Gwithian Chapel is a unique building that represents the distinctive history of local spiritualism and the nonconforming identity of this corner of the world. 

The chapel has been open to the public as a community asset since 1810 when it was built by the people of Gwinear and Gwithian. It has an unbroken history as an active place of worship with services taking place here across the year for over 210 years. It was a history of Methodist activism until 2021, when the chapel became a multi-faith community asset. Now, along with community engagement and spiritual artistic events, the space hosts worshippers from all religions and backgrounds.

THE CHAPEL PROJECT

In 2021 the charity raised over £70,000 to renovate and placemake as part of The Chapel Project. This represents an effort to bring the building back into community use post-Covid, while securing the future of an historic place of worship. 

PHYSICAL EMBODIMENT OF LOCAL HISTORY

Methodism was active in this corner of Cornwall and records show John Wesley himself established a religious society in Gwithian in the late 1700s. The chapel was completed in 1810 on land a local farmer leased to fellow Methodists at a token rent. What remains from then is the building itself with its four deep-set windows, the original single stout door, and the internal west-end gallery. The walls are stone up to head-height and above that up to the thatched roof is cob - a mixture of rammed earth and chopped straw that sets solid and remains so as long as it’s protected from rain. A generation ago folk could remember periodical re-coatings when lime for the white wash was mixed in buckets with melted lard, the fat giving added protection.

COMMUNITY CONSERVATION

In the 20th century tireless community efforts conserved the building despite shrinking congregations. The roof was repaired in 1934, then in 1969 when locals raised £1000 via the BBC’s The Week’s Good Cause scheme. But in the 1980s further work was needed and in 1999 the Methodist Circuit decided to auction off the building. In order to save it from suitors who wanted to convert it into a holiday let, a local citizen purchased the building. Gwithian Chapel Ltd was established in 2006 and the charity has owned the building since. In 2007 we received a £20,000 grant from English Heritage to re-thatch the roof, but since then have run off donations aside from the 2021 renovation grant.

GRADE II* LISTING

In 1996 English Heritage surveyed nonconformist chapels and meeting houses in Cornwall and selected a handful for protection with Grade II* listing. Gwithian, as “the only thatched Methodist chapel left” was among these, “on the basis that this chapel is now unique, that it retains its essential vernacular qualities as a cob and thatch building, and represents the last externally complete example of this type of early Methodist meeting house”.

The Story of Gwithian Chapel 1810-1999 by Prof Charles Thomas (20 mins reading time)