Lostwithiel
Lostwithiel
| |
---|---|
The 12th-century bridge across the River Fowey | |
Location within Cornwall | |
Population | 2,814 (2011)[2] |
OS grid reference | SX104598 |
Civil parish |
|
Unitary authority | |
Ceremonial county | |
Region | |
Country | England |
Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
Post town | LOSTWITHIEL |
Postcode district | PL22 |
Dialling code | 01208 |
Police | Devon and Cornwall |
Fire | Cornwall |
Ambulance | South Western |
UK Parliament | |
Lostwithiel (
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 Roman 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.[citation needed]
Current thinking is that the name comes from the Old Cornish Lost Gwydhyel meaning "tail-end of the woodland".[7] The view from Restormel Castle looking towards the town shows how this may have come to be.[citation needed]
History
Lostwithiel was founded in the early 12th century by Norman lords who built the nearby Restormel Castle. Lostwithiel received its town charter in 1189.[8] In the late 13th century, Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall oversaw the building of the Stannary Palace, the bridge and the square church tower.[8]
The Battle of Lostwithiel, an important battle in the First English Civil War, took place near Lostwithiel in 1644. In it Parliamentarian forces defeated by the Royalists. The Parliamentarians would go on to win the war but Cornwall remained under Royalist control until 1646.[9]
The
Geography
The town is situated in the Fowey river valley, positioned between the
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.[14]
The town contains the suburbs of Bridgend to the east and Rosehill and Victoria to the west of the River Fowey.[13]
To the south of the town is the Shirehall Moor nature reserve which follows the course of the River Fowey and opens out to a wide salt marsh.[15] The reserve is a haven for birdlife including swans, ducks, egrets, herons, kingfishers and Canada geese.[16]
Buildings
Lostwithiel's most notable buildings are
-
The old Stannary Palace
-
The old Fire Station
-
The Methodist Church in Queen Street
-
Lostwithiel Guildhall
Culture
The town has a playing field known as King George V Playing Field. 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 is host to 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 October, and a Dickensian evening in December.[19]
Sport
Cornish wrestling tournaments, for prizes, have been held in Lostwithiel for centuries.[20][21] Venues have included the grounds of Lanwithan,[22] Coulson Park[23] and the King George V Playing Field.[24]
Lostwithiel hosted the Interceltic Games in 1982.
Education
There are two primary schools in Lostwithiel: St Winnow C E School and Lostwithiel Primary School. Both schools are academies. Lostwithiel Primary School is part of the Peninsula Learning Trust Multi Academy Trust and St Winnow C E School is part of The Saints Way Multi Academy Trust. The majority of children aged between 11 and 16 attend Fowey River Academy or Bodmin College.
Lostwithiel Educational Trust is a local charity which makes "grants to local schools and churches, as well as to individuals, for educational purposes" [25]
Transport
One or two trains each hour stop at Lostwithiel railway station with services in each direction between Plymouth or Penzance, many continuing beyond Plymouth to Cardiff Central or London Paddington.[26]
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.
Bus stops in Lostwithiel are outside the Royal Talbot Hotel and Cott Road phone box.
Twinning
Lostwithiel was twinned with Pleyber-Christ in Brittany, France in 1979. The people in the Twinning Associations of both towns usually meet up every year, alternating between Lostwithiel and Pleyber Christ.[27]
See also
- Battle of Lostwithiel
- List of topics related to Cornwall
References
- ^ "Cornwall Council Website". Cornwall Council. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
- ^ "Lostwithiel Town Council Website". Lostwithiel Town Council. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "List of Place-names agreed by the MAGA Signage Panel" (PDF). Cornish Language Partnership. May 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
- ^ "2011 Ward census". Archived from the original on 8 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- Weatherhill, Craig(2009) A Concise Dictionary of Cornish Place-Names. Westport, Mayo: Evertype
- ISBN 0-7525-1851-8.
- ^ a b "History of Lostwithiel". Lostwithiel.org.uk. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ "Battle of Lostwithiel (1644)". Battlefields of Britain. CastlesFortsBattles.co.uk network. 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ISBN 0-902899-76-7.
- ^ Wright, William Henry Kearley (1890). The Western Antiquary, Or, Devon and Cornwall Note Book. Vol. 9–10. W. H. Luke. p. 23.
- ISSN 0140-0460.
- ^ ISBN 0-319-24017-7
- ISBN 1-904474-22-5.
- ^ "Coulson Park and Shirehall Moor : Lostwithiel". www.lostwithiel.org.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ "Lostwithiel riverside walk – Mellingey to Coulson park, Pill walk & Shirehall Moor… – Mellingey house". www.mellingey.co.uk. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
- ^ Historic England. "Freemasons' Hall (1327326)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ Historic England. "Guildhall (1144227)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
- ^ "Annual Events". Welcome to Lostwithiel. Lostwithiel Business Group. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
- ^ Royal Cornwall Gazette, 30 August 1806.
- ^ Western Times, 28 August 1830.
- ^ Cornish Guardian, 8 July 1937.
- ^ The Western Morning News, 11 July 2006.
- ^ Cornish Guardian, 7 July 2010.
- ^ "Charity overview". charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
- ^ "K1 train times". Great Western Railway. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ "Lostwithiel's twin town Pleyber Christ, Brittany". www.lostwithiel.org.uk. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
External links
- Lostwithiel Town Council
- The History of Parliament Trust, Lostwithiel, Borough, from 1386 to 1868
- Lostwithiel.org.uk run by Lostwithiel Business Group
- Lostwithiel at Curlie
- GENUKI page
- Lostwithiel Bridge and its Memories – The Reverend Canon E Boger, 1887
- Lostwithiel OCS
- Cornwall Record Office Online Catalogue for Lostwithiel