Churches of the British Isles

The Benedictine Priory of St Andrew occupied grounds on the eastern side of Priory Lane, immediately south of St Andrew's Church (see above). It is said to have been established about 1088, remaining dominant in the settlement until its dissolution in 1536 and later dismemberment. There are indications that the site may have been a place of early Christian activity prior to the arrival of the Normans. The tithe map of 1839 labels the area 'The Priory Farm'.

Tywardreath Town Hall stands on the eastern side of Well Street, just ten metres south of the Church Street junction and flanked by The New Inn on its northern side (to the left of the photo). An old building was replaced on this site in 1862 by the landlord of the New Inn to serve as a function room. Between 1862-1931 the magistrates court was also held here. Tywardreath Reading Room may also have used this location, although possibly without a religious connection.

Tywardreath Wesleyan Methodist Chapel is on the western side of Well Street, about fifteen metres south of the town hall (see above). Nonconformist meetings began in the house of Jonothan Colliver in 1800 before switching to Chapel Down (see links). In 1828 a large group of Methodists bought the current site and built their chapel in the same year in stone. By 1835 a gallery was erected, and a second in 1876. In 1907 it became the Wesleyan Church and remains active.

Tywardreath Sunday School is on the western side of Well Street, twenty metres south of the Trenant Road junction. A Sunday school was built prior to 1864 just a few minutes' walk from the Methodist Chapel. It is shown on the OS 25-inch map of 1892-1914 as the only building this far south of the heart of the village. Things remained that way until soon after the end of the war when the first houses started to appear. Today it houses the Footsteps Childcare Centre.

Back in Par, the Church of the Good Shepherd sits on the southern side of Par Green Road, about seventy metres east of the Moorland Road junction. It was erected as a mission church in 1896, designed by Edmund Sedding, a pupil of George Edmund Street, and built of granite with facings of Polyphant stone. At first it was a simple rectangular building with a roof supported by curved beams. The original design was enriched by changes to the east end, completed in 1954.

All photos on this page by Jo Lewis.