents worked at Tregrehan all their lives.) Rowse himself, after success at Cambridge and in the publishing world, bought Trenarren House, the long-time seat of the Hext family, and lived there 40 years until his death in 1996.

Another manor house of note was Tregongeeves, which was owned and occupied by Loveday Hambley. In 1656, her nephew, Thomas Lower, visited George Fox whilst he was imprisoned at Pendennis castle, and came away firmly convinced of the truth in Fox's message. His conviction carried over to Loveday, who became a staunch supporter of Fox, and for whom she "suffered greatly." In 1676, Alexander Parker wrote to Fox "we came to Loveday Hambley's, where we had a good meeting. ... Poor old Loveday was even overcome, and gladdened in her heart to see her house, (which she had lately enlarged), so filled; she has a zeal for God, and loves the prosperity of Truth." In a second meeting, he recorded the house was over-filled with people, and many had to stand outside. (Ltr. No. CI)

LOCAL LEGEND

One of the legends of the area was that a giant, named Tregeagle, while traveling over Gwallow downs, was overtaken by a storm that blew his hat off. He immediately ran after it. Having a large staff in his hand, which impeded his progress a bit, he threw it in the ground until he found the hat. At length the dark and stormy night defeated him; he gave up the pursuit and returned to secure his staff - but could not locate it, either. Both were irrecoverably lost. The hat lay on Whitehouse downs, and bore some resemblance to a mill-stone, but very thick, and not of great diameter. This singular stone remained in place until 1798, when a regiment of soldiers was camped near it. They fancied that, as the season was unusually wet, the stone was the cause, so they raised it on its edge and rolled it over the cliff into the sea. But the giant's walking staff still remains stuck in the ground, being an enormous pillar of granite about thirteen feet high.

And in truth, the Longstone was the only granite within a mile of the location it long occupied. (It now occupies space in the grounds of Penrice Community College.)

The Long Stone at Mount Charles (also named for Charles
Rashleigh) circa 1966

MINING


There has been mining in Cornwall since time immemorial. Existing records show that Cornish miners traded with the Phoenicians; since that day, tin and copper mining have played a persistent role in the lives of the people in the parish. There were small deposits of silver and gold, but the main mining activity was tin-streaming. Tin streamers typically back-filled as they dug out new ground, so there is very little evidence of their activities today.

Single Rose, Wheal Virgin, and Wheal Elizabeth were royal mines. In 1580, Queen Elizabeth brought German miners to the area to work copper mines; according to Canon Hammond, local family names of Bowman, Ham, Hart, Hore, Keast, Kessell, Lobb, Sleeman, Starke, Waldron all stem from these settlers. During the Stuart period, many more mines were opened, including Wheal Fatwork, Virtue, Bold-venture, Wet and Weary, and Heartsease. George I brought further German miners into the parish as the mines deepened, since the Germans had experience with hard rock and deep mining - especially Polgooth, which was given a new lease on life.. (In it's heyday, more than 1,200 miners worked at Polgooth, and it had 26 shafts working concurrently.)

Eventually deeply tunneled tin and copper mines abounded. It was said one could walk from Boscoppa Farm to Crinnis without ever coming to the surface. Bob Acton said he was surprised to find "the St. Austell area was once nearly as important for mines as it is now for china clay". One expert has stated that the modern-day equivalent value of the copper and tin mined from the parish would equal £ 9 billion! The Crinnis was the highest-producing mine of its time, and Carclaze the largest, being one mile in diameter, and 150 feet deep. Tin mining abated in the 1840's, and copper collapsed in 1866. Some engine houses still stand to mark the existence of these mines, eerie remnants of a long-ago, highly prosperous industry.

There were 3 "blowing houses" in St.Austell at that time, indicating a very large tin mining community.

Natural resources in large part defined the people who lived there. People in the "upper" half of the parish were generally miners, first of tin and copper, later of clay. People of the "lower", or southern half, were more invoved with the sea - fishermen, boat builders, rope makers, as well as small farmers. Many people had two or three sources of income; a farmer might also mine, a miner might have a shop in his lower floor, while a shopkeeper might also be a part-time free-trader. [free-trader=smuggler, in some eyes] All, of course, grew food and/or fished to survive.

In 1759 chemist William Cookworthy discovered the secret of utilizing the very high quality china clay, which is the residue of decomposing granite, and which occurred in large deposits in the parish. From small beginnings the industry grew rapidly. St. Austell became a world supplier for this valuable resource, as well as supplying the English porcelain manufacturers such as Wedgwood. (The quality of the clay is only equaled by that found in 4 other places in the world!) By the mid-1800's, the majority of the population was involved in china clay mining. Women and men, as well as children as young as 8, were fully engaged in the work - about 7,000 strong. Most of the clay mines were located in "the Higher Quarter", or what became Treverbyn parish. When in 1866 there was a collapse of copper mining, clay continued to thrive, and people moved to the area for jobs - working for 12s. per week. Even though trade in china clay diminished in the 1900's, it is still in production today, and an excellent china clay museum presenting an authentic 19th century mine allows people of today to see what the most modern technology was like in 1860. The equivalent value for the clay mined over the years equals £13 billion!!!

Gleaming white pyramids which marked china clay mine sites have long been a trademark of the parish. Some have slowly been reclaimed by nature, while others have been created with the new "thumbprint" (flattened) outline, but some still exist - a reminder of what once was.

Gunheath china clay mine, in Treverbyn, 1966

Notable mines in the area included the Great Crinnis Mine, part of which is now covered by the grounds of the Carlyon Bay Hotel, the Wheal Eliza mines, Gunheath, Goonbarrow, Cuddra, the Tregrehan Mine (or Wheal Joney), Greensplat, and the famous Carclaze - which started out with tin and copper, and ended with china clay!

St. Austell Parish is almost a microcosm of Cornwall. It has lovely views of the ocean, great old homes, historical monuments, farming - and a long, productive history of mining. Its people were (and are) solid, industrious individuals who were (and are) independent and self-reliant. While it is not outstanding in any one area, it excels in all.

 For population and occupation statistics, click here.