St Bartholomew's Church is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

Diocese of Truro The Diocese of Truro (established 1876) is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury which covers Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and a small part of Devon. The bishop's seat is at Truro Cathedral. Geography and history The di ...

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; kw, 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, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 c ...

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.

Background

The earliest part of the church is the tower which dates from the 13th century. The spire was added in the early 14th century, and the rest of the church dates from the later 14th century. The

spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

has an octagonal screen around its foot, with former windows on four of its eight sides. Built of

Pentewan stone Elvan is a name used in Cornwall and Devon for the native varieties of quartz-porphyry. They are dispersed irregularly in the Devonian series of rocks and some of them make very fine building stones (e.g. Pentewan stone, Polyphant stone and Cata ...

, is the outstanding feature of this sizable town church. The north side has a St Catherine's Wheel. Unusually for a Cornish church there is a clerestory above the nave. There are some fine monuments of

Georgian period The Georgian era was a period in British history from 1714 to , named after the Hanoverian Kings George I, George II, George III and George IV. The definition of the Georgian era is often extended to include the relatively short reign of Willi ...

and a brass of 1423. The east window of five lights is one of the most notable in Cornwall, of the same date as the spire. The early fourteenth century font is outstanding, with carved figures of a huntsman and

hawk Hawks are bird of prey, birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. They are widely distributed and are found on all continents except Antarctica. * The subfamily Accipitrinae includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, sharp-shinned hawks and others. Th ...

, a head with leaves sprouting from its mouth, an evil face, a

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly u ...

and

hound A hound is a type of hunting dog used by hunters to track or chase prey. Description Hounds can be contrasted with gun dogs that assist hunters by identifying prey and/or recovering shot quarry. The hound breeds were the first hunting dogs. T ...

s, and

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

s. The church was restored in 1878 and 1879 by a Lostwithiel firm of builders, Messrs Phelp and Brown. The architect for the work was Mr Clark of London. The exterior of the building was renovated, plaster ceiling removed and the interior was stripped of ″pew monstrosities″. An open-timbered roof of pitch pine was erected along with new floors and the new carvings was carried out by

Harry Hems Harry Hems (12 June 1842 – 5 January 1916) was an English architectural and ecclesiastical sculptor who was particularly inspired by Gothic architecture and a practitioner of Gothic Revival. He founded and ran a large workshop in Exeter, Devon ...

of Ecclesiastical Art Works,

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. The restoration cost £1,200 (), and the church was reopened on 29 May 1879 with a service by Archdeacon Hobhouse. In 1894 the organ was enlarged, and this required the construction of a new vestry for the clergy and choir in the north-west corner under the spire. This was designed by

Edmund Sedding Edmund Sedding (20 June 1836 – 1868) was an English architect and musician. Biography Sedding, son of Richard and Peninnah Sedding of Summerstown, near Okehampton, Devon, was born on 20 June 1836: John Dando Sedding was his younger brother. He ...

and built at a cost of £200 ().

Organ

The organ was built by Brewer of

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

c.1888, using pipes from an earlier manual organ by

Alexander Buckingham Alexander Buckingham (ca. 1777 - 1853) was one of the main organ builders in England during the early 19th century. Life He is thought to have started work around 1791 with John Avery. Later he went to be foreman to Thomas Elliot. From around ...

in 1828. It has subsequently been restored by Osmonds of

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

and, in 1992, by Lance Foy of Truro. A specification of the organ can be found on th
National Pipe Organ Register

Bells

The tower contains a peal of 6 bells by

Gillett & Johnston Gillett & Johnston was a clockmaker and bell foundry based in Croydon, England from 1844 until 1957. Between 1844 and 1950, over 14,000 tower clocks were made at the works. The company's most successful and prominent period of activity as a bel ...

dating from 1924.

Parish status

The church is in a joint benefice with: *

St Brevita’s Church, Lanlivery St Brevita's Church, Lanlivery is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Lanlivery, Cornwall. History The church dates from the late 14th century, but most dates from the 15th century. The tower at 95 ft dominates the va ...

* St Winnow’s Church, St Winnow * St Cyricius and St Julietta's Church, St Veep * St Mary the Virgin's Church, Braddock *St Nectan’s Chapel, St Winnow * Boconnoc Church

Churchyard

In the churchyard is a grave of a member of the Hext family with a medieval lantern cross mounted on a modern shaft. The cross head was found in the 19th century at an unknown location and in 1882 set up in the churchyard, Local historian

Frances Margery Hext Frances Margery Hext (1819–1896) was a local historian and author from Lostwithiel, Cornwall, best known for her work ''Memorials of Lostwithiel nd of Restormell', which continues to be referenced in studies of the history of Cornwall. Biogr ...

paid to have the cross restored. It was later moved to its present position.Langdon, A. G. (2002) ''Stone Crosses in Mid Cornwall''; 2nd ed. Federation of Old Cornwall Societies; p. 52

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lostwithiel, Saint Bartholomew's Church Grade I listed churches in Cornwall Church of England church buildings in Cornwall English Gothic architecture in Cornwall St Bartholomew's Church