St Thomas the Apostle Rural, also known as St Thomas-by-Launceston ( kw, Sen Tommos Lannstefan) is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

in east

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, England, United Kingdom. It is centred on the village of Tregadillett ( kw, Tregadylet) and is in the Registration District of Launceston. The parish lies to the west of the town of Launceston. It is bounded to the east by Launceston St Mary Magdelene, to the south by

South Petherwin South Petherwin ( kw, Paderwynn Dheghow) is a village and civil parish in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in the Registration District of Launceston. The civil parish is bounded to the north by the Launceston parishes of St Thoma ...

, to the west by

Trewen Trewen ( kw, Trewynn) is a hamlet and a civil parish in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom The parish is just east of Bodmin Moor in the River Inny valley and lies in the Registration District of Launceston. Trewen parish is bounded to the ...

, and to the north by

Egloskerry Egloskerry ( kw, Egloskeri) is a village and civil parish in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately northwest of Launceston. Egloskerry parish consists of the village itself and many outlying hamlets and farms, in ...

and

St Stephen-by-Launceston St Stephens by Launceston Rural is a civil parish in the east of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in the Registration district of Launceston. The population of the parish in the 2001 census was 312, increasing to 360 and including Dut ...

. The population of the parish in the 2001 census was 815. The district falls within the

Altarnun Altarnun ( ; kw, Alternonn) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is located west of Launceston on the north-eastern edge of Bodmin Moor at . The parish of Altarnun includes the village of Fivelanes and the ha ...

civil ward but at the 2011 Census the parish population had increased only slightly to 836. In the 19th century, the parish of St Thomas the Apostle was split into rural and urban parts, the urban part being incorporated into Launceston. Thus the population in the 1891 census is given as 352 (urban) and 924 (rural).

Gallery

File:Prior's Bridge and the River Kensey - geograph.org.uk - 323493.jpg, Prior's Bridge and the River Kensey File:St Thomas Church - geograph.org.uk - 323476.jpg, St Thomas's Church

Parish church

The original parish church, dedicated to St Thomas, is on the northern outskirts of the town of Launceston at near the ruins of St Thomas's Priory and the

River Kensey The River Kensey is a river in east Cornwall, England, UK which is a tributary of the River Tamar. The river rises at Kensey in the parish of Treneglos Treneglos ( kw, Treneglos) is a hamlet and a civil parish in north-east Cornwall, England ...

. It is largely of 15th century date, but the lower part of the tower is 14th century: interesting features include a Norman font and tympanum, and two wall paintings. However, the later mission church, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, is in the village of Tregadillett at . There is a Cornish cross in the churchyard, found when the church was rebuilt in 1869-70.Langdon, A. G. (1896) ''Old Cornish Crosses''. Truro: Joseph Pollard; pp. 93-94

Tregadillett

Tregadillett ( kw, Tregadyles) is the largest settlement in the parish and is situated beside the A30 trunk road about 3 miles (5 km) west of Launceston. The village has a school, a

pub A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...

and a post office which closed down.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas the Apostle Rural Villages in Cornwall Civil parishes in Cornwall Launceston, Cornwall Grade II* listed buildings in Cornwall National Heritage List for England