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Coordinates: 50°24'27?N 4°40'11?W? / ?50.40741, -4.66964
Lostwithiel (Cornish: Lostwydhyel) 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.
[edit] Geography
The town lies on the A390 road from Tavistock to Truro.
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 railway's workshops were built here, but the remaining buildings were transformed into apartments in 2004. A branch line takes china clay trains to Fowey.
[edit] Buildings
Lostwithiel's most notable buildings are St Bartholomew's Church 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 the country, it is now much decayed. 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.
[edit] Administration
Lostwithiel is a historic borough. The Lostwithiel constituency 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.
[edit] Culture
The town boasts a number of annual cultural activities. There is a week long carnival in the summer. In May the town participates in a competition with neighbouring villages, each town/village erects a large pole and the other villages try to steal the poles. On new-years eve there is a masked procession around the town. The town has a King George V Playing Field. Lostwithiel has several large parks. Coulson Park was named after Nathaniel Coulson who was raised in Lostwithiel after being abandoned by his father.
[edit] Education
There are two primary schools in Lostwithiel. St Winnow CE School and Lostwithiel Primary School. The majority of children aged between 11 and 16 attend Fowey Community College.
[edit] 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.
Current thinking is that the name comes from the Old Cornish Lost Gwydeyel meaning "The place at the tail end of the forest". The view from Restormel Castle looking towards the town shows how this may have come to be.
[edit] Transport
From Lostwithiel railway station 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 run 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 Truronian (service T24) runs four journeys (Monday to Friday) via Luxulyan with stops close to the Eden Project & China Clay Country Park. Stops in Lostwithiel are outside the Royal Talbot Hotel & Cott Road phone box.
Lostwithiel looking from the south east
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
12th century bridge at Lostwithiel, crossing the river Fowey
(Source: Wikipedia) |