St Keverne is a village on The Lizard in Cornwall. This profile of St Keverne Wesleyan Chapel has been compiled by Terry Moyle.
The First St Keverne Wesleyan Chapel
Location of first chapel – opposite Back Lane and now the two houses are known as Chy Dew and An Chapel Koth (2 and 3 Commercial Road)
Location unknown until c. 2015
Built 1790 (date scratched in a roof timber)
In Commercial Road, opposite the junction with Back Lane
Assumption – the front of the chapel was facing Commercial Road and the entrance at the side.
Chapel opened 1793.
Capacity 80
Gallery of 9 rows
Ground floor 6 rows
Pew rents between 11d and 15d per quarter
Thatched
Cob walls
Limewashed walls (Walter, William and George Nicholls regularly paid for limeing the walls)
Lit by candles.
Nicholas Crago (on the 1767 Members list for Mullion) may have been the founder of Methodism in St. Keverne. He was possibly a member at Coverack in 1774 and then moved his membership to St. Keverne. He died in 1792 so did not live long enough to see the opening of the first chapel.
Mary Barker paid 1/6 per quarter for cleaning the chapel.
Evening service only 1828 & 1833 Plans (morning service at Coverack)
1817 Ely James agreed to pay 40/- to be distributed to the poor of the parish in bread as a punishment for disturbing the congregation in the Methodist Chapel. How serious the disturbance was is not noted – possibly he was drunk?
Sunday School started 4 Oct 1818 with 65 boys & 50 girls.
Notable members included William Jenkins (who later became a missionary to the West Indies) Lieutenant William Lory and Mrs. Lory, Lieutenant William Lugg of Rosenithon, Samuel James of Trelan (later emigrated to Wisconsin and an early pioneer on the Oregon Trail), Miss Maria Lemon, Mr. George Boone (who paid the pew rents for those who got into arrears) and members of the Roskruge and James families who monopolised the business life of the village.
Closed 1839 (too small for congregation)
1839 (16 May) – agreement between John Nicholls, schoolmaster, and the Honourable Anna Maria Agar for John Nicholls to hold the Methodist Chapel adjoining his house for a yearly rent of £3. John Nicholls given the liberty to convert the chapel into a dwelling.
House 1839 – 1874
1874 building made into two houses (now called Chy Dew and An Chapel Koth, 2 and 3 Commercial Road)
Documents found relating to this chapel – Sunday School register 1818-1825, Account book 1825-1840, Pew Rent Book (1818-1838) & Class registers – and research undertaken.
The building at right angles to the road is now Chy Dew (2 Commercial Road) – the front of the first chapel (photo early 1950s)
The back of An Chapel Koth (3 Commercial Road) in the early 1960s and in 2017 – the back of the first chapel
The entrance to the chapel (Chy Dew on left and An Chapel Koth facing)
The Second St Keverne Wesleyan Chapel
Built 1839
Location in Martin’s Field – leased to Trustees by Henry Lory of Tregoning
Capacity 500
Gallery
Choir stalls
Vestries on ground floor
Lit by oil lamps.
Building in front of the chapel used for stabling the preacher’s horse. Mr. Peter Eddy was in charge of this for many years.
Lease documents 1838/1839 – 99-year lease granted to Edward Tonkin, John Mitchell, James Mitchell, Richard Pearce, John Roskruge, Josias Boulden, Henry Roskruge, John Roberts, Nicholas Harris, James Pearce, John James, Samuel Harris, Samuel Pearce and Samuel Rowe, all of St. Keverne.
Became Wesleyan Circuit in its own right in 1874 (from Helston Wesleyan Circuit)
Membership 1876 – 150
Circuit membership 1896 – 328
Prayer Leader’s Plans 1874/5 and 1880 – prayer leaders urged to “pray short”. 27 prayer leaders on 1880 plan
1901 – 51 members of the St. Keverne Society contributed one guinea to the Twentieth Century Fund for the building of Westminster Central Hall.
Harvest Festival 1903 – Annie James and Ann Lory are in the choir stalls.
1904 – new MHB to be used from September.
1904 – chapel freehold purchased from Jacob Lory.
Badly damaged by fire 11 November 1905
Building burnt out.
Insurance Company agent assessed the fire damage at £437 and the damage to the organ at £150.
Two weddings were held in the burnt – out chapel on 21 November 1905 & 2 January 1906.
The charred pews were covered with white sheets.
A long discussion about a new chapel or repairing the old one went on for three months (January-March 1906) – a petition signed by 150 adult members of the congregation was presented to the Trustees for a new chapel.
9 March 1906 – voting took place by Trustees – 7 favoured a new chapel and 5 voted for renovation of old chapel.
Decision to build a new chapel on the site.
After fire Nov 1905
Sketch of the old chapel from a photograph
The scorched Methodist Hymn Book
The scorched panels – two slightly scorched panels from the front row of the gallery and a part of the pulpit were retrieved from the burnt – out building and used as internal walls (covered by fibre board and wallpapered) in the property which was the first St. Keverne Wesleyan Chapel They were uncovered in 2007 and are now used as features in An Chapel Koth.
