St Austell

For details of places to stay and things to do in St Austell, Cornwall, please try the links on the left.

St Austell is a town full of history, said to date back 5,000 years before Christianity.
Real prosperity came to the town in 1784 when William Cookworthy discovered china clay at Carologgas, St Stephen and St Dennis. At that time the demand for china clay from the pottery industry was very high and St Austell’s economy boomed.

In 1791, in order to take advantage of this new trade, Charles Rashleigh built the small port of Charlestown. Today, you can still see tall ships berthed in the 18th century harbour, visit the historic village and discover over 200 years of smuggling, fishing and mining history at the Shipwreck and Heritage Centre.

A vast china clay pit overlooking St Austell Bay is home to The Eden Project, a fascinating world of plants and people and a reminder of how we need each other for our mutual survival.

St Austell has a good range of shops, with the emphasis being on smaller individual outlets, and visitors will also find a wide choice of pubs, restaurants and cafes.