St Blazey
| St Blazey Cornish: Lanndreth | |
| Cornwall | |
|---|---|
 Station Road, St Blazey | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SX069548 |
| Location: | 50°21’40"N, 4°42’58"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 6,632 (2001) |
| Post town: | Par |
| Postcode: | PL24 |
| Dialling code: | 01726 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Cornwall |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
South East Cornwall |
St Blazey is a village in Cornwall. To it is also attached the name St Blaise, which is the name used by the town council to denote its area, which encompasses also the hamlet of Biscovey, St Blazey Gate, Bodelva and West Par.
Once an important engineering centre for the local mine and railway industries, the parish is now dominated by the Eden Project.
St Blazey is 3 miles east of St Austell, a mile west of Tywardreath and a mile north of Par.[1]
The town takes is name from the Armenian Saint Blaise and holds a procession and service on his feast day, 3 February.[2]
History
An Iron Age hillfort, Prideaux Castle, is a mile to the north west of the town in the parish of Luxulyan.[3]
The Biscovey Stone is the shaft of an ancient cross. It was inscribed, but the text is no longer readable. There are several theories about the stone; one says it dates from around 600 AD to show the Saxon advance into the county, another puts the date at around 900 AD. The head is thought to have been removed during the Reformation. The stone served as a gate post near the St Blazey turnpike gate. In 1896 it was moved to St Mary's Church, Biscovey.[3]
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.[4] The site was originally known by the Cornish names Landrait or Landreath, meaning Church on the Sand.[4]
Until the 16th century the valley below St Blazey was an estuary of the River Par and the St Blazey was the lowest crossing point on the river. Tin mining up river caused the estuary to silt up and it had become marsh land by the early 19th century. The Par Canal was built by Joseph Treffry between 1829 and 1835; it forms part of the boundary with the parish of Tywardreath and Par.[4]
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[5] and Par Consols Mine lies to the south west.[6] The more extensive Fowey Consols mine lies to the east near Tywardreath.
The port of Par Harbour, which lies within the parish, was developed to ease the transport of these minerals, and initially connected to the mines by the Par Canal.
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.[1]
Tourism
The Eden Project is located within the civil parish, and about a mile and half 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.[1]
Sport
- Cricket: St Blazey Cricket Club
- Football: St Blazey AFC (which was the first club of England International goalkeeper Nigel Martyn).
Outside links
- Town Council website
- GENUKI website; St Blazey
- Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for St Blazey
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ordnance Survey (2005). OS Explorer Map 107 – St Austell & Liskeard: Fowey, Looe & Lostwithiel. ISBN 978-0-319-23708-3.
- ↑ Gilbert Davis, William Hals, Thomas Tonkin & Henry Samuel Boase: The Parochial History of Cornwall, Volume I, 1838
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 A history of St Blazey - St Blazey Town Council
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Cornwall Industrial Settlements Initiative, ST BLAZEY (with St Blazey Gate and West Par)". Historic Environment Service, Cornwall County Council. June 1999. http://www.historic-cornwall.org.uk/cisi/st_blazey/cisi_st_blazey_report.pdf. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
- ↑ "St. Austell Mining District – Par & St Blazey Consols". Cornwall in Focus. http://www.cornwallinfocus.co.uk/history/blazeycons.php. Retrieved 6 February 2012.
- ↑ "St. Austell Mining District – Par Consols Mine". Cornwall in Focus. http://www.cornwallinfocus.co.uk/history/parcons.php. Retrieved 6 February 2012.