St Dennis had a population of 2,696 in the 2001 census. The village is famous for its church built on the site of an Iron Age hillfort. The area is full of tips and clay pits of china clay mining but St Dennis village itself is designated an 'island settlement' which prevents encroachment by the china clay industry. Much of the parish is up to 500 feet above sea level, and the countryside is moorland with small fields enclosed by 'Cornish hedges'.