Our Lady and St Neot Church, Liskeard
West Street Liskeard PL14 6BW

The Church of our Lady and St Neot is in the centre of Liskeard. A Catholic centre was established on the site just after the 1829 Catholic Emancipation Act, when a French priest, Fr Marc Oleron arrived in Cornwall and travelled through the county, linking Catholic families. The present building dates from 1863 to accommodate an influx of Irish miners during the mining boom, the original building being retained as a small hall alongside. It is the oldest Catholic church in the area and considered the mother church of a large part of Cornwall which is forms part of the RC Diocese of Plymouth. It is in Early English style and is the design of Joseph Hansom, of Hansom Cab fame.

The church is on a north-south line with the Sanctuary on the southern end. It is built of slate from the Ladyparke Quarry, with granite lower course and carved sandstone arch and corbels surrounding the main entrance door.

The Church has some Victorian stained glass windows, including a fine image of St Joseph and others by Franze Mayer, the stained glass artist to the Holy See, that relates to the early days of the mission.

There are a modern granite altar from a local quarry and an older font, also partial granite. Within the entrance porch, the Holy Water Stoup has a most unusual design: the front is a face with a water spout and it is claimed in the 1889 edition of Kelly’s Directory, that it originated from the Holy Well at St Cleer.