The Church
The Church is normally open from mid-morning to mid-afternoon throughout the year.
A Priory existed in Tywardreath just to the south of the present church from around 1088 and its "Mother Abbey" was the Abbey of St Sergius and St Bacchus inAngers, France. At that time, and up to the 17th Century, the waters of what is now St Austell Bay came up close to the Priory and much of modern Par would have been below the high water mark. The original highwater line of low cliffs is still visible at the end of Moorland Road as you drive around the one way system in Par.
During the dissolution in 1536 the priory was pulled down and much of the carved stone was shipped to the Mother Abbey in France but some was lost in wrecks on the sea bed off Fowey and was recovered to be "absorbed" into local houses and farms.
The present church, dedicated to St Andrew the Apostle, was dedicated in 1347. In 1480 the towers was built and a South aisle added. this ncludes the present granite pillars carved from a single piece of granite. These monotliths are worthy of close inspection as they contain many crystalline mineral inclusions. One cannot but be awed by the skill of the craftsmen that carved these enourmous pieces of granite.
Various modifications took place during the 18th and 19 th Centuries and today, the Church, which is a Grade 11 listed building, can accomodate 300 worshippers in the wooden pews plus more in the Lady Chapel which were made specifically for the Rashleigh family. They had a small house near the eastern gate where they would change into suitable clothes for church after having travelled by horse and by carriage from their house at Menabilly.
Daphne Du Maurier made the church famous by using it in her novel the House on the Strand (Sand) which is what the word Tywardreath means in Cornish.
There are many interesting things to see inside this substantial church including some framed carved pew ends which date back to the time of the priory.
Bishop Gott, the third Bishop of Truro and the incumbent when Truro Catherdral was completed in 1903, lived in nearby Trenython Manor and is buried under an impressive monument within the churchyard at Tywardreath.
On the wall inside the church is an illuminated board which lists the Vicars of Tywardreath all the way back to 1261 - I remarkable record.
The Cache
The headline coordinates should take you close to the main entrance porch of the church on the south side.
Unfortunately, dogs are not allowed in the churchyard.
Close to the entrance is a gravestone commemorating a man with a notorious job, even in the late 19th Century!!, and his wife.
From the stone you need the following information:
Joseph Philips died Dec AB th CDEB aged FG
and also his wife Maria who died Aug CE CDEH aged FH
The cache can be found at N 50 AC.BDG W 004 (H-A)C.EEF
The cache is a plastic tube 10 cms long by 3 cms diameter covered in camo tape.
You may require tweezers to retrieve the log. Please Bring Your Own Pen (BYOP)
Because of proximity issues the cache is paced a short drive away from the village centre but there is room to park at the GZ whilst the cache is retrieved.
On a clear day, the views over Mid Cornwall from the GZ are are very impressive.
Congratulations to CornishCandy and Spooky_Luke for being FTF on a wet night
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For full information on how you can expand the Church Micro series by sadexploration please read the Place your own Church Micro page before you contact him at churchmicro.co.uk
See also the Church Micro Statistics and Home pages for further information about the series.
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