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| The foundation stone of Grade II* Listed Newlyn Trinity Methodist Chapel was laid on 27 January 1834. Trinity Chapel, which opened just over a year later, was built in the style of London chapels from the 18th century and has been described by English Heritage as 'a shoebox exterior with a dolls house interior.' |  Newlyn Trinity Methodist Chapel
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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.
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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.
The first recorded use of the name Newlyn - which describes a sheltered anchorage - comes from 1278. This natural feature has been the driving force behind the community's growth and development ever since the building of the dry-stone harbour in medieval times.
Newlyn's eclectic past has seen it raided by a Spanish fleet in the 16th century and also provide the last stop off point for the Pilgrim Fathers en-route to America in the 17th century. Today this village of around 4,000 is home to one of the largest fishing fleets in the United Kingdom, and boasts over 40 acres of harbour.
The programme makers wish to thank Penlee House Gallery and Museum [http://www.penleehouse.org.uk/] for their support and kind permission to use paintings held by them to illustrate the film on the community of Newlyn in the South West programme of Restoration Village.
This article can be found on the Internet at:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/programmes/restoration/2006/sw_newlyn_trinity_methodist_church_01.shtml
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