Lizard

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Lizard village
St Winwallo parish church

Lizard is a village on the Lizard peninsula in western Cornwall, found at the very end of the peninsula close to Lizard Point itself. It is thus ten miles south of Helston, and is the most southerly village on the island of Great Britain. In the whole of the United Kingdom, only the villages of the isles of Scilly lie further south.

The village is in the parish of Landewednack, the most southerly parish on the British mainland.[1]

The parish church is dedicated to St Winwallo and is the most southerly in mainland Great Britain. It is built of local serpentinite stone and stands in the hamlet of Landewednack, now an adjunct to Lizard village.[1]

Lizard is principally a tourist centre serving visitors who have come to see Lizard Point and to buy the many souvenirs and items wrought of local serpentine stone polished to a high sheen. Its large village green is surrounded by cafés and gift shops.

The Spanish Armada was first spotted from near Lizard village in 1588.[2][3]

Lizard Lighthouse, the oldest mainland light in Cornwall, is situated half-a-mile south of the village. It has twin towers and was erected in 1752 although there had been a light here since 1619.[4] The Lizard lifeboat station, operated by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, stands at Kilcobben Cove half-a-mile east of the village.[5]

The Top House, Lizard, Cornwall, is the most southerly pub in the United Kingdom apart from the Turk's Head on St Agnes, Isles of Scilly.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Information on Lizard  from GENUKI - Landewednack
  2. [1] The Lizard website; retrieved April 2010
  3. Zetnet Users; Cornwall; The Lizard Retrieved April 2010
  4. Trinity House website retrieved April 2010
  5. The RNLI website; The Lizard retrieved April 2010