St Austell

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View from the northeast over the city center

St Austell ( Cornish : Sen Ostell , [ sɛn 'ɔstɛl ]) is a town on the south coast of the English county of Cornwall . In 2011 it had 19,958 inhabitants.

geography

Tailings northwest of St Austell

The city center is located on the eastern bank of the St Austell River , roughly in the middle of its course between the source and the confluence with Mevagissey Bay near Pentewan . The area of ​​the urban area is 6.61 square kilometers. Adjacent parishes, starting to the west and going clockwise, are St Mewan, Treverbyn, Carlyon, St Austell Bay, and Pentewan Valley. The district is now largely built up, the transitions to the neighboring communities Treverbyn and St Austell Bay are fluid. St Austell is within the National Character Area of Cornish Killas .

The dumps caused by the intensive kaolin mining since the beginning of the 19th century characterize the landscape, especially in the north and west of the city. You gave the region around St Austell the name Cornish Alps .

history

The origins of St Austell are unknown. It brings the tradition associated primarily with two similar name, in the early Middle Ages lived: Hoystill, a saint and missionary, a student of St. Newman and daughter of legendary Brychan, king of Brycheiniog and with Austol, one originally from Brittany dating Monk, godchild and student of St. Mewes, to whom the nearby village of St Mewan takes its name. Other suggestions include St. Auxilius, a nephew of St. Patrick, and Augustine the Hippo .

In the Domesday Book , originated in the 11th century , St Austell is not listed. It was first mentioned in a document in 1169, when Robert Fitzwilliam granted the sanctuarium de Sancto Austolo exemption from taxes.

With the end of the Middle Ages, the importance of St Austell grew due to the increasing mining of tin in the area, such as the mines of Carclaze and Polgooth. The village was in the center of the Blackmore mining district , the associated Stannary Court had its seat in St Austell. Around 1638 the market right was applied for with the reference to the trade in grain, fish and tin: The town has a great trade in corn, fish, and tin, being very populous . However, it was not until 1661 that St Austell was given permission to hold a weekly market on Friday . In 1695 Celia Fiennes described St Austell as "a little market town".

In the course of the beginning of industrialization , the mining of tin and copper also increased significantly in Cornwall . While Richard Pococke described St Austell in 1750 as “a little tinning town”, Pastor Shaw spoke of “Peru of Britain” in 1788, referring to the importance of mining there for the Spanish crown . The construction of a permanent road link between Plymouth and Truro via St Austell in 1762 contributed to economic development, as did the opening of the railway on the same route in 1858.

Around the middle of the 18th century, the pharmacist William Cookworthy discovered that the kaolin found in Devon and Cornwall was suitable for making porcelain . Around 1768 the mining of the underlying rock kaolinite began in the area of ​​St Austell, particularly in the parishes of St Dennis and St Stephen-in-Brannel, which are a little to the west. As a result, the decline in ore production caused by the increasing depletion of tin and copper deposits could be more than compensated economically. For the next two centuries or so, the further development of St Austell was strongly influenced by the kaolin industry, between 1811 and 1831 the population of the city doubled. By the mid-19th century, the Austell Clay District employed around 7,000 people, men, women and children.

Administrative affiliation

As part of the medieval division of Cornwall in Hundreds, St Austell was part of Powdershire. After its dissolution, the city formed an independent urban district from 1894 , which was expanded in 1934 to include parts of the surrounding rural district of the same name. In 1968 the Urban District was merged with the Municipal Borough of Fowey to form MB St Austell with Fowey , both of which went into the Restormel district in 1974 . In the course of the dissolution of all districts of the county and their conversion into a unitary authority in 2009 , the area around St Austell, which had not been subdivided at this administrative level, was divided into four parishes. The city that was the seat of the administration of Restormel has since formed its own parish ( Parish ).

economy

The mining of kaolin, which has been practiced since the beginning of the 19th century, has lost much of its importance since the end of the 20th century . While there were around 6,000 employees at the beginning of the 1980s, their number had fallen to around 1,000 by the beginning of 2017. The operator, the French mining company Imerys , announced in 2006 that it would no longer need 700  hectares of operating space in and around St Austell. In the coming years, five eco-settlements will be built on them. Imerys, on the other hand, has concentrated its mining activities in Brazil since the beginning of the 21st century .

