Information on Cardinham

and and Temple, on the east by Warleggan, on the south by Bradock and St Winnow, from which it is separated by the river Fowey, and on the west by Lanhydrock, Bodmin and Helland. The parish is named after the Cornish word 'Car' (or 'Caer') meaning fort plus the word 'Dinas' also meaning fortress. This parish is very large (over 9,000 acres); it stretches from near Lanhydrock park in the south to a point 5 miles north of Bodmin on the A30 road. This includes much of the lovely wooded Glynn Valley and the high moorlands above it. The name shows that there was a fortified castle here well over 1,000 years ago, when Cornwall was an independent kingdom. there are several ancient inscribed stones in the parish, dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries, when Christianity first came to Cornwall.

The site of Cardynham Castle is on high ground to the south of the church; the castle was built soon after the Norman Conquest, probably by Richard Fitz Turold, whose family called "de Cardinan" after their dwelling place, lived here for 200 years after that. The shape of the castle can still be seen, but no ruins remain. The oratory founded by St Meubred was no doubt altered and enlarged over the centuries many times.

The main villages in the parish are Cardinham, Millpool and Mount. There is now a small airfield at Cardinham, sometimes called Bodmin Airfield, which is the home of the Cornwall Flying Club.

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