St Piran’s Day is celebrated across Cornwall on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, with more festivities the weekend before such as the Redruth St Piran’s Day Festival starting at 10am. So if you are looking for something to do over the weekend or after the festival why not head to us and enjoy free activities and more Cornish history. Here are our top picks for celebrating at Cornwall Gold!
Who is St Piran?
Legend has it that St Piran was originally an abbot in Ireland in the 5th century who miraculously survived being tossed into the Irish Sea and washed up on the beach at Perranzabuloe in Cornwall. After many years he is said to have discovered black rock that oozed a white liquid – tin! The Cornish flags waved today represent this, with tin being the white cross and the stone being the black background.
Discover the history of tin milling
Learn how rock from local tin mills was pulverised, read the human stories behind this last working link to Cornwall’s past and see ingenious machinery up close, all in our free interactive exhibition. Plus kid’s can have fun dressing up in authentic Tin Miller and Bal Maiden costumes to get a feel for what life was really like!
Indulge in our traditional Cornish cream tea!
Jam or cream first? Whichever way you eat it, come and cosy up in the award-winning Pantry and enjoy a traditional Cornish Cream Tea to celebrate St Piran’s. Homemade scones and locally sourced ingredients – it doesn’t get better than this!
Take home a Cornish keepsake
Shopping at Cornwall Gold is unlike anywhere else as you are surrounded by history everywhere you turn. Remember your trip with a piece of jewellery from the heart of Cornwall; all our Tolgus Jewellery contains a touch of tin from our very own, ancient tin mill. Plus, we’ve got an array of new Cornish Keepsakes to discover exclusively in-store.
Walk around a real tin mill
Imagine what life would have been like working in a tin mill in the heart of Cornwall and discover the process of tin streaming in this 500-year-old mill, the last remaining in Europe!
The Tolgus Mill used to smash rock into tiny pieces, removing the tin ore from the stone, and then employing a host of inventions to separate the valuable tin. For generations, Tolgus tin was exported all over the world and now finds its way into our Tolgus jewellery collections which then supports the regeneration of the mill from the jewellery sales!
Have fun panning for gold
Once you have discovered all about tin milling and how they used to separate and crush the tin ore, why not come and pan for treasures in our newly renovated Panning for Gold station? So much fun, and all undercover.
It’s free to enter Cornwall Gold, but if you don’t want to book your visit in advance, we will give you a £5 jewellery voucher! Book here
