SAINT AUSTELL

town, Restormel borough, administrative and historic county of Cornwall, southwestern England. St. Austell was originally called Trenance and takes its present name from a hermit named St. Austol. England's most important kaolin (china clay) deposits are dug in the area, then processed at St. Austell, and shipped from the nearby port of Fowey. Many people are employed in the industry, exports being made to the regional potteries and to Lancashire and abroad. The landscape is unpleasantly affected by the slag heaps created by the industry. The church at St. Austell has a Perpendicular Gothic tower that is decorated with statues and a Norman font. Carthew, just north of St. Austell, has a museum devoted to the kaolin industry, and many attractive fishing ports are nearby. Pop. (1991) 21,622.