Helston, town (parish), Cornwall unitary authority, southwestern England. It lies on the River Cober, about 2.5 miles (4 km) from Mount’s Bay of the Atlantic Ocean.
In the 13th century Helston, lying in the extreme southwest of England, was western Cornwall’s most important town, having a harbour on the Cober, which then connected with Mount’s Bay but now drains into a landlocked lake. In the Elizabethan era Helston was one of the four Cornish stannary (tin-working) towns. Pop. (2001) 9,780; (2011) 11,178.