St Blazey (Par) railway depot Geograph-3206818-by-Roger-Templeman.jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

St Blazey ( kw, Lanndreth) is a small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. St Blaise is the civil parish in which St Blazey is situated; the name St Blaise is also used by the town council. The village of
Biscovey St Blazey ( kw, Lanndreth) is a small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. St Blaise is the civil parish in which St Blazey is situated; the name St Blaise is also used by the town council. The village of Biscovey and the settlements of ...
and the settlements of
St Blazey Gate St Blazey Gate ( kw, Yet Lanndreth) is a settlement in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom in the civil parish of St Blaise. It is situated between the towns of St Blazey and Par on the A390 to St Austell. The settlement formed around a ...
,
Bodelva Bodelva ( kw, Boselwydh) is a hamlet in south Cornwall, England, UK, in the civil parish of St Blaise. It is about west of St Blazey.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 200 ''Newquay & Bodmin'' Bodelva is the location of the Eden Project, o ...
and West Par lie within the parish boundaries. An electoral ward named after the town also exists. The population at the 2011 census was 4,674. Once an important engineering centre for the local mine and railway industries, the parish is now dominated by the
Eden Project The Eden Project ( kw, Edenva) is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England, UK. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay pit, located from the town of St Blazey and from the larger town of St Austell.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS E ...
. St Blazey is situated east of
St Austell St Austell (; kw, Sans Austel) is a town in Cornwall, England, south of Bodmin and west of the border with Devon. St Austell is one of the largest towns in Cornwall; at the 2011 census it had a population of 19,958. History St Austell wa ...
, west of Tywardreath and north of Par.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS Explorer Map 107 – St Austell & Liskeard: Fowey, Looe & Lostwithiel''. . The town takes its name from the Armenian
Saint Blaise Blaise of Sebaste ( hy, Սուրբ Վլասի, ''Surb Vlasi''; el, Ἅγιος Βλάσιος, ''Agios Vlasios''; ) was a physician and bishop of Sebastea in historical Armenia (modern Sivas, Turkey) who is venerated as a Christian saint and m ...
and holds a procession and service on his feast day, 3 February.


History

The namesake and
patron hallow A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person. ...
of St Blazey is
Saint Blaise Blaise of Sebaste ( hy, Սուրբ Վլասի, ''Surb Vlasi''; el, Ἅγιος Βλάσιος, ''Agios Vlasios''; ) was a physician and bishop of Sebastea in historical Armenia (modern Sivas, Turkey) who is venerated as a Christian saint and m ...
, who in Christian tradition is believed to have "cure toothache, sore throats and cattle diseases". An Iron Age hillfort
Prideaux Castle Prideaux Castle is a multivallate Iron Age hillfort situated atop a 133 m (435 ft) high conical hill near the southern boundary of the parish of Luxulyan, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is also sometimes referred to as ''Pridea ...
lies a mile to the north west of the town in the parish of Luxulyan. The Biscovey Stone is the shaft of an ancient
Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...
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 The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
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. Arthur Langdon described the stone in 1896: he read the inscription as "+ Alroron Ullici + filius". It was also described by William Borlase in his ''Antiquities of Cornwall'' (1754), pp. 363–64. 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 Tywardreath (; kw, Ti War Dreth, meaning "House on the Beach" (or Strand)) is a small hilltop village on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, about north west of Fowey. It is located in a sheltered spot overlooking a silted u ...
until the Reformation. It was split from St Austell parish in 1834. The site was originally known by the Cornish names Landrait or Landreath, meaning Church on the Sand. A stone Gothic Latin cross stands in the churchyard but nothing is known about its history. Until the 16th century the valley below St Blazey was an estuary of the River Par and St Blazey was the
lowest crossing point The lowest bridging point (or lowest crossing point) is the location on a river which is crossed by a bridge at its closest point to the sea. Historically - that is, before the development of engineering technology that allowed the construction of ...
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 Par ( kw, An Porth, meaning ''creek'' or ''harbour''Henry Jenner, ''A Handbook of the Cornish Language: Chiefly in Its Latest Stages, with Some Account of its History and Literature'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1904 reprinted 2012 ...
was built by
Joseph Treffry Joseph Austen Treffry (1782 – 29 January 1850) was an engineer, mining adventurer, and industrialist who became a significant landowner in Cornwall, England. Biography Born in Plymouth, Devon as Joseph Thomas Austen, to Joseph Austen (d 1786 ...
between 1829 and 1835; it forms part of the boundary with the parish of
Tywardreath and Par Tywardreath and Par is a civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The 2001 UK census recorded that 3,161 people resided in the parish. This increased to 3,192 at the 2011 census. The parish takes its name from its principal villages, T ...
. 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 and
Par Consols Mine Par or PAR may refer to: Finance * Par value, stated value or face value in finance and accounting * Par yield or par rate, in finance Games * Par (score), the number of strokes a scratch golfer should require to complete a hole, round or tour ...
lies to the south west. The more extensive
Fowey Consols mine Fowey Consols mine is a group of mines in the St Blazey district of Cornwall. They were owned by wealthy Cornishman, Joseph Treffry. The mines were worked by 6 steam engines and 17 waterwheels. The mines were linked to the port at Par by a can ...
lies to the east near Tywardreath. The port of
Par Harbour Par Docks is an Imerys-owned harbour in the village of Par, Cornwall, United Kingdom, which was used for the export of china clay from the numerous Imerys sites in the clay-rich region of Mid-Cornwall. History Joseph Treffry (born Joseph A ...
, which lies within the parish, was developed to ease the transport of these minerals, and initially connected to the mines by the
Par Canal Par ( kw, An Porth, meaning ''creek'' or ''harbour''Henry Jenner, ''A Handbook of the Cornish Language: Chiefly in Its Latest Stages, with Some Account of its History and Literature'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1904 reprinted 2012 ...
. Whilst the port of Par is within the parish, the village of Par is actually just across the River Par, and hence lies in the civil parish of Tywardreath. In 1931 the parish of "St Balzey" had a population of 3267. On 1 April 1934 the parish was abolished and merged with St Austell. On 1 April 1983 a civil parish called "St Blaise" was formed. The Par Canal was soon replaced by the
Cornwall Minerals Railway The Cornwall Minerals Railway owned and operated a network of of standard gauge railway lines in central Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It started by taking over an obsolescent horse-operated tramway in 1862, and it improved and extended i ...
, 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 Par railway station serves the villages of Par, Tywardreath and St Blazey, Cornwall, England. The station is from via . It is the junction for the Atlantic Coast Line to . The station is managed by Great Western Railway, which operates the ...
on the Cornish Main Line in Par village.


