History
The church was constructed in 1834 and enlarged in 1866, when the interior was refitted to accommodate 600 worshipers. The interior is one of the best and most complete in Cornwall, containing original box pews, oval gallery with stencil decoration and the box pulpit, incorporated into the rostrum in the 1880s. The building closed for worship in 1997 following structural problems. Services were subsequently held in the adjoining church hall and continue there to this day. Shortly after closure plans were made to divide the building horizontally, across the gallery to make it a more flexible building. This was later halted following the upgrade of the chapels listing from Grade II to Grade II*, as much of the interior would have been destroyed in the process. In 2006 the chapel won a place in the final of the BBC Two program Restoration Villages after winning the South West heat. The are plans to convert the building for community use but so far nothing has come of this and the church is on the heritage at risk register.
The Explore
It’s been exactly a year to the day since I visited the building with Prettyvacant, but I never got round to sticking up a report on the place. At the time I was very busy exploring wise and managed 3 pretty big trips in just over a month, visiting around 40 sites, so I guess it just got a bit forgotten about. We were in far down west to visit the Newlyn bottle top factory when I remembered that there was a disused church not far away. When we got to the building, late in the evening, I quickly noticed a possible way in after having no luck on the ground floor. We then spent the night in the car just up the road and got up just before sunrise to while the village was still asleep. I really enjoyed this place, It’s a lovely old building with no hints of modernization, there’s lots of dust and cobwebs but no serious decay or damage in over 20 years of disuse, just a pity about all the junk now stored on the ground floor.
The plain exterior, constructed of local granite
The entrance of the building, note how the stairs to the galleries lead to their own doors, rather then the entrance space
The interior from the gallery, the light was great just after sunrise
The organ
The vestry
The ten commandments board
The font, carved from serpentine
Cast iron umbrella stand
Detail of the rostrum
Thanks for looking
The church was constructed in 1834 and enlarged in 1866, when the interior was refitted to accommodate 600 worshipers. The interior is one of the best and most complete in Cornwall, containing original box pews, oval gallery with stencil decoration and the box pulpit, incorporated into the rostrum in the 1880s. The building closed for worship in 1997 following structural problems. Services were subsequently held in the adjoining church hall and continue there to this day. Shortly after closure plans were made to divide the building horizontally, across the gallery to make it a more flexible building. This was later halted following the upgrade of the chapels listing from Grade II to Grade II*, as much of the interior would have been destroyed in the process. In 2006 the chapel won a place in the final of the BBC Two program Restoration Villages after winning the South West heat. The are plans to convert the building for community use but so far nothing has come of this and the church is on the heritage at risk register.
The Explore
It’s been exactly a year to the day since I visited the building with Prettyvacant, but I never got round to sticking up a report on the place. At the time I was very busy exploring wise and managed 3 pretty big trips in just over a month, visiting around 40 sites, so I guess it just got a bit forgotten about. We were in far down west to visit the Newlyn bottle top factory when I remembered that there was a disused church not far away. When we got to the building, late in the evening, I quickly noticed a possible way in after having no luck on the ground floor. We then spent the night in the car just up the road and got up just before sunrise to while the village was still asleep. I really enjoyed this place, It’s a lovely old building with no hints of modernization, there’s lots of dust and cobwebs but no serious decay or damage in over 20 years of disuse, just a pity about all the junk now stored on the ground floor.
The plain exterior, constructed of local granite
The entrance of the building, note how the stairs to the galleries lead to their own doors, rather then the entrance space
The interior from the gallery, the light was great just after sunrise
The organ
The vestry
The ten commandments board
The font, carved from serpentine
Cast iron umbrella stand
Detail of the rostrum
Thanks for looking
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