St Thomas the Apostle Rural, also known as St Thomas-by-Launceston () is a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

in east

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England, United Kingdom. It is centred on the village of Tregadillett () and is in the Registration District of Launceston. The parish lies to the west of the town of Launceston. It is bounded to the east by Launceston St Mary Magdelene, to the south by

South Petherwin South Petherwin () is a village and civil parish in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is in the Registration District of Launceston. The civil parish is bounded to the north by the Launceston parishes of St Thomas and St Mary Magdale ...

, to the west by

Trewen Trewen () is a hamlet and a civil parish in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom The parish is just east of Bodmin Moor in the River Inny valley and lies in the Registration District of Launceston. Trewen parish is bounded to the north by E ...

, and to the north by

Egloskerry Egloskerry () is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately northwest of Launceston, Cornwall, Launceston. Egloskerry parish consists of the village itself and ...

and St Stephen-by-Launceston. The population of the parish in the 2001 census was 815. The district falls within the

Altarnun Altarnun ( ; ) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies west of Launceston on the north-eastern edge of Bodmin Moor at . The parish of Altarnun includes the village of Fivelanes and the hamlets of Bolvento ...

civil ward but at the 2011 Census the parish population had increased only slightly to 836. In the 19th century, the parish of St Thomas the Apostle was split into rural and urban parts, the urban part being incorporated into Launceston. Thus the population in the 1891 census is given as 352 (urban) and 924 (rural).

Gallery

File:Prior's Bridge and the River Kensey - geograph.org.uk - 323493.jpg, Prior's Bridge and the River Kensey File:St Thomas Church - geograph.org.uk - 323476.jpg, St Thomas's Church

Parish church

The original parish church, dedicated to St Thomas, is on the northern outskirts of the town of Launceston at near the ruins of St Thomas's Priory and the

River Kensey The River Kensey is a river in east Cornwall, England, UK which is a tributary of the River Tamar. The river rises at Kensey in the parish of Treneglos and flows generally east to the south of Tresmeer and Egloskerry and then divides the town of ...

. It is largely of 15th century date, but the lower part of the tower is 14th century: interesting features include a Norman font and tympanum, and two wall paintings. However, the later mission church, dedicated to St Mary the Virgin, is in the village of Tregadillett at . There is a Cornish cross in the churchyard, found when the church was rebuilt in 1869-70.

Tregadillett

Tregadillett () is the largest settlement in the parish and is situated beside the A30 trunk road about 3 miles (5 km) west of Launceston. The village has a primary school, community centre, shared with The Church of Christ the Cornerstone, Tregadillett and a

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

, The Eliot Arms; the post office closed down, but now operates from the community centre on Mondays.https://www.postoffice.co.uk/branch-finder/4594703/tregadillett

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas the Apostle Rural Villages in Cornwall Civil parishes in Cornwall Launceston, Cornwall