A new book about St Austell has been published by a local author and historian, and will be launched next Wednesday at the town library.  

The Porcelain Parish by Lyndon Allen covers St Austell from its earliest days to its industrial peak, including the tin mines in Polgooth and Carclaze and the Great Crinnis copper mine as well as the rise of china clay. 

Mr Allen also turns his attention to the building of St Austell’s nearest port in Charlestown, the growth of infrastructure including the turnpike roads, the coming of the railway, the war years and local industry including farming, fishing and tourism. 

Mr Allen is an eighth-generation resident of Charlestown whose ancestors built the harbour on the instruction of Charles Rashleigh. He has written many historical works and runs the extremely popular Charlestown walking tours, as well as several Facebook history forums including the St Austell History Group.  

He promises “a fresh and eye-opening way of looking at what has shaped the town”. 

“This book is more of a story of why the town became what it is today,” he says. “I wanted to try and highlight some of the good things about the town, and explore why it exists and how it was put together, from tin streaming and china clay to tourism – everything that has made it what it is.”  

The final chapter reflects upon architecture of the past, including music venue Cornwall Coliseum, which saw its last customers in 2003 and was demolished in 2015; and the Art Deco Gaumont Film Centre, knocked down in 2007 to make way for the White River Place shopping centre.  

“While other Cornish towns have retained 75 per cent of their heritage, St Austell has just 27 per cent,” says Mr Allen. “There are so many buildings that should have been saved.  

“The Art Deco cinema was one of the most beautiful in the country, and would have been a stand-out building today - it could have been repaired with the money spent on the new cinema. Pulling it down was one of Cornwall’s biggest architectural crimes.” 

Mr Allen is also a Treverbyn parish councillor, and regularly speaks on historical matters for universities including Warwick and Exeter.  

The official launch The Porcelain Parish will take place on Wednesday, January 17 at St Austell Library from 11am. Books will be available for purchase.  

Entry is free but must be booked at the library in person, by phone on 0300 1234 111, by email at [email protected]