Discovering Old Cornwall - 5 - Lostwithiel

Following our visit to Restormel Castle we headed for nearby Lostwithiel, once the capital of Cornwall. I was a bit cross with myself because I had forgotten to take with me an old photo of the town – for my series of posts comparing old Cornwall with today.

I still clicked a few photos trying to remember the old Lostwithiel photo I had from about 1908. When I got home I compared my efforts and was quite pleased that my memory had served me reasonably well.

The photo above is from 1908 and below is one of the pictures I snapped. Though the angle is slightly different I’ve got the exact same buildings. The two houses to the left of the 1908 photo are now retail outlets, one of them being a very nice coffee shop. Otherwise nothing much has changed, other than the people.

The name Lostwithiel comes from the Cornish language word lostwydhyel which means tail of a wooded area. We had a quick look around the small town and popped into St Bartholomew Church.

The present church building dates from the 13th century and the fine, decorated octagonal spire was added in 14th century. As for the clock; the heavy weights that drive it have to be wound up by hand every day.

We left the built up area of Lostwithiel and walked along the river instead. On such a sunny day it was good to get back to nature!

Other Old Cornwall Posts:
Discovering Old Cornwall – 2 – Charlestown
Discovering Old Cornwall – 3 – Lerryn
Discovering Old Cornwall – 4 – Truro