St Austell

St Austell has the largest population in Cornwall, at around 23,000 people higher even than the county town of Truro. The discovery of China clay, in the hills to the north of the town, saw the new clay mining industry take over from tin and copper mining as the main industry, contributing greatly to the growth of the town and making St Austell one of the main commercial centres in the south west. The clay industry still thrives but, due to technological advances in mining methods, employs only a fraction of workers of the early twentieth century. Other important industries include brewing and, increasingly, tourism. Good road and rail links bring good numbers of visitors in the summer, popular attractions being the Eden Project, the Lost Gardens of Heligan and the China Clay Country Park. The town's notable buildings include the Quaker Meeting House, the town hall and the eighteenth century White Hart hotel. The map below shows the town as it was in the mid twentieth century. Click on a selected area of the map to see an enlargement.