In 1870-72, John Marius Wilson's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described St Agnes like this:
AGNES (St.), a town, a parish, and a subdistrict, in the district of Truro, Cornwall. The town is a seaport, on a small bay of Bristol Channel; 4 miles N of Chacewater r. station, and 9 NW by W of Truro. It has a post office‡ under Scorrier; and is the centre of a rich mining district. A weekly market is held on Thursday; and an annual fair on 1 May. The harbour is small and can be entered only near high water, and only by vessels of not more than 100 tons' burden. Coal, lime, and slate are imported. ...
Most of the inhabitants are con nected with neighbouring mines.The parish comprises 8,294 acres of land, and 60 of water. Real property, £10,324,-of which £2,514 are in mines. Pop., 6,550. Houses, 1,395. The property is much subdivided. Granite is the prevailing rock; and copper, tin, and iron are worked. The scenery of coast and surface is picturesque. St. Agnes' Beacon, 621 feet high, immediately NW of the town, shows remarkable deposits of sand and clays at heights of from 300 to 400 feet; and was a beacon station during the French war, and a chief station of the Trigonometrical survey. Harmony Cot, 2 miles from the town, on the road to Perran Porth, was the birthplace of the painter Opie. The living is a vicarage in the diocese of Exeter. Value, £280.* Patrons, the Dean and Chapter of Exeter. The church was built in 1482, has been restored, and shows interesting features. Chapels for Independents, Wesleyans, and Primitive Methodists, are in the parish. Ruins of ancient chapels are at Mawla and St. Agnes' Well.-The subdistrict comprises two parishes. Acres, 19,694. Pop., 9,509. Houses, 1,998.
A Vision of Britain through Time includes a large library of local statistics for administrative units. For the best overall sense of how the area containing St Agnes has changed, please see our redistricted information for the modern district of Carrick. More detailed statistical data are available under Units and statistics, which includes both administrative units covering St Agnes and units named after it.
GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of St Agnes, in Carrick and Cornwall | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.
Date accessed: 06th May 2016
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