Tourism

The
Eden Project The Eden Project ( kw, Edenva) is a visitor attraction in Cornwall, England, UK. The project is located in a reclaimed china clay pit, located from the town of St Blazey and from the larger town of St Austell.Ordnance Survey (2005). ''OS E ...
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 The Treffry Viaduct is a historic dual-purpose railway viaduct and aqueduct located close to the village of Luxulyan, Cornwall in the United Kingdom. The viaduct crosses the Luxulyan Valley, and with it forms an integral part of the Cornwal ...
and the
Luxulyan Valley The Luxulyan Valley ( kw, Glynn Gwernan, meaning ''alder tree valley'') is the steep sided and thickly wooded valley of the River Par, situated in mid Cornwall, England, UK. It contains a major concentration of early 19th century industrial ...
, are also close by, although actually within the adjoining parish of Luxulyan.


Education

Primary education is provided by Biscovey Nursery and Infant Community School and Biscovey Junior School.


Sport


Cornish wrestling

Cornish wrestling Cornish wrestling ( kw, Omdowl Kernewek) is a form of wrestling that has been established in Cornwall for many centuries and possibly longer. It is similar to the Breton Gouren wrestling style. It is colloquially known as "wrasslin’"Phillipps, ...
tournaments took place in the following locations over the last 200 years: * A field behind the Pack Horse Inn.Royal Cornwall Gazette, 30 June 1892. * The Foundry Meadow which was a field behind the old foundry.Cornish Guardian, 2 July 1926. * St Blazey cricket ground.Royal Cornwall Gazette - Thursday 06 September 1900.


Football

The town's football team,
St Blazey A.F.C. St Blazey Association Football Club is an English football club based in St Blazey, Cornwall. They compete in the . The club was formed in 1896 as a Junior side, attaining Senior status in 1910. St Blazey were a founding member of the South Wes ...
, was the first club of England International goalkeeper
Nigel Martyn Antony Nigel Martyn (born 11 August 1966) is an English football coach and former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He notably played in the Premier League for Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Everton, having initially playe ...
.


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 Edward Long, the historian, who was born at Roselyon, in 1734, and educated at Liskeard. It is claimed by some as the birthplace of Ralph Allen, notable architect of
Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...
, although his christening took place at St Columb Major. John Rogers, who supported the introduction of the man engine to Cornish mines, was curate here for a time.
Charles Jeffries Commissioner Charles Henry Jeffries (1864 – 1 February 1936) was a British pioneer Salvationist and notable convert, after he left the Skeleton Army and attained the third highest rank possible as an Officer in The Salvation Army. 'Skeleton ...
, a
Commissioner A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
in The Salvation Army, was posted to the town in 1883.


References


External links


Town Council website



Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for St Blazey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Blazey Towns in Cornwall Former civil parishes in Cornwall