Talk:St Austell, Cornwall Genealogy

New Parish Table
St Austell parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

To find the names of the neighboring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851 Map. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Records are also available at the Cornwall Record Office.

In July of 1837, births, marriages and deaths were required to be reported to government Registrar(s), and various non-conformist churches were licensed to conduct such services. Prior to that date, from 1565 to 1837, the Holy Trinity Church of England registers contained almost all the vital statistics for the parish. These registers have been transcribed and are available for free look-up either on the St. Austell Genealogical and Historical website, or in the OPC free database, which include various non-conformist registers as well.

By 1848, the parish was divided into three; Charlestown was taken from the portion following the bay, while Treverbyn was carved from the "china clay" upper-area. Various other political divisions took place over the years; in 2009, St. Austell parish was once again divided, but these changes should not affect genealogists.

Please see the separate pages for Charlestown and Treverbyn, but remember that earlier records are included under St. Austell.

There were very active Bible Christian chapels, as well as Wesleyan Methodist, Primitive Methodist, and Free Methodist congregations; in 1837, there were 27 Wesleyan chapels alone. St. Austell was the home of Loveday Hambley, of Tregongeeves, the "Quaker Saint" and friend of George Fox, whose family donated land for a burial ground. Unfortunately, that burial ground no longer exists, as it was subsumed by road expansion. However, the manor house still stands, and the headstones were removed to the Friend's Meeting House, which is still in operation.

According to the 1873 Kelly's Directory, there were 31 non-conformist chapels in the town and parish; unfortunately most have been re-purposed or closed, and many records have been lost. Included amongst these were the "Tabernacle" of the Congregational church and several Baptist chapels, as well as Bridge United Free Methodist Chapel of Mount Charles, demolished in 1985.

Burials were conducted in the Holy Trinity churchyard until 1880, when the community cemetery was opened. During various remodelings and highway alterations, the graves &amp; bodies were removed, and the headstones crushed and buried in a corner of the property. High Cross Cemetery, with 485 memorials,has since been changed into Cemetery Park, across from the railway station; remaining headstones have been arranged near the stone walls. The larger, roomier St. Austell Cemetery on Eastbourne Road, also known as "Watering Hill" cemetery, once on the edge of town, remains open and available. It has 4,103 memorials. Records for this burial ground are maintained by the local government; due to recent changes, procedures to obtain information are uncertain. (late 2009)

Old Parish Table
parish registers of christenings, marriages and burials are available online for the following years:

In July of 1837, births, marriages and deaths were required to be reported to government Registrar(s), and various non-conformist churches were licensed to conduct such services. Prior to that date, from 1565 to 1837, the Holy Trinity Church of England registers contained almost all the vital statistics for the parish. These registers have been transcribed, and are available for free look-up either on the St. Austell Genealogical and Historical website, or in the OPC free database, which include various non-conformist registers as well. These registers have been filmed by FamilySearch; see the library section for information. CFHS has booklets available for purchase, with very helpful information on cemeteries, and has BMD information in their database on Find My Past, for a fee.

By 1848, the parish was divided into 3; Charlestown was taken from the portion following the bay, while Treverbyn was carved from the "china clay" upper-area. Various other political division took place over the years; in 2009, St. Austell parish was once again divided, but these changes should not affect genealogists.

Please see the separate pages for Charlestown and Treverbyn, but remember that earlier records are included under St. Austell.

There were very active Bible Christian chapels, as well as Wesleyan Methodist, Primitive Methodist, and Free Methodist congregations; in 1837, there were 27 Wesleyan chapels alone. St. Austell was the home of Loveday Hambley, of Tregongeeves, the "Quaker Saint" and friend of George Fox, whose family donated land for a burial ground. Unfortunately, that burial ground no longer exists, as it was subsumed by road expansion. However, the manor house still stands, and the headstones were removed to the Friend's Meeting House, which is still in operation.

According to the 1873 Kelly's Directory, there were 31 non-conformist chapels in the town and parish; unfortunately most have been re-purposed or closed, and many records have been lost. Included amongst these were the "Tabernacle" of the Congregational church, and several Baptist chapels, as well as Bridge United Free Methodist Chapel of Mount Charles, demolished in 1985.

Burials were conducted in the Holy Trinity churchyard until 1880, when the community cemetery was opened. During various remodelings and highway alterations, the graves &amp; bodies were removed, and the headstones crushed and buried in a corner of the property. High Cross Cemetery, with 485 memorials,has since been changed into Cemetery Park, across from the railway station; remaining headstones have been arranged near the stone walls. The larger, roomier St. Austell Cemetery on Eastbourne Road, also known as "Watering Hill" cemetery, once on the edge of town, remains open and available. It has 4,103 memorials. Records for this burial ground are maintained by the local government; due to recent changes, procedures to obtain information are uncertain. (late 2009)

PLEASE NOTE: While FreeCEN is incomlete throughout the UK, IT IS COMLETE FOR CORNWALL. Therefore, it's an invaluable free resource; please be sure to access it, and try several variations of any name, as transcribers entered the exact spelling used by the enumerators.