Charlestown, Cornwall

Historical Description

Charlestown (formerly called West Polmear), a small seaport about 1½ mile SE of St Austell, Cornwall. There is a post, money order, and telegraph office under St Austell. Population, 2808. It was founded towards the close of last century by Charles Rashleigh, Esq., who lived at Duporth. There is a harbour and small dock, and an export trade in lime, china-clay, and other mineral produce is carried on. Charlestown was formed into an ecclesiastical district under the Peel Act in 1849. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Truro; value, about £160. Patron, alternately the Bishop and the Crown. The church, dedicated to St Paul, is very pretty.

Administration

The following is a list of the administrative units in which this place was either wholly or partly included.

Any dates in this table should be used as a guide only.

Directories & Gazetteers

We have transcribed the entry for Charlestown from the following:

• Samuel Lewis' A Topographical Dictionary of England, by Samuel Lewis, seventh edition, published 1858. (Charlestown)

Maps

Online maps of Charlestown are available from a number of sites:

• Bing (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• Google Streetview.
• National Library of Scotland. (Old maps)
• OpenStreetMap.
• old-maps.co.uk (Old Ordnance Survey maps to buy).
• Streetmap.co.uk (Current Ordnance Survey maps).
• A Vision of Britain through Time. (Old maps)

Newspapers and Periodicals

The British Newspaper Archive have fully searchable digitised copies of the following Cornwall papers online:

• Royal Cornwall Gazette
• Cornishman
• West Briton and Cornwall Advertiser
• Lake's Falmouth Packet and Cornwall Advertiser

Visitations Heraldic

We have a copy of The Visitations of Cornwall, by Lieut.-Col. J.L. Vivian online.