Bolitho ( , ) is a village in west

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, and a Cornish surname. The Bolitho Family own large estates in west

, England, United Kingdom. The name ''Bolitho'' comes from the

Cornish language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or , ) is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. Along with Welsh language, Welsh and Breton language, Breton, Cornish descends from Common Brittonic, ...

words ''bos'', meaning 'dwelling', and ''Leythow'', a personal name. There is also a place called Bolitho in the civil parish of

Menheniot Menheniot (pronounced Men-en-yut; ) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is southeast of Liskeard. The meaning of the name is "sanctuary of Neot" (from ''minihi'' and ''Neo ...

Bolitho family

The surname Bolitho derives from this place. Some of the Bolithos were ″merchant princes″, the Bolitho family's growth to prominence started with Thomas Bolitho (1765–1868). The family were initially tanners, who moved into lime-burning and tin smelting before becoming bankers. The Bolitho Bank eventually merged with

Barclays Barclays PLC (, occasionally ) is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services ...

in 1905, with William Bolitho becoming the director of Barclays. The arms of Bolitho are "Ermine on a plain chevron five bezants between two chevronels engrailed and three fleurs–de–lis Sable", with the motto "Re deu". The Paschal lamb in the borough arms of

Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...

derives from the tin smelting mark used by the Bolithos of

Gulval Gulval () is a village in the civil parish of Penzance, in Cornwall, England. Although historically a parish in its own right, Gulval was incorporated into the parishes of Ludgvan, Madron and Penzance in 1934, and is now considered to be a sub ...

. The Old Inn, a public house in Gulval Churchtown, was given to the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

Association in memory of Capt. Michael Lempriere Bolitho and renamed "The Coldstreamer" (Capt. Bolitho was killed on HMS ''Walney'', a Royal Navy sloop; her task was to crash through the boom at the entrance to Oran Harbour in

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

on 8 November 1942). Sergeant Richard Bolitho, born 19 January 1920, was a gunner in World War II and was one of the famous Dambusters of No. 617 Squadron RAF which carried out the raids on the German dams. Bolitho was killed, along with the rest of the crew, when their

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to ...

bomber crashed on the outward journey. An independent school at Polwithen House in Penzance, Bolitho School, closed in 2017. It is now the Frances Bolitho Care Home.

References

External links

Villages in Cornwall {{Kerrier-geo-stub