In the village itself, the St Austell brewery is the dominant production facility that supplies the region with traditional ale . The brewery is one of the largest employers in Cornwall with around 1000 employees. It has been owned by the founding family since 1893. The beers received many national and international awards, for example four World Beer Awards in 2014 . In 2003 the brewery began trying to distill the first whiskey in Cornwall. The whiskey produced in cooperation with a distillery is now available.

tourism

Fore Street and Holy Trinity Church

Although St Austell is not directly on the coast, tourism is of increasing economic importance. The beaches along the coastal path at Austell Bay and the popular resort of Par as well as several regional attractions contribute to this:

  • The St Austell Brewery Visitor Center offers tours of the building.
  • The Wheal Martyn China Clay Heritage Center was set up in the former mining area around 4 km outside the city . The exhibition there gives the visitor an insight into the mining of kaolin . The tour takes you through the old deposits on original “mine trains”. You can also explore the area on your own on a nature trail.
  • A young but already well-known botanical garden is the Eden Project near Bodelva , about 5 miles northeast of St Austell.
  • One of the most famous botanical gardens in the UK is The Lost Gardens of Heligan near the town of Mevagissey .
  • The nearby port of Charlestown , from which kaolin was still shipped until the 1990s, is relatively unchanged . Because of its authentic atmosphere, it is often used as a location for feature films. The current owner of the docks is the Square Sail Shipyard . The company owns three old brigs , which are moored in the harbor as in the old days and can be viewed.
  • Behind the harbor is the Shipwreck & Heritage Center with a collection of historical items and photos, as well as models of historical sites.
  • At the far east end of Austell Bay near Gribbin Head is Menabilly House , where Daphne du Maurier lived for 24 years. Allegedly, the property was the model for Manderley in her novel " Rebecca ".
  • Medieval church of St Mewan in the suburb of the same name.

Buildings

A total of 55 buildings and facilities in the city are classified as culturally and historically significant. These are the city church Holy Trinity Church from the late Middle Ages as a Listed Building in the highest category I, as well as four others in the category II * and forty-eight in the category II. There is also a crossroads and a Bronze Age menhir as a scheduled monument .

traffic

St Austell Railway Station

St Austell is on the railway line from London via Plymouth to Penzance . St Austell railway station opened in May 1859. It's in the hills above the city. Several express trains stop here every day, connecting Cornwall with the capital. The city also has a bus station, which makes it easier for passengers to change trains. Local bus routes connect St Austell with the surrounding towns. Between 1829 and 1918 the narrow - gauge Pentewan Railway, which is mainly used for goods traffic, ran between St Austell and the port of Pentewan .

St Austell can be reached by road from Truro and Liskeard on the A390. The A3058 connects St Austell with Newquay .

Personalities

literature

Web links

Commons : St Austell  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ St Austell River on the UK Environment Agency website, accessed March 31, 2018. (English)
  2. ↑ Presentation of the location and boundaries of St Austell on the Ordnance Survey map server, accessed on April 2, 2018.
  3. ↑ a b c The China Clay Industry on the Cornwall Guide website, accessed March 31, 2018. (English)
  4. ^ Brian Daniel Starr: The Life of Saint Brychan: King of Brycheiniog and Family , p. 69 ISBN 143920361X (English)
  5. ↑ Cornwall - Land of Saints on the Cornwall Guide website, accessed March 31, 2018. (English)
  6. ↑ St Austell UD on the Vision of Britain website, accessed April 1, 2018. (English)
  7. ↑ St Austell With Fowey MB on the Vision of Britain website, accessed April 1, 2018. (English)
  8. ^ Town and parishes to get councils. BBC, December 5, 2008, accessed April 1, 2018. (English)
  9. ^ About the eco-communities project. Information on the project on the UA Cornwall website, accessed April 1, 2018.
  10. ↑ Database query St Austell Parish on the website of Historic England , carried out on March 30, 2018. (English)

Coordinates: 50 ° 20 ′  N , 4 ° 48 ′  W