Lostwithiel
Encyclopedia
Lostwithiel is a civil parish and small town
in Cornwall
, England
, United Kingdom
at the head of the estuary
of the River Fowey
. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739. The name Lostwithiel comes from the Cornish
"lostwydhyel" which means "tail of a wooded area".
from Tavistock to Truro
and the upper tidal reaches of the river.
Lostwithiel railway station
is on the Cornish Main Line
from Plymouth
to Penzance
. It is situated on the south side of the town, just across the medieval bridge. The line was originally built for the Cornwall Railway
which built its main workshops here, but the surviving workshop buildings were transformed into apartments in 2004. A branch line
takes china clay
trains to Fowey
.
The town contains the suburb
s of Bridgend to the east and Rosehill and Victoria to the west of the River Fowey.
and Restormel Castle
. There is a small museum devoted to the history of the town. Once a stannary town, and for a period the most important in Cornwall, it is now much reduced in importance. There is a fine early fourteenth century bridge with five pointed arches, and nearby the remains of the Stannary Court
, with its Coinage Hall - this was the centre of royal authority over tin-mining, and 'coinage
' meant the knocking off of the corner of each block of tin for the benefit of the Duchy of Cornwall
. The small Guildhall has an arcaded ground floor. The old Grammar School
has been converted into dwellings.
elected two members to the Unreformed House of Commons
, but was disenfranchised by the Reform Act 1832
. It remained a municipal borough
until the 1960s, when it became a civil parish.
. Lostwithiel has several large parks including Coulson Park which was named after Nathaniel Coulson (the San Francisco property magnate) who was raised in Lostwithiel after being abandoned by his father.
The town boasts a number of annual cultural activities including an arts and crafts festival, a beer festival, a week long carnival in the summer, food and cider festivals in the October, and a Dickensian evening in December
C E School and Lostwithiel Primary School. The majority of children aged between 11 and 16 attend Fowey Community College.
name Uzella, translated as Les Uchel in Cornish
. In the 17th century popular opinion was that the name came from a translation of Lost (a tail) and Withiel (a lion), the lion in question being the lord who lived in the castle.
Current thinking is that the name comes from the Old Cornish Lost Gwydhyel meaning "tail-end of the woodland". The view from Restormel Castle
looking towards the town shows how this may have come to be.
trains operated by First Great Western
run approximately every two hours towards Plymouth
or Penzance
. Some through services to and from London Paddington station and those operated by CrossCountry
between Penzance and Scotland
also stop.
National Express
provides a regular coach service to London which runs via Plymouth for connections to other destinations. The coach stop is located outside the Royal Talbot Hotel.
A shoppers bus to St Austell operated by Western Greyhound
(service 523) runs two journeys (Monday to Friday) via St Blazey
. Stops in Lostwithiel are outside the Royal Talbot Hotel and Cott Road phone box.
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
at the head of the estuary
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
of the River Fowey
River Fowey
The River Fowey is a river in Cornwall, United Kingdom.It rises about north-west of Brown Willy on Bodmin Moor, passes Lanhydrock House, Restormel Castle and Lostwithiel, then broadens at Milltown before joining the English Channel at Fowey. It is only navigable by larger craft for the last ....
. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739. The name Lostwithiel comes from the Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
"lostwydhyel" which means "tail of a wooded area".
Geography
The town is situated in the Fowey river valley, positioned between the A390 roadA390 road
The A390 is a road in Cornwall and Devon, England. It runs from Tavistock to north west of the city of Truro. Starting in Tavistock, it heads south-westwards towards Liskeard, crossing over the River Tamar and into Cornwall, then through Gunnislake and Callington. Immediately before Liskeard, it...
from Tavistock to Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...
and the upper tidal reaches of the river.
Lostwithiel railway station
Lostwithiel railway station
Lostwithiel railway station serves the town of Lostwithiel in Cornwall. First Great Western operate the station along with every other station in Cornwall.The station is on the banks of the River Fowey in Cornwall...
is on the Cornish Main Line
Great Western Main Line
The Great Western Main Line is a main line railway in Great Britain that runs westwards from London Paddington station to the west of England and South Wales. The core Great Western Main Line runs from London Paddington to Temple Meads railway station in Bristol. A major branch of the Great...
from Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
to Penzance
Penzance
Penzance is a town, civil parish, and port in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is approximately 75 miles west of Plymouth and 300 miles west-southwest of London...
