Warleggan, referred to by Pevsner as the “loneliest village
on Bodmin Moor”, “a place of remote slate and granite farms” by Betjeman and
finally “a desolate and almost deserted village” by Rawe. It is as if twentieth
century writers are surprised by the very existence of the place.

Earlier writers on Cornwall rarely mention the place and
later ones concentrate on the eccentricities of its last resident incumbent,
The Reverend F W Densham, more to follow later.

There has been a church at Warleggan for almost 800 years, the
churchyard is circular, which is unusual and can indicate a Celtic burial site,
especially on a hilltop as in Warleggan.

Although a John Wak was named as Rector in 1244, we have no
precise records of the early history of the church. It may have been a manorial
chapel, once part of the greater Manor of Fawiton.

The dedication to St. Bartholomew is first mentioned in
1434, when Sir Thomas Shenke was instituted chaplain and contrasts with the
neighbouring Celtic saints of St. Meubred (Cardinham) and St. Neot, further
evidence that Warleggan’s origins were manorial.

DRONE PHOTO OF CHURCH TO INSERT