Trevellas is a village in St Agnes parish. This profile of Trevellas Downs Wesleyan Chapel has been compiled by Clive Benney & Tony Mansell.
1815: Earliest reference to a chapel but no information about the Society.
1823: Chapel built. (“Revd John Wesley’s Ministerial Itineraries in Cornwall” by R Symons of Truro) This was written in 1879 which may explain the disparity in the dates – 1815 and 1823.
Trevellas Downs was built as a Wesleyan chapel. (SWChurches)
The Wesleyan Methodist chapel at Trevellas is recorded on the 1st and 2nd Edition 1:2500 1880 and 1907 OS Maps. It still survives but has been converted to a dwelling. (Cornwall Heritage Gateway)
Trevellas Chapel (Photo: courtesy Clive Benney)
1840: A conveyance of a Chapel on trust for the Methodists. (Record of enrolled deeds at the Cornwall Records Office) This is likely to be the building that still stands next to the St Agnes to Perranporth road but whether this was the original Chapel from 1815 we cannot be sure.
1840s: An attempt to start a Wesleyan Society. (“Friendly Retreat,” by Maurice Bizley)
1860: Trevellas Downs Society re-formed in 1860 with a membership of 26, mostly from the Mithian Society.
1898 – May: Included a number of chapels for which the freehold had not been purchased; some were subsequently obtained while others remained under lease. (Leasehold Property Return for St Agnes Circuit) Others had no fixed expiry date and were based on the practice of linking them to people’s lives. This was the case in respect of Trevellas Downs where two people were aged 32 and one was 30.
Trevellas Chapel 1908 (Photo: courtesy Clive Benney)
1909: Trevellas Downs Wesleyan Tea Treat heading back up through Trevellas towards the chapel. St Agnes Band is leading the procession and it is clearly a hot day as the bass player on the right has undone his tunic jacket. Next to him is the unmistakable Charlie Chegwyn who played in the band for over 50 years. (Photo: courtesy Clive Benney)
1914: Trevellas Downs Wesleyan Tea Treat with Summercourt Band (Photo: courtesy Clive Benney)
1932: The Wesleyan, Primitive Methodist and the United Methodist Church amalgamated to become the Methodist Church of Great Britain.
1932: Became Trevellas Downs Methodist Chapel.
1940: Seating for 150. (David Easton, Methodist Minister and historian)
1941: The Primitive congregation from Crosscoombe transferred to here for the duration of the war having lost their buildings due to the creation of the airfield. It also provided spiritual comfort for the airmen at RAF Perranporth.
Became Trevellas and Cross Coombe Methodist Church. (SWChurches)
1956: Chapel closed and congregation transferred to the new Trevellas and Crosscoombe Methodist Chapel. (David Easton, Methodist Minister and historian)
After a while is became a workshop for joiner and funeral director, Roy Bilkey.
2020: The building is still standing.
The converted chapel (Photos: Barry West)
Have just done my father’s male line of the family, his ancestors were miners from Cornwall and identified as Methodist.
My father never talked about Cornwall heritage he was born Lancashire and Bolton Wanderers fan.
I see that the marriage certificate of 1842 of his ancestor identified the place of residence at the time as Trevellas Downs, I wonder if this church is where the marriage was conducted?
Hi, There were two Methodist Chapels in the area at that time (Crosscoombe Primitive and Trevellas Downs Wesleyan) plus a Bible Christian Meeting House. All three can be found in Mapping Methodism. It would depend on which particular strand of Methodism they attached themselves to and whether the chapels were registered for marriages. Also, Methodists may have been married in an Anglican Church so I’m afraid it’s impossible to say from the information you have provided.