Withiel
| Withiel Cornish: Egloswydhyel | |
| Cornwall | |
|---|---|
 Withiel | |
| Location | |
| Grid reference: | SW995654 |
| Location: | 50°27’14"N, 4°49’34"W |
| Data | |
| Population: | 329 (2011) |
| Post town: | Bodmin |
| Postcode: | PL30 |
| Dialling code: | 01208 |
| Local Government | |
| Council: | Cornwall |
| Parliamentary constituency: |
North Cornwall |
Withiel is a village in mid-Cornwall. The name Withiel comes from the Cornish word Gwydhyel, meaning "wooded place".[1]
The wider parish contains the hamlets of Withielgoose, Retire and Tregawne, and had a total population of about 300 in 1824.[2]
At Ruthernbridge is an early 15th-century bridge with two pointed arches over the Ruthern. The hamlet here was until 1933 a halt on the Bodmin to Wadebridge railway line. The River Ruthern rises near Victoria in the parish of Roche and flows northwards through the parish of Withiel; it flows into the River Camel haf a mile above Brocton.
Notable people from the parish include Sir Bevil Grenville (1596–July 5, 1643), a Royalist soldier in the Civil War.
Parish church
The parish church, dedicated to St Clement, is in the village of Withiel and dates back to the 13th century.
The original church was apparently a nave and chancel only but it was rebuilt in the 15th and 16th centuries in granite. At this time a tower and spacious south aisle were added, and later a smaller north aisle, used as a chapel by the Bevilles of Brynn. The dedication to St Clement is not recorded before 1478; St Clement is portrayed on the font which is of this date.
From before the Norman Conquest, the church and manor of Withiel belonged to the monastery of Bodmin, and the monastery retained possession until dissolution in 1538. The benefice was never appropriated and has always been a rectory. Thomas Vivian, Prior of Bodmin, was also rector 1523-1533; his arms are in the east window of the south aisle.[3]
Outside links
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("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Withiel) |
References
- ↑ Mills, A. D. (1981) The Popular Dictionary of English Place-Names, ISBN 0-7525-1851-8
- ↑ Hitchins, Fortescue; Drew, Samuel (1824). The History of Cornwall: from the earlist records and traditions, to the present time. W. Penaluna. p. 682. http://books.google.com/books?id=YUYQAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA682. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
- ↑ Cornish Church Guide (1925) Truro: Blackford; p. 221-22
