Sticker

Sticker is a village 3 miles west of St Austell in the parish of St Mewan, sitting on the edge of the clay country sometimes called the Cornish Alps for its distinctive white spoil heaps. The village grew up as a mining settlement - in the 18th century, workers at the Great Hewas Mine on its western outskirts needed housing, and by 1785 Sticker was described as “a new place.” A Boulton and Watt pumping engine was installed at Great Hewas in the 1790s, and by the 19th century the mine employed over 250 people producing tin, copper, lead, and some silver. Two smaller mines, Ventonwyn and Hewas Water, worked alongside it until the last closed in 1926. The chimney of Ventonwyn engine house remains a local landmark.

The Eden Project is 4 miles to the north, and the Lost Gardens of Heligan are a similar distance to the south, making Sticker a practical base for two of Cornwall’s most visited attractions. The south coast beaches at Pentewan, Porthpean, and Charlestown are all within 10 minutes by car. Charlestown’s Georgian harbour, built in the 1790s for the china clay trade, is now home to tall ships and featured in the BBC’s Poldark series.

Since the 1960s, Sticker has grown with new housing, giving it a population of around 1,150. The village has a pub, a shop, and footpaths through the surrounding farmland. Its position between the coast and the clay country makes it a useful base for exploring mid-Cornwall without the premium of staying in a harbour town.