Lostwithiel (/lɒsˈwɪðiəl/; Cornish: Lostwydhyel[4]) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey.

[citation needed] Current thinking is that the name comes from the Old Cornish Lost Gwydhyel meaning "tail-end of the woodland".

[citation needed] Lostwithiel was founded in the early 12th century by Norman lords who built the nearby Restormel Castle.

[8] In the late 13th century, Edmund, 2nd Earl of Cornwall oversaw the building of the Stannary Palace, the bridge and the square church tower.

[11] Jaques Bagratuni, a prince and ambassador of Armenia to Britain, died in Lostwithiel on 23 December 1943 but was buried at Brompton Cemetery in London.

[13] To the south of the town is the Shirehall Moor nature reserve which follows the course of the River Fowey and opens out to a wide salt marsh.

[15] The reserve is a haven for birdlife including swans, ducks, egrets, herons, kingfishers and Canada geese.

There is a fine early fourteenth-century bridge with six pointed arches, and nearby the remains of the Stannary Palace, with its exchequer hall.

Lostwithiel Educational Trust is a local charity which makes "grants to local schools and churches, as well as to individuals, for educational purposes"[25] One or two trains each hour stop at Lostwithiel railway station with services in each direction between Plymouth or Penzance, many continuing beyond Plymouth to Cardiff Central or London Paddington.