Brief History of the Parish

In Tywardreath and Par Parish there is a wonderful combination of "Ancient" and "Modern". Tywardreath, first recorded in the Domesday Book around 1080, goes back centuries before, while Par, as a village, only starts to emerge in the mid 19th century.

The ecclesiastical parish is situated in the deanery and Hundred of Powder. The boundaries in the north are set by Luxulyan and Lanlivery, in the east by St. Sampson and Fowey, to the south by the sea and to the west by St. Blazey. It sits on the Saints' Way to Fowey.

As well as Par and Tywardreath, the parish includes the old hamlets of Polmear, Kilhallon, Lanescott, Chapel Down, Middleway Bridge and Tywardreath Highway.

Par has a good commercial heart consisting of two good sized food stores, three hairdressers, a beauty parlour, a fish smokery, a commercial laundry, an international auction house, one hotel/pub, two pubs, an Indian restaurant, one Chinese takeway, a chemist, a fish and chip shop, a lettlng agency, a jeweller's shop, a mortgage and financial advisors, a mobile phone shop and a library. Par also has a good church and a Methodist chapel, one of the oldest scout troups in Britain, and an AAA rated running track and pavilion, with four football pitches alongside.

Tywardreath has a fine village shop/newsagents, a butcher's shop, a fish and chip shop (with a Tai menu as well), a British Legion branch, and an 18th century pub with a huge garden. It also has a Methodist Chapel and a Church which is over 650 years old. The Church was built and used by the Benedictine monks who worshipped and worked in the long vanished Priory situated below in the grounds of New House Farm.