Tintagel Village
OS Grid ref:- SX0890
Characterful Tintagel village, a popular tourist destination, is situated between Padstow and Boscastle on the Heritage Coast of north Cornwall. Facilities include a range of accomodation, including campsites, post office, shops, pubs, restaurants and cafes.
Tintagel Post Office
Reproduced courtesy of Sundial Photographics
The quaint and characterful Old Post Office, tumble-roofed and weathered by the centuries, was previously a medieval manor house, which was built in the late fourteenth or fifteenth century. The building was used as the village post office from 1844 to 1892. Set in the outside wall at the front of the building is a Victorian letter collection box dating back to 1857. It is one of very few such boxes, which still remain. In 1895 when most of the old vilage was being pulled down to meet the needs of the influx of new visitors, the Old Post Office was rescued from destruction by a team of people lead by Catherine Johns.. Miss Johns carried out improvements to the building. The Old Post Office is now in the care of the National Trust, who acquired the building from Miss Johns in 1903 and is preserved as the Victorian post office that it became in its latter years.
The village was once known known as Trevana until renamed Tintagel in Victorian times, in an effort to promote tourism. Tintagel has a profusion of tourist shops, offering a wide range of goods. The picturesque Norman church of St. Materiana stands somewhat detached from the village at Glebe Cliff on the Tintagel coast. Inside the church is a Norman font, crudely carved out of stone and a stone which dates to Roman times.
The dramatic Tintagel Castle, reputed to be the birthplace of King Arthur, can be reached on foot or by regular land rover service from the village.