St Bartholomew's Church is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

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 d ...

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; ) 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 census. The Lostwi ...

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, ...

, 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. Spire ...

has an octagonal screen around its foot, with former windows on four of its eight sides. Built of Pentewan stone, 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 also often extended to include the relatively short reign ...

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

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

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

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. ...

s, and

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

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 architecture, Gothic Revival. He founded and ran a la ...

of Ecclesiastical Art Works,

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

. 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 and built at a cost of £200 ().

Organ

The organ was built by Brewer of

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

c.1888, using pipes from an earlier manual organ by Alexander Buckingham in 1828. It has subsequently been restored by Osmonds of

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

and, in 1992, by Lance Foy of Truro. A specification of the organ can be found on the 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 be ...

dating from 1924.

Parish status

The church is in a joint benefice with: * Boconnoc Church * St Brevita’s Church, Lanlivery * St Cyricius and St Julietta's Church, St Veep *

St Mary the Virgin's Church, Braddock St Mary the Virgin’s Church, Braddock or Bradoc is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Braddock, Cornwall. History The current church dates from the 13th to 15th centuries. The font is Norman and there are many good exam ...

*St Nectan’s Chapel, St Winnow *

St Winnow’s Church, St Winnow St Winnow's Church, St Winnow is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in St Winnow, Cornwall. History The church is probably built on the site of the 7th century oratory of St Winnoc. A stone church was built in the 12th cen ...

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 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

External links

{{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