1 October 2024

Mapping Methodism – Redruth Wesleyan Chapel

Map: https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/side-by-side/#zoom=10.4&lat=52.44811&lon=-3.07812&layers=6&right=ESRIWorld

This profile of Redruth Wesleyan Chapel has been compiled by Jo Lewis.

Wesleyan history: https://dmbi.online/index.php?do=app.entry&id=2272

Redruth Early Preaching House /Methodist History

An early Methodist society may have existed in Redruth as early as 1743. Between 1743 and 1789 John Wesley paid 29 visits to Redruth, frequently preaching at the entrance to the Market House in Fore Street. On Sundays, he worshipped at St. Euny church outside the town both before and after it was rebuilt in Georgian style in 1765. The rector from 1734 to 1775 was the Rev. John Collins, whom he had known at Oxford.

In 1745, he wrote (on June 19th) that they were set upon by forty of fifty ruffians, which included being pelted with stones. In 1760 he wrote of quite a change. “So is the roughest become one of the quietest towns in England”. He also wrote on Monday 9th September 1765 of a meeting place: “The room would by no means contain the congregation at five in the morning. How is this town changed”?

Until 1765 the whole of Cornwall was one circuit, but Redruth then became the head of the West Cornwall Circuit.

By 1766 there was a preaching house in the town, described by Wesley as ‘far too small’. There are multiple possibilities for the site of preaching house, which possibly include Murdoch house (we know it was first built in the 1660s, as a chapel). However, multiple references suggest that the 1826 chapel was the third on the site, so it is possible Preaching House was on this location first.

1760 Preaching House

1760: Build date.

It was located a little north of the 1826 chapel.

Earliest maps show the large 1826 chapel with forecourt to the north and a building (now Memorial Hall site) with the Sunday school labelled separately to the east. Possibly the first chapel was on the forecourt site and references suggest that the School complex included a day school which was built in 1834 on the site of the old chapel. Perhaps this is the early building seen, which later changes shape.

1826 Wesleyan Chapel and Associated Buildings

The 1825 articles for the build of the chapel suggest it was south of the site of an earlier Wesleyan Chapel. There are multiple references to this being the 3rd chapel on the site.

1826: Build date. The present Grade 2 listed Chapel with its front of Cornish Granite, was completed in 1826 at a cost of £5,000.

Heritage Gateway: Large Wesleyan Methodist chapel built in 1826. Enlarged (lengthened at rear) and refitted 1867, further partial refit late C19 and some remodelling circa 1995. Granite ashlar front. Classical style with round-arched openings and a moulded front pediment with name and date panels. Unique 6-window range with doorways under windows 2 and 5 plus further doorways to end bays fronted by porches linked by a 4-bay Tuscan loggia. Interior has 1867 box pews in gallery, otherwise pitch-pine fittings including ornate rostrum. An important building with pride of place at the top of the old town. Listed and illustrated in Stell (b1). Still in use.https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCO33141&resourceID=1020

1825: Articles of agreement, construction, new Wesleyan chapel, Redruth – for a Wesleyan Methodist chapel and vestries hereinafter constructed for and agreed to be built in or near the town of Redruth. To commence building the chapel on 2 January 1826 to the south of the old Wesleyan Methodist chapel, to cover in the same on or before 30 June 1826 and finish and complete the same on or before 1 January

1827: Directions for the masonry, the stone nobling to come from Wheal Sparnon quarry in Redruth, the walls to be of the finest Carn Marth [Carnmarth] granite; directions for the other parts of the building’s construction and for the workforce and materials to be used.

1826 Listing: REDRUTH WESLEY STREET SW 74 SW (south side) 11/316 Redruth Methodist Church GV II Methodist church. Dated 1826 in gable. Granite ashlar facade; otherwise, slobbered granite rubble; slate roof. Rectangular plan, 6 x 8 bays, gable to road. Two storeys and 6 bays, symmetrical, in simple classical style; the pedimented facade has a 1st floor band (carried round the whole), and a 4-bay ground floor colonnade between projected porches to the 1st and 6th bays; the porches, which are of channelled masonry, rectangular in plan and flat-roofed, each have a large round-headed doorway with rusticated voussoirs and large keystone; the colonnade, of slender Tuscan columns with a plain frieze, protects round-headed doorways in the 2nd and 5th bays, and round-headed windows in the 3rd and 4th bays; all these doorways have panelled double doors with quadrantal overlights; between the windows is an added war memorial. The 1st floor has 6 round- headed windows, and the pