St Blazey

Coordinates: 50°21′40″N 4°42′58″W / 50.3611°N 4.7162°W / 50.3611; -4.7162

St Blazey (Cornish: 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 St Blazey Gate, Bodelva and West Par lie within the parish boundaries. An electoral ward also exists in the name of St Blaise. 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.

St Blazey is situated 3 miles (4.8 km) east of St Austell, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of Tywardreath and 1 mile (1.6 km) north of Par.

The town takes its name from the Armenian Saint Blaise and holds a procession and service on his feast day, 3 February.

History

An Iron Age hillfort Prideaux Castle 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 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.