[2] Charlestown became its own parish separate from St Austell in 1846,[3] at a time when the village was experiencing an increase in its population due to local industrial activity.

An appeal was launched in 1970, with A. L. Rowse as patron, to have the small and temporary wooden belfry and spire replaced with a permanent structure.

Four of the six bells were gifted to the church, including one by Sir Noël Coward, who visited Charlestown in 1972 for the first time since he stayed there during the summer of 1914.

[8] St Paul's is built of granite stone, sourced from a quarry near Stenalees,[8] with slate roofs, in the Early English style.

Designed to accommodate 570 persons, it was built with a cruciform plan, made up of nave, north and south aisles, transepts, chancel, vestry and porch.