Mapping Methodism – Richmond Wesleyan Chapel, Tolver Place, Penzance

This profile of Richmond Wesleyan Chapel has been compiled by Suzanne Trythall.

 

September 1905: A meeting was held at the Wesley Chapel in Chapel Street Penzance to outline the proposal to build a new church at Richmond. The Chairman advised that a new church was needed in the Treneer district, which was becoming ‘more thickly populated’.

When the 19^th century Richmond House and Estate came onto the market Messrs Bazeley had purchased it with a view to the erection of a church and had conveyed the property to a syndicate of Wesleyans, known as the Richmond Syndicate. The Syndicate conveyed the site for the building of the church to the Richmond Church Trustees. The Richmond Syndicate consisted of twelve Penzance citizens, the secretaries were H H Pezzack J.P. and W Bettany, the treasurers Charles Pengelly and J H Tonking. The church was to be built partly with profits from the construction of terraced housing in the new Richmond and York Streets. Richmond House was to be used as the manse.

There was some opposition to the scheme. At the 1902 Wesleyan Conference a letter was read from the President of the Bible Christian Conference calling attention to the acquisition of a new site, but maintaining that sufficient Nonconformist accommodation was already provided. The matter was referred to the Superintendent of the Penzance Circuit. It was considered by many to be a very expensive undertaking, the supply of preachers would not cope with the demand and there was a large debt on existing chapels.

Photo 2021

Richmond Chapel is Grade II listed. It was one of the last large buildings to be built in the town, using Cornish granite and ashlar masonry. The design was described as ‘Late Free Gothic Style with Arts and Crafts Influence’. It marked a clear departure from earlier chapel designs, being of rectangular plan with a more Anglican arrangement of a communion area below the chancel window with choir stalls each side. The chancel was flanked by the organ and vestry projections. The roof was impressive with hammer beam trusses. The pews were plain panelled oak with shaped ends and the octagonal oak pulpit had traceried panels and stood on a granite plinth. The chancel window had a central panel depicting Christ at Emmaus. The screened entrance hall was a later insertion.

Cost of plot, building, furnishing and organ: £5,750

Builder: Edward Pidwell of Green Bank Penzance

Architects: Gordon and Gunton of London

Stained Glass Windows: Campbell and Christmas of West Brompton

Capacity: 550 persons

Cornishman advertisement 10 May 1906

27 September 1906: Cornishman reports that £740.10.3 had been received from a list of subscribers (named and with amount) in connection with laying the memorial stone.

9 May 1907: Cornishman reports that the Wesleyan bazaar held on behalf of the Richmond Chapel scheme raised nearly £800.

29 November 1907: opened as a Wesleyan Chapel, part of Penzance Wesleyan Circuit and daughter church of Chapel Street Wesleyan Chapel. People were invited to a day of celebration with a prayer meeting, two services, a dedication service, choir concert and a public tea at one shilling per head.

Sketch from Cornishman 28 November 1907

Photo undated of Richmond Chapel interior

September 1923: tenders invited by the Trustees for the building of Sunday school rooms, including a hall. The building firm of WHH Trounson secured the tender.

April 1925: opening ceremony of the new Sunday School premises, built at a cost of between £4,000 and £5,000. For many years the Penzance Wesleyan Society had a Sunday School at St Clare Street, meeting in a building adjoining the West Cornwall Infirmary.  It was not considered adequate for the needs of the rapidly growing population, but there was still an outstanding debt of about £1,100 on Richmond Chapel. However, the matter became urgent when notice was given to vacate the St Clare premises. It was not a project to be undertaken lightly as, with the remaining debt on the chapel, the society would be facing a debt of £6,000. Just prior to the opening proceedings about £2,000 was still needed to pay for the Sunday School.

1936: Rev E H Chappel said that the annual bazaar in the grounds of Richmond House was held with a view to reducing the remaining debt on the ‘magnificently planned and efficiently used’ Sunday School buildings. However, the church had received severe damage in the storm of February of that year. The granite cross on the western apex of the roof was blown down and a great deal of the roof destroyed.  This added considerably to the expense of the Trust. The cross was never replaced and still sits in the shrubbery between Tolver Road wall and the church.

Granite cross which fell in 1936 storm now standing between church and Tolver Road wall

1941-1945: staff and pupils of Devonport High School for Boys were evacuated to Penzance from Plymouth. The school’s administrative and headmaster’s offices were set up in the Sunday School. The church itself was used for school assemblies.

Postcard photo taken in the 1950s with Richmond House in the background

1960s: refurbishment of the chapel

1999: chapel received Grade II listing

Photo March 2010: organ and chancel

2010: the church finally closed its doors as a place of worship, due to falling congregation and cost of maintenance.

2013: church and adjoining schoolrooms put up for auction with a guide price of £200,000 to £300,000. It failed to sell and NCT estate agents then offered it for sale.

Photo 2013

18 May 2018: The Packet newspaper carried the headlines ‘Chapel opens its doors to the public for first time in almost ten years’. John Richard Harris, new owner of the chapel since 2016, was keen to preserve the building for community use. A sound installation by artist Janet Cardiff was presented as an exhibition organised by the Groundwork Trust in partnership with Newlyn Art Gallery and the Exchange.

Photo Credit: Janet Cardiff, ‘Forty Part Motet’ (2001), presented in Richmond Chapel, Penzance as part of Groundwork 2018. Photo: Steve Tanner © CAST (Cornubian Arts and Science Trust – 2018)

Photo 2021: Sunday School rooms taken from lane at back of Richmond Street

Photo 2021: Sunday School rooms and hall looking towards chapel

 

The Chapel as advertised for sale

Sources and further reading:

Newspapers: The Cornishman and The Cornish Telegraph (Find My Past), The Packet

Book: ‘Even in This Place: 19^th century Nonconformists & Life in the Borough of Penzance’ by John Horner (2010)

Websites:

• Newlyn Trinity Church: Methodism in West Penwith – A Heritage at Risk
• West Penwith Resources Part 2 – Penzance Methodist Circuits
• Penzance Conservation Area Appraisal 2010
• Cornish Stained Glass: Michael Swift
• Historic England (listed sites)

Map: The National Library of Scotland

Kresen Kernow

Morrab Library