Three Eyes Chapel is the second chapel built by Billy Bray. It is based in Kerley Downs near Truro, and was built only a mile from the village where Billy was born.

In 1824, there was a society of recently converted men and women, who met regularly in a small premises.

When the group was offered a small piece of land by Benjamin Paul, Billy felt that his call to help this society was confirmed.

Billy and his young son worked all their spare time to help build the chapel, even after a hard day working the mines.

Billy Bray

The deed of trust was drawn up dated 4th July, 1836, which means the chapel has been standing as a place of worship for over 160 years.

The original chapel was much smaller than the one that stands today, although it still had its three windows -its Three Eyes.

Billy himself enlarged it, adding three more windows, a square for the choir and instrumentalists and a new pulpit.

Also the style and stepping of the pews suggests that they were added later.

Regular services were held in the chapel until 1982, when the Billy Bray Memorial Trust took over the care of the building.

The life of Billy Bray

Billy Bray; Cornish Miner, Dancing Preacher is a new book written by local author Chris Wright.

The book invites the reader to take a journey to Cornwall to meet Billy Bray from the village of Twelveheads, a man who became one of the county's most famous sons.

Chris Wright in Three Eyes Chapel

It captures the essence of the period by taking a trip down a tin mine in 1850, and then visiting some very noisy chapel services.

FW Bourne used only extracts from Billy's Journal when writing about Billy in his famous book 'The King's Son', first published in 1871, and from the few that he used he omitted many fascinating details. These are told in full in 'Billy Bray: Cornish Miner, Dancing Preacher'.

Billy Bray wrote his Journal in a style that makes his account much more vivid than Bourne's rather formal rewording. The Journal is presented exactly as Billy wrote it, but with corrected spelling and added punctuation.

Many of Bourne's memories and collected stories about Billy in 'The King's Son' are repeated in 'Billy Bray: Cornish Miner Dancing Preacher'.

Entries concerning Billy from the unpublished diaries of a local schoolmaster give an enthralling insight into the way Billy talked to the people he met, as well as telling small details from his sermons.

Chris's intention is that 'Billy Bray: Cornish Miner Dancing Preacher' will come to be regarded as the definitive work on Billy Bray.

About Chris Wright

Chris Wright's first published book was published in 1966. The Timpitters' Mine was the first of a series of seven children's adventure titles.

In the 1980's Chris re-wrote seven Christian classics including The Pilgrims' Progress under the titles Young Christian's Pilgrimage and Christiana's Journey.

More recently he has completed five modern thrillers.

Hear more about Billy Bray's life on BBC Radio Cornwall's new religious magazine programme, on Sundays between 6-9am with Naomi Rowe.