The Third St Keverne Wesleyan Chapel
Architect’s drawing for the new chapel
Letter inviting donations
11 June 1906 – stone laying for new chapel.
Stone laying ceremony – Mr. Hay Morgan (M.P.), Mr. C. C. Hocking (Helston), William James (Laddenvean), Edwin Rule, Stuart Rule, Frank Rule (all St. Keverne), Rev. Joseph Higham on behalf of the St. Keverne Wesleyan Circuit, Mr. T. H. Richards (Helston), John James (Treskewes), Richard Lory James (Temperance, St. Keverne), Mr. H. Hearle, Mrs. Edith Pascoe (Alexandra Villa, St. Keverne), William Rogers (Rosenithon), Mrs. Loveday Hearle, Mrs. Ada Retallack (Tregellast, St. Keverne), James Rogers (Boscarnon), Thomas Sowell, Mrs. Joyce (wife of the Registrar for BMD), Samuel Lambrick (Lesneague), Richard James, William Martin (Tregoning) and Mr. Bryant on behalf of Porthallow BC Chapel.
Architect – John Wills & Sons, Derby & London
Cost £4000
Opened March 1907
St. Keverne Wesleyan Circuit 1874-193
Life goes on during the Great War 1914-1918
View from the chapel towards the village Square 1920s
A new organ had been installed in 1908
Long serving organists – William John Nicholls (over 30 years in 19th Century), Stuart Rule and his son Frank Rule, Miriam Moyle & Rita Kelly.
Lance Foy writes “We have the pleasure of looking after the organ at St. Keverne Chapel. The present organ built by Wadsworth of Manchester dates from when the chapel was built and it is a good organ. We have looked after the organ since 1977.
1970s sketch
17th February 1909 – Rev Scott Lidgett, President of the Methodist Conference preached at St. Keverne.
1 January 1913 Viscount Clifden gave freehold of the Manse to the St. Keverne Circuit
Manse in Commercial Road – dates from c.1891
February 1913 – Rev. Broad brought forward the matter of draping the chapel in black for funerals – it was decided that in the future no black drapery be put up.
Plan 1914 – two Sunday services and weeknight class meeting/service on Tuesday evening
1914 – Class Leaders – Henry Retallack, Rev. John Broad, Mrs. Broad, Samuel Lambrick, Thomas Sowell, James H. Rogers and William James.
Prayer meetings/classes – 10.00am Sundays, three on Mondays at 8.15pm, one on Wednesday 7.30pm and one on Friday 7.30pm.
Now in the UMC St. Keverne
January 1923 – There were applications for pews but all the pews were let. The stewards were given authority to dispose of the seats not occupied 5 minutes before the service was due to begin.
September 1925 – the freehold of the Sunday School (the Ark) was obtained for £11.
1934 – the St. Keverne Circuit joined the Helston Methodist Circuit
January 1937 – electric lighting fully installed and paid for
April 1937 – end of the Band of Hope and a Young People’s Guild formed in its place.
October 1946 – electric organ blower installed.
Harvest Festival early 1950s
March 1957 – Golden Jubilee celebrations
Golden Jubilee Celebrations – Sunday services included Anthems by the choir and solos from John Keverne of Camborne, a Monday evening film “The Life of John Wesley” shown by Mr. Arthur Lee of Helston and a Tuesday 4pm service, followed by tea and an evening Rally at 7pm chaired by Mr. Tommy Jordan of Falmouth (an old Porthoustock boy) with the address given by Rev. Wilfred Wade, Chairman of the Cornwall Methodist District.
October 1968 Songs of Praise from St. Keverne Chapel – Miriam Moyle organist, Hubert Hicks musical director, choirs from St. Keverne church and chapel, St Keverne Male Voice Choir and St. Keverne Girls’ Choir.
1971 – creation of a new car park on land given by Mrs. Katie Coad
Centenary celebrations throughout 2007 – Anniversary concert by Four Lane MVC, Flower Festival, Special Anniversary services, traditional tea treat, Exhibition of photographs, Songs of Praise event, Harvest Festival with Young Farmers Club, Christmas Coffee morning, United Carol Service and a concluding lunch in February 2008.
Centenary book 2007.
Rev. Beverly Turner & Terry Moyle (author of Centenary book)
Services moved to adjoining Hall in 2014.
Chapel closed January 2017 and united with Ponsongath to form UMC, St. Keverne
Chapel sold and converted into a dwelling – divided into three apartments.
St. Keverne Chapel for sale December 2019
I enjoyed reading the history of the church. Could I know what happened to the Wadsworth Organ please.
I believe it was offered to the Anglican Parish Church but the vicar didn’t want it.
The organ is now at the Poldark Mine centre in Wendron. There is a collection of church/chapel organs there. Eventually it will be restored
Terry Moyle
Thank you Terry Moyle for compiling this information. It’s filled in some information about questions I had about my own family. Very grateful.