Lostwithiel
This small Cornish town has a lot to offer – history, charming unspoiled streets and the county’s best concentration of antique shops, varying from quality to bric-a-brac. Once Lostwithiel was a place of considerable importance. At the end of the 13th century Edmund Earl of Cornwall rebuilt the castle in stone and Lostwithiel then became the administrative centre for the county. It had a port on the River Fowey, exporting tin, the trade in which was managed from the Stannary Court in the Shire Hall, which also operated as the County Treasury. When the Earl of Cornwall was made Duke, the Shire Hall grew into the Duchy Palace. When the river silted up in the 15th century, Lostwithiel lost its tin trade but developed others, pottery, weaving, tanning and pewter-making. St. Bartholemew’s church has an unexpected spire of elaborately carved granite. Unusually, the streets form a grid pattern, originating in medieval times. Fore Street has the shops and tea rooms. Quay Street, by the River Fowey, has former lime kilns at one end, at the other the remains of the old Duchy Palace, behind the heavily buttressed former ‘Coinage Hall’. Across the river, a new apartment development utilises Victorian railroad buildings.
Restormel Castle is up a country lane, a mile to the north of town. Built as a huge circular keep with moat, it was rebuilt by Edmund Earl of Cornwall around 1280 and was later a home of the Black Prince.
If you are here during the day, there are a couple of attractive tea and coffee shops – Muffins and the Duchy Coffee Shop, both on Fore Street – and several pubs. Best of the pubs are the Royal Oak on Duke Street, above the main road, and (our preference) the Globe at the bottom of North Street, close by the medieval bridge. There are several attractive restaurants, mostly open only in the evening. LOSTWITHIEL REVISITED
St. Bartholemew's Tower seen from church lane
On A390 12 miles west of Liskeard
UPDATE JANUARY 2016 - THE OLD DUCHY PALACE: The Coinage Hall, the major remnant of the Old Duchy Palace, also known as the Stannary Palace, has undergone major restoration . Closed to the public for more than a century, the Grade I listed medieval building was purchased by the Prince's Regeneration Trust in 2008 and has undergone a major restoration. It has re-opened as offices and shops. Promised museum now in old Corn Exchange.
Lostwithiel
Revisited
In January 2016, I had time in hand after taking a look at Bradoc and decided to eat my sandwiches by the River Fowey in Lostwithiel. My intention was then to visit St. Bartholemew's Church for the first time. Unfortunately, although both a very clear sign outside the church and the church's own web site proclaim it's opening from 10 to 4 from Monday to Friday, every entrance was firmly locked. [I subsequently emailed the the Rural Dean, in charge while a new incumbent is awaited, asking about opening of St. Bartholemew's, and also of Bradoc church, but failed to receive the courtesy of a reply] I trust I shall be able to find it open on another occasion. In the meantime, I can only report that Pevsner devotes more than a page to St. Bartholemew's, especially admiring its magnificently detailed spire. Disappointingly, he appears to have missed the lantern cross by the porch and a much deteriorated Cornish Cross. Pevsner is also disparaging about the town, dismissing it as having "not much character". I find it a charming place with interesting shops, caf�s and restaurants as well as Jeffreys Auction House, a regular on BBC2's Flog It. On this occasion, for the first time, I crossed the river to walk around Brunel Quays, I. K. Brunel's former railway engineering works, converted to expensive and attractive waterside housing.
Lostwithiel's medieval bridge over the Fowey River
Photographs
More in Towns & Villages
Luxulyan
I have long been familiar with the Luxulyan Valley and Jane and I have enjoyed many walks from Ponts Mill to the Treffry Viaduct, heading up along the river past J. T. Treffry's China Clay Works and returning on the other side of the valley past the impressive Carmears Wheelpit. It is a delightful walk through lovely beech woodland. I had been in Luxulyan village on only a couple of occasions, both when walking the Saints Way. On this occasion in mid-August 2016, Luxulyan was one of group of visits; first I visited Lanivet for the church then I stopped in Lockengate to photograph a roadside Cornish Cross. Then, still heading for Luxulyan, I continued by way of Bodwen and Lanlivery. The first attraction of Luxulyan is its churchyard, for the lych gate with its Cornish Cross and its lantern cross. The second attraction is the Holy Well below the church, restored but sadly not in water. The church itself is almost certainly on an ancient site, a small promontory at the top of a steep hill overlooking the valley. It has nave, two aisles and a three stage battlemented tower, typically Cornish. There is nothing special about its interior, except for the attractive font and the colourful altar. One more thing about Luxulyan - it is pronounced Luxillian.
Madron
Madron lies a little to the north of Penzance, just off the road to Bosullow Common, Lanyon Quoit, Men-an-Tol and Nine Maidens Common. As you drive through you are hard put to decide where to park but, if you head for the church and school, there is ample parking. There is more here than just an impressive church: within the churchyard are two impressive memorials - a great mausoleum to Rose Price and a globe-bestriding statue with an unreadable dedication - and two Cornish Crosses (there are two others nearby). Inside, the roofs have carved wooden bosses, there are two attractive screens and the south chapel has an alabaster plaque of saints, some ancient bench ends topped by beasts. High on a wall is the "Nelson Banner", carried in the procession that celebrated Nelson's victory at Trafalgar. In addition to the two Cornish crosses in the churchyard, there are two others nearby, one in a field to the south of the church at 45436/31503, the other on a lane near Madron Well and Chapel, at about 44512/32541. Well and Chapel are worth visiting, the former a spring identified by trees adorned with strips of cloth, interceding for family or friends, the the latter substantial but roofless. Both sites are cared for by the admirable Cornwall Heritage Trust. Nearby is the National Trusts' lovely Trengwainton Garden.
Manaccan
Although the Lizard is the best part of an hour and a half's journey from Wadebridge I decided it was high time I visited and reported on several churches down there. I was in Manaccan and St. Anthony in mid February 2019. In addition to these I propose to report on Mawgan-in-Meneage and St. Martin-in-Meneage. An odd word "Meneage", it means "Monk's land" so would have been the property of a monastic settlement. Manaccan is a pleasant small village on a hill not far from the eastern end of Gillan Creek. At one time the village had pub, shop and post office. All closed in 2014 but, in a remarkable show of co-operation, the villagers got together to save and re-open the pub. After some more ups and downs, the New Inn is open again and is a pleasant spot, serving good food; on an adjacent wall are mounting steps. A couple of hundred yards away is St. Manacca's church. The first thing you notice is a fig tree growing out of the west end of the south wall, believed to be 250 years old and surely unique in Cornwall. The next thing you notice is the unusual south doorway, essentially Norman although the arch above has been remodelled. Inside is a plain font, believed by Pevsner to be a late-medieval copy of a Norman original. Stained glass appears medieval but is late Victorian. A simple pulpit may be 20th century. In the chancel two chairs are made from 15th century timber, taken from the former rood screen. A surprise is the carved and colourful ceiling bosses, undoubtedly modern since they include a butterfly and a terrier.