St. Day is a township with a history going back to medieval times, when it was a place of pilgrimage.
In the 18th &19th centuries it was at the heart of the Cornish Mining Industry. Much of the centre of St. Day dates from this period. Trade Directories indicate as many as 65 businesses in St. Day in 1870
Many of the buildings still show evidence of their former use as shops. In consequence there is much of architectural interest and so has been designated a conservation area. Almost 50 properties are subject to further protection by being listed, these include the whole of Mills St. A recent review by consultants may add to the size of the area and the number of properties designated.
The decline of the mining industry and the subsequent emigration in the latter half of the 19th century was a great economic blow to the area, and, coupled with the fact that many properties were owned until the middle of the20th century by absentee landlords, caused much of the centre to become very dilapidated.
In the mid nineties the Parish Council worked first with Groundwork Kerrier and then with Kerrier District Council to set up the Mining Villages Regeneration Group (covering Lanner and Carharrack as well as St. Day ) which obtained money from both District and County Councils, the British Government and the European Union. This was one of the first rural areas in the country to obtain funding for such a scheme.
This resulted in the capping of several mineshafts and landscaping of the areas concerned. Market Square was an eyesore with uneven cobbles, an unsightly public toilet, children’s play equipment and two demolished houses. The area was relaid with granite setts and three granite fronted cottages built by the W.J.Mills Cottages Trust. A new bellcote was fitted to the Clock Tower
The untidy grassed area in front of Buckingham Terrace was landscaped.
Vogue Terrace was resurfaced and railings fitted and the cobbled and tiled pavement at West End / Chapel Street was re-laid.
The St Day Old Church Appeal Committee developed plans to conserve the derelict building and to open it to the public as an Interpretative Centre for the extensive former Gwennap Mining Area (St. Day was formerly a part of Gwennap Parish) It can also be used as a performance venue and this was incorporated into the scheme.
A Youth and Sports Association was formed and was successful in replacing the run down changing rooms at Vogue with a fine new building, which includes a room for a Youth Club, a large hall with a kitchen and a small computer room as well as changing facilities.
Our close proximity to the landfill site on United Downs made us eligible for grants from the Landfill Tax so the Community Centre and the Parish and Methodist Churches were able to carry out extensive refurbishment work.
These improvements have given St. Day a big boost and have led to many householders carrying out improvements to their properties.
The advent of Objective One Funding saw the Mining Villages Group expanded to include Gwennap and Stithians Parishes, and together with The Mineral Tramways Project has funded further improvements to the street scene in St. Day, created features at the entrances, improved road safety at junctions, and extends and improves the network of trails around the mining heritage of the area.
The area is now included in the Cornwall and West Devon Mining World Heritage Site. It is expected that this will create worldwide interest in the area, particularly among the millions of descendents of those mining families who emigrated when Cornish Mining declined.
The Historic Churchyards Project hopes to tap into the worldwide interest in Genealogy. The Churchyards of Gwennap, Lanner, Stithians and St. Day have been tidied and details of the graves are available on the web site: www.churchyardproject.net.