St Just in Penwith

St Just (Lannust) is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies along the B3306 road which connects St Ives to the A30 road. The parish encompasses the town of St Just and the nearby settlements of Trewellard, Pendeen and Kelynack: it is bounded by the parishes of Morvah to the north-east, Sancreed and Madron to the east, St Buryan and Sennen to the south and by the sea in the west. The parish consists of 7622 acre of land, 12 acre of water and 117 acre of foreshore. The town of St Just is the most westerly town in mainland Britain and is situated approximately eight miles (12.7 km) west of Penzance along the A3071. St Just parish has a population of 4690.

History
It is not known who Saint Just was. Cornwall's long resistance to the edicts of Canterbury and Rome makes it most unlikely that the saint was Archbishop Justus, as some sources claim. Another possibility is the 6th or 7th century Saint Iestyn, said to be the son of a ruler of Dumnonia.

Among the prehistoric antiquities nearby is Ballowall Barrow, a chambered tomb. St Just is one of the most ancient mining districts in Cornwall and remains of ancient pre-industrial and more modern mining activity have had a considerable impact on the nearby landscape.

The parish church is a fine 15th century building: see St. Just in Penwith Parish Church. St Just is the home of Cape Cornwall Secondary School which serves Sennen, Sancreed, Pendeen, St. Buryan and many other surrounding villages.

Mining
The ancient settlement has a strong mining history and was during the 19th century one of the most important mining districts in Cornwall both for copper and tin. Mines within the area included Boscaswell Downs, Balleswidden, Parknoweth, Boscean, Wheal Owles, Wheal Boys, Levant, Botallack and Geevor (which closed in 1990). Geevor mine is now a tourist attraction which allows visitors to explore Cornish Mining heritage. The boom in 19th century mining saw a dramatic increase in the population of St Just, the 1861 census records the population figure as being 9290, however like other areas in Cornwall the population declined with the collapse in the tin trade in the 20th century. The town also suffered from the decision of the Great Western Railway to abandon its plans to make St Just the terminus of the London mainline to Cornwall. It was announced in July 2006 that the St Just mining district and the rest of the historic mining areas of Cornwall had become the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape World Heritage Site.

Geography
The nearby Cot Valley has a stream which runs to the sea. The area has been heavily mined, as was the area around St Just. The round boulders in the Cot Valley cove here are of specific scientific interest. Also nearby is Cape Cornwall.

Local government
For the purposes of local government classification St Just is a town and elects a Mayor every 12 months from among the St Just Town Councillors. The St Just Town Council was created following the re-structuring of English Local Government in 1974, St Just being previously an Urban District Council. Principal local government functions are now undertaken by the Cornwall Council.

Culture and local traditions
St Just is home to the popular Lafrowda festival a seven day community and arts celebration. A more ancient celebration associated with the town is St Just feast which is held in November every year to celebrate the dedication of the parish church. The feast itself is a 2 day event with a church service and civic procession being held on the Sunday of the feast and a larger scale popular celebration being held on the Monday (which includes a meeting of the local hunt). A description of St Just feast from 1882 follows

"Rich and poor still at this season keep open house, and all the young people from St. Just who are in service for many miles around, if they can possibly be spared, go home on the Saturday and stay until the Tuesday morning. A small fair is held in the streets on Monday evening, when the young men are expected to treat their sweethearts liberally, and a great deal of "foolish money" that can be ill afforded is often spent"

St Just is also home to a 'Plain an Gwarry' (Cornish - playing place). These sites were open air performance areas used for historically for entertainment and instruction. St Just's Plain an Gwarry occasionally hosts productions of the Cornish Ordinalia mystery plays.

St Just has a healthy artistic scene including the several times televised Kurt Jackson.

Contemporary singer and comedian Jethro from nearby St Buryan has recorded a song entitled "St Just".

Twinning
St Just is twinned with Huelgoat, Bro-Gernev, Brittany.

Notable residents

 * Edward Grenfell, 1st Baron St Just, raised to the peerage as Baron St Just, of St Just in Penwith
 * Craig Weatherhill, historian and novelist
 * Lt Col J. H. Williams (Elephant Bill), soldier and elephant trainer