A brief history of Lesnewth Church:

Lesnewth means ‘New Court’. It is said that the original church was Saxon, tucked into the hillside so that is could not be seen by the marauding Danes. However, they found it and pillaged it.

The Normans then rebuilt in a cruciform style, and the tower was added in the 15th century. Sadly this church was in a desperate state in the 1800’s and in 1862 J P St Aubyn restored it!

Perhaps rebuilt is a better word! Stories are told that he had to blow up parts of the old church with dynamite!!!

Little therefore remains although the tower survived and some of the stone was reused, and others were used in rebuilding walls around the church yard.

Inside the church is full of light as the parishioners have just had all the windows re-glazed in clear glass replacing the green tinted glass that the Victorians had installed.

On the right had side of the Altar is a lovely little widow which is Norman and the remains of an ancient piscine.

On the South side of the Chancel the Norman stonework has been reused to form a single pier holding up the arches – a small taste of what has been lost.

The graveyard has a tremendous display of English daffodils in the Spring and it is difficult to imagine the little stream causing so much damage to its banks during the flood of 2004 when the ground was eroded to the base of the ancient cross and the bridge was washed away.