St Blazey
St Blazey
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OS grid reference | SX069548 |
Civil parish |
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Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | PAR |
Postcode district | PL24 |
Dialling code | 01726 |
Police | Devon and Cornwall |
Fire | Cornwall |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
St Blazey (Cornish: Lanndreth) is a small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom.
St Blaise is the
Once an important engineering centre for the local mine and railway industries, the parish is now dominated by the Eden Project.
St Blazey is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) east of St Austell, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Tywardreath and 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Par.[3]
The town takes its name from the Armenian Saint Blaise and holds a procession and service on his feast day, 3 February.[4]
History
The namesake and
An Iron Age hillfort Prideaux Castle lies a mile to the north west of the town in the parish of Luxulyan.[6]
The Biscovey Stone is the shaft of an ancient
The church was built between 1440 and 1445 and is dedicated to Saint Blaise. It replaces an earlier church mentioned in 1294. The parish was administered by Tywardreath Priory until the Reformation. It was split from St Austell parish in 1834.[8] The site was originally known by the Cornish names Landrait or Landreath, meaning Church on the Sand.[8] A stone Gothic Latin cross stands in the churchyard but nothing is known about its history.[9]
Until the 16th century the valley below St Blazey was an estuary of the
The town was once dominated by the local mining industries and their associated transport infrastructure. Historically copper and tin were mined in and around the parish, whilst more recently china clay has been the principal commodity mined. "The Par & St Blazey Consols" or "South Prideaux Wood" was a small tin mine just north of the town[10] and Par Consols Mine lies to the south west.[11] The more extensive Fowey Consols mine lies to the east near Tywardreath.
The port of
In 1931 the parish of "St Balzey" had a population of 3267.[12] On 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished and merged with St Austell.[13] On 1 April 1983 a civil parish called "St Blaise" was formed.[14]
The Par Canal was soon replaced by the Cornwall Minerals Railway, which had a depot and station in the town, and still exists as part of the Atlantic Coast Line. Whilst St Blazey depot is still in use, St Blazey station closed to passengers in 1925, and the town is now served by Par station on the Cornish Main Line in Par village.[3]
Tourism
The Eden Project is located within the civil parish, and about a mile and half (2 km) from the centre of the town. The large number of visitors this attracts has led to the development of tourism in the town. Other attractions, such as the Treffry Viaduct and the Luxulyan Valley, are also close by, although actually within the adjoining parish of Luxulyan.[3]
Education
Primary education is provided by Biscovey Nursery and Infant Community School and Biscovey Junior School.
Sport
Cornish wrestling
Cornish wrestling tournaments took place in the following locations over the last 200 years:
- A field behind the Pack Horse Inn.[15]
- The Foundry Meadow which was a field behind the old foundry.[16]
- St Blazey cricket ground.[17]
Football
The town's football team, St Blazey A.F.C., was the first club of England International goalkeeper Nigel Martyn.[18]
Cricket
The town is also home to St Blazey Cricket Club which has two teams. The cricket club is based at the top of Middleway Road. The club most recently won the Roseveare Cup in 2019, with both the first team and second team also gaining promotion from Division 3 & 5 East respectively.
Notable people
Notable people from the town include
References
- Cornwall County Council. Archived from the originalon 5 May 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
- ^ "Ward population 2011". Retrieved 12 February 2015.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-319-23708-3.
- ^ Gilbert, Davies; Hals, William; Tonkin, Thomas; Boase, Henry Samuel (1838), The Parochial History of Cornwall, Volume I, retrieved 4 February 2012
- ISBN 9780750956529.
- ^ a b "A history of St Blazey". St Blazey Town Council. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ Langdon, A. G. (1896) Old Cornish Crosses. Truro: Joseph Pollard' pp. 368–72
- ^ a b c "Cornwall Industrial Settlements Initiative, ST BLAZEY (with St Blazey Gate and West Par)" (PDF). Historic Environment Service, Cornwall County Council. June 1999. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ^ Langdon, A. G. (2002) Stone Crosses in Mid Cornwall; 2nd ed. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies; p. 23
- ^ "St. Austell Mining District – Par & St Blazey Consols". Cornwall in Focus. Archived from the original on 2 December 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
- ^ "St. Austell Mining District – Par Consols Mine". Cornwall in Focus. Archived from the original on 2 December 2011. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
- A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ "Relationships and changes St Balzey CP/AP through time". A Vision of Britain through Time. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ "St. Austell Registration District". UKBMD. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
- ^ Royal Cornwall Gazette, 30 June 1892.
- ^ Cornish Guardian, 2 July 1926.
- ^ Royal Cornwall Gazette - Thursday 06 September 1900.
- ISBN 0-9524835-0-5.
- ^ "Ralph Allen Biography". Bath Postal Museum. Archived from the original on 7 June 2009. Retrieved 17 September 2008.
- ^ Marchant, E. C. (1897). "Rogers, John (1778–1856), divine, by E. C. Marchant". Dictionary of National Biography Vol. IL. Smith, Elder & Co. Retrieved 13 December 2007.