REGIONAL WINNER: Newlyn Trinity Methodist Chapel, Newlyn, West Cornwall

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• 1. Background
• 2. Regional Information
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Background

• Listing: Grade 2*
• Date of building: 1835
• Web: www.restorationnewlyntrinity.btik.com/
• Newlyn Trinity Methodist Chapel Gallery
• Newlyn Trinity Methodist Chapel Virtual Tour

The chapel, which sits at the centre of the traditional fishing village of Newlyn, is an early example of a Cornish Non-conformist chapel. Cornwall staunchly retained its cultural identity and this rustic individuality is said to have found true expression in a distinctly Cornish form of Methodism.

Despite its plain and simple exterior, internally the chapel contains many features of special architectural interest. These include a full horseshoe gallery supported on pillars, original box pews to be found in only nine other chapels throughout Cornwall, a late 18th century pulpit, the original organ, and decoration added during the Victorian era.

The chapel is constructed of locally quarried granite, and it is believed that large boulders at the side of the building may have been dragged up from the beach and incorporated into the structure as a form of foundation. The chapel is probably the work of a local mason working to the specifications of the minister, as architects were few and far between in Cornwall at this time. Though local women would most likely have brought the cobbles used outside the chapel up from the beach in their skirts, this was a chapel designed for a middle class congregation – industrialists, teachers, fish merchants and the like.

It is hoped that once the asbestos roof has been replaced and re-slated and some form of heating installed, the chapel could find possible use as a Heritage Centre. This would celebrate Newlyn's ancient fishing industry, its history of copper mining and silk making as well as the Newlyn School of Painters – a group of artists celebrated for depicting the lives of the ordinary working people of Newlyn.

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