. It is situated on the south side of the town, just across the medieval bridge. The line was originally built for the Cornwall Railway
Cornwall Railway
The Cornwall Railway was a broad gauge railway from Plymouth in Devon to Falmouth in Cornwall, United Kingdom. The section from Plymouth to Truro opened in 1859, the extension to Falmouth in 1863...
which built its main workshops here, but the surviving workshop buildings were transformed into apartments in 2004. A branch line
Lostwithiel and Fowey Railway
The Lostwithiel and Fowey Railway opened in 1869 as a broad gauge railway and links the port of Fowey in Cornwall with the Cornish Main Line at Lostwithiel...
takes china clay
Kaolinite
Kaolinite is a clay mineral, part of the group of industrial minerals, with the chemical composition Al2Si2O54. It is a layered silicate mineral, with one tetrahedral sheet linked through oxygen atoms to one octahedral sheet of alumina octahedra...
trains to Fowey
Fowey
Fowey is a small town, civil parish and cargo port at the mouth of the River Fowey in south Cornwall, United Kingdom. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,273.-Early history:...
.
The town contains the suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...
s of Bridgend to the east and Rosehill and Victoria to the west of the River Fowey.
Buildings
Lostwithiel's most notable buildings are St Bartholomew's ChurchSt Bartholomew's Church, Lostwithiel
St Bartholomew's Church is a parish church of the Church of England in Lostwithiel, Cornwall, UK.-Background:It is a Grade I listed building. It includes a tower from the thirteenth century, a spire added in the early fourteenth century, and an octagonal screen around its foot, with former windows...
and Restormel Castle
Restormel Castle
Restormel Castle is situated on the River Fowey near Lostwithiel, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is one of the four chief Norman castles of Cornwall, the others being Launceston, Tintagel and Trematon. The castle is notable for its perfectly circular design...
. There is a small museum devoted to the history of the town. Once a stannary town, and for a period the most important in Cornwall, it is now much reduced in importance. There is a fine early fourteenth century bridge with five pointed arches, and nearby the remains of the Stannary Court
Stannary Courts and Parliaments
The Stannary Parliaments and Stannary Courts were legislative and legal institutions in Cornwall and in Devon , England. The Stannary Courts administered equity for the region's tin-miners and tin mining interests, and they were also courts of record for the towns dependent on the mines...
, with its Coinage Hall - this was the centre of royal authority over tin-mining, and 'coinage
Tin coinage
In Devon and Cornwall, tin coinage was a tax on refined tin, payable to the Crown and administered in the Stannary Towns. The oldest surviving records of coinage show that it was collected in 1156. It was abolished in 1838....
' meant the knocking off of the corner of each block of tin for the benefit of the Duchy of Cornwall
Duchy of Cornwall
The Duchy of Cornwall is one of two royal duchies in England, the other being the Duchy of Lancaster. The eldest son of the reigning British monarch inherits the duchy and title of Duke of Cornwall at the time of his birth, or of his parent's succession to the throne. If the monarch has no son, the...
. The small Guildhall has an arcaded ground floor. The old Grammar School
Grammar school
A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and some other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching classical languages but more recently an academically-oriented secondary school.The original purpose of mediaeval...
has been converted into dwellings.
Administration
Lostwithiel is a historic borough. The Lostwithiel constituencyLostwithiel (UK Parliament constituency)
Lostwithiel was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1304 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
elected two members to the Unreformed House of Commons
Unreformed House of Commons
The unreformed House of Commons is the name generally given to the British House of Commons as it existed before the Reform Act 1832.Until the Act of Union of 1707 joining the Kingdoms of Scotland and England , Scotland had its own Parliament, and the term refers to the House of Commons of England...
