England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Lanteglos by Camelford St Julitta

The Parish

The parish of Lanteglos, the qualifier of "by Camelford" is required as there are two such named parishes in Cornwall the other being close to Fowey, lies in northern Cornwall not too far from its northern coastline. Lanteglos is located roughly 10 miles north of the market town of Wadebridge and sits a half mile west of the A39 which links Wadebridge through to Bideford in Devon, Camel ford is a further 1 1/2 miles northeast. Strangely Camelford is the larger of the two settlements within the parish but was not granted its own parish church until 1938.  Camelford is an ancient borough, granted in 1258 by Earl Richard and sits at the main crossing point of the River Camel most properties are on the western banks rising up the valley sides whilst across the Camel a smaller version also sits. Lanteglos is a rather small and compact village in a parallel valley, that of the infant River Allen, Camelford grew into a local market centre for exchange of local goods and specialist services whilst Lanteglos was and remains chiefly a pastoral farming parish, in addition some extraction of the local slate could be found, mainly for local use. Early gazetteers indicate that both were roughly equal in population whereas today Camelford has markedly outgrown its smaller cousin. Modern developments have come and gone, a branch railway line serving the North Cornish Coast and running between Wadebridge & Launceston has since closed and been largely dismantled. The twin rivers of Allen & Camel drain the parish in parallel to the nearby Irish Sea arriving respectively through differing course eventually passing through Wadebridge. Lanteglos is sited at between 120 & 150 metres above the sea whilst Camelford is between 190 & 240 metres both occupying rising sites on valley sides, land rises in strongly undulating terrain to local high spots of almost 300 metres on the rising slopes headed toward Davidstow. Lanteglos parish was extensive, as are many in its county, covering close to 3,600 acres the parish, including Camelford, would have supported a population of close to 1,550 parishioners. Neither Lanteglos nor Camelford are mentioned in Domesday Book.

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The Church

St Julitta's church sits on the eastern banks of the River Allen on a thin strip of nearly level ground before the lane climbs up the valley side. Whilst Lanteglos may not have been mentioned in Domesday Book where is evidence that the church, in an original cruciform layout, did exist here as early as the 12th century. Indeed Pevsner is quick to point to the early masonry in the northern walls of both nave & chancel as being of that Norman Romanesque period with a similar age being found on either wall of the northern transept. The major change to the church came in the 14th century when the cruciform layout was replaced with a typical style of that medieval period when the central crossing tower was replaced by today's stately western tower. That western tower is unbuttressed and battlemented complete with stair-turret at its northeastern corner. Later still and 15th century Perpendicular in style come the southern aisle and porch in large blocks of ashlar from the local granite, the granite theme being continued internally with slim piers in the 6-bay aisle arcade. Two campaigns of Victorian restoration are recognised by Pevsner, that of the late 1860s being described as "heavy handed" whilst a further campaign of 1873 left the interior "unexpectedly austere in character". As always, with the narrow Cornish lanes being rather narrow, parking is difficult but it is possible to carefully squeeze a small car in front of the wooden gates getting it mostly off-road. The eastern end is tightly constrained by trees removing some of the favoured aspects but enough remain to adequately capture the church in both portrait and landscape views.