Churches of the British Isles

St Mary's Chapel at Restormel Castle lay almost directly opposite the castle entrance, against the inner eastern wall. It is thought to have been added before 1337 and is likely to have been served by a priest from a nearby hermitage, with the local lord and the inner household worshipping here. The altar was at the east wall, under a window that was later blocked off. A small piscine was located against the right hand wall and two bells hung in the roof.

The Chapel of the Holy Trinity Chapel stood almost due east of the castle (see above) and right up against the west bank of the River Fowey. A medieval chapel, it was destroyed at the Reformation. Henry VIII converted Restormel Castle's parkland back into ordinary countryside and, with the castle now out of use, the earliest parts of Restormel Manor (pictured) were established during the sixteenth century. It is said to have been built on the site of the chapel itself.

Golant Wesleyan Methodist Chapel sits at the south-west corner of the junction between Water Lane and Cowshit Lane (no longer a drover's road!). It appears on early maps as a Wesleyan Methodist chapel (certainly by 1882), and became Golant Methodist Church in 1932 at the Methodist union. It is now a holiday home called 'The Sunday House'. It was erected on the site of the previous chapel which was built circa 1875 for a cost of about £300, with space for 250.

Golant Reading Room lies very close to the southern side of Water Lane (as can be seen here), about fifty metres east of the Methodist Church (see above). The building appears on maps by 1907 but a precise date of construction seems to be unavailable. Reading rooms were imposed on the working classes by the upper classes, mainly by the church or rich landowners, to encourage adults and local children to become literate. Today this reading room is the village hall.

St Sampson's Church, Golant, sits at the north end of Church Hill, immediately north of Golant itself. St Sampson established himself here, having erected a temporary shelter. His well, outside the main door, sprang up when he struck his staff there. This has been a place of worship since the fifth century at least with, traditionally, King Mark, plus Tristan and Iseult, worshipping here. The present building is of a traditional Celtic design, dating to about 1200 in its earliest parts.

All photos on this page by Jo Lewis.