, but was disenfranchised by the Reform Act 1832
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
. It remained a municipal borough
Municipal borough
Municipal boroughs were a type of local government district which existed in England and Wales between 1835 and 1974, in Northern Ireland from 1840 to 1973 and in the Republic of Ireland from 1840 to 2002...
until the 1960s, when it became a civil parish.
Culture
The town has a playing field known as King George V Playing FieldKing George's Fields
A King George's Field is a public open space in the United Kingdom dedicated to the memory of King George V ....
. Lostwithiel has several large parks including Coulson Park which was named after Nathaniel Coulson (the San Francisco property magnate) who was raised in Lostwithiel after being abandoned by his father.
The town boasts a number of annual cultural activities including an arts and crafts festival, a beer festival, a week long carnival in the summer, food and cider festivals in the October, and a Dickensian evening in December
Education
There are two primary schools in Lostwithiel: St WinnowSt Winnow
St Winnow is a civil parish situated in Cornwall, England, UK. Its name may be connected with either that of Saint Winnoc or Saint Winwaloe. It has a population of 304....
C E School and Lostwithiel Primary School. The majority of children aged between 11 and 16 attend Fowey Community College.
Origin of the name
The origin of the name Lostwithiel is a subject much debated. In the 16th century it was thought that the name came from the RomanAncient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
name Uzella, translated as Les Uchel in Cornish
Cornish language
Cornish is a Brythonic Celtic language and a recognised minority language of the United Kingdom. Along with Welsh and Breton, it is directly descended from the ancient British language spoken throughout much of Britain before the English language came to dominate...
. In the 17th century popular opinion was that the name came from a translation of Lost (a tail) and Withiel (a lion), the lion in question being the lord who lived in the castle.
Current thinking is that the name comes from the Old Cornish Lost Gwydhyel meaning "tail-end of the woodland". The view from Restormel Castle
Restormel Castle
Restormel Castle is situated on the River Fowey near Lostwithiel, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is one of the four chief Norman castles of Cornwall, the others being Launceston, Tintagel and Trematon. The castle is notable for its perfectly circular design...
looking towards the town shows how this may have come to be.
Transport
From Lostwithiel railway stationLostwithiel railway station
Lostwithiel railway station serves the town of Lostwithiel in Cornwall. First Great Western operate the station along with every other station in Cornwall.The station is on the banks of the River Fowey in Cornwall...
trains operated by First Great Western
First Great Western
First Great Western is the operating name of First Greater Western Ltd, a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that serves Greater London, the South East, South West and West Midlands regions of England, and South Wales....
run approximately every two hours towards Plymouth
Plymouth railway station
Plymouth railway station serves the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. It is situated on the northern edge of the city centre close to the North Cross roundabout...
or Penzance
Penzance railway station
Penzance railway station serves the town of Penzance, Cornwall, UK. The station is the western terminus of the Cornish Main Line from London Paddington station. The current journey time to or from London is about five hours....
. Some through services to and from London Paddington station and those operated by CrossCountry
CrossCountry
CrossCountry is the brand name of XC Trains Ltd., a British train operating company owned by Arriva...
between Penzance and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
also stop.
National Express
National Express
National Express Coaches, more commonly known as National Express, is a brand and company, owned by the National Express Group, under which the majority of long distance bus and coach services in Great Britain are operated,...
provides a regular coach service to London which runs via Plymouth for connections to other destinations. The coach stop is located outside the Royal Talbot Hotel.
A shoppers bus to St Austell operated by Western Greyhound
Western Greyhound
Western Greyhound is a bus operator based in Newquay, Cornwall, United Kingdom. It operates many services throughout the county and also into Devon...
(service 523) runs two journeys (Monday to Friday) via St Blazey
St Blazey
St Blazey is a small town in Cornwall, United Kingdom.St Blaise is the civil parish in which St Blazey is situated; the name St Blaise is also used by the town council.St Blazey is situated east of St Austell...
. Stops in Lostwithiel are outside the Royal Talbot Hotel and Cott Road phone box.
Twinning
-
Pleiber-KristPleyber-ChristPleyber-Christ is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.-Population:Inhabitants of Pleyber-Christ are called in FrenchPleybériens.-References:** -External links:*...
, BrittanyBrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, France