#1Famous people · St Austell, Cornwall
Business people stand out among the 24 famous people born in St Austell
At the top of the list is the British actor and writer John Nettles, covered in 29 languages. 10 of them were born in the 20th century, more than in any other period. The earliest on the list is William Hennah, born in 1768, and the youngest Chris Hunkin, born in 1980. Births since 1970 account for 7 of the names.
Born here
24
notable people
Best known
John Nettles
in 29 Wikipedia languages
First
1768
William Hennah
Youngest
1980
Chris Hunkin
Most common field
Sports
8 people
What stands out about St Austell’s famous people
★ What stands out · Known for
What St Austell is known for
No other field is as far above the usual share as business people, at 8.6 times.
The usual town: the share across everyone listed across UK towns. Tap a field to see its people.
Through the years
When St Austell’s famous people were born
More of them were born in the 1960s than in any other ten years, 6 in all.
SportsPolitics & LawBusinessFilm, TV & StageScience & MedicineFaithWriting & ArtsMusicMilitary
Each dot is a person, stacked by the decade they were born.
The best known
Born in St Austell
Counted by languages, John Nettles is ahead of Nigel Martyn and John Colenso: 29, 29 and 14.
#1NM#2
#3Faith
John Colenso
1814–1883British bishop and mathematician (1814-1883)
14 Wikipedia languagesRead more ↗
Everyone
Everyone else born in St Austell
Still to come: 21 more, from 1768 to 1980.
Hester Parnall
1868–1939Businesswoman in brewing industry, director of St Austell Brewery Company
BusinessWikipedia ↗
No one matches both filters.
Next door
Famous people from the towns next door
The fullest list close by belongs to Mevagissey, with 4.
Questions about famous people from St Austell
Who is the most famous person from St Austell?
John Nettles (British actor and writer) is the best known by our measure: Wikipedia has an article about them in 29 languages. Next come Nigel Martyn and John Colenso.
How many famous people were born in St Austell?
24 people born in St Austell have an English Wikipedia article that confirms the town as their birthplace. Wikidata places 35 people here; the rest aren’t listed because their article names somewhere else, or no town.
What is St Austell known for?
Among its famous people, athletes: 8 of the 24. That is 33% of the town’s list, against 49% across UK towns.
Who is the earliest-born famous person from St Austell?
William Hennah, born in 1768. The youngest on the list was born in 1980.
Who counts as from St Austell?
People Wikidata records as born in a place inside St Austell’s built-up area (the ONS 2022 boundary), a hospital or district within it included, whose English Wikipedia article agrees. People who only lived here, adult performers and people known mainly for crimes aren’t listed.
Why is someone missing?
Their Wikidata birthplace may be a bigger area (“London”), another town, or missing, or their article may give no birthplace. We only list people both sources agree on; editing Wikidata or Wikipedia changes this page at the next refresh.
From Wikidata (CC0: birthplaces, descriptions, years, occupations) and English Wikipedia (each person’s article confirms the birthplace; linked, not quoted). Birthplaces are placed in the town by the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary (Office for National Statistics, Open Government Licence v3.0). Ranked by how many Wikipedia languages cover each person. Fields are read from Wikidata’s description and occupations. “The usual town”: everyone listed across UK towns. Portraits: each person’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (5)
- John Nettles: Jersey Tourism, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- John Colenso: Unknown photographer, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Steve Baker: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Mike Elliott: nabtifal, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Steve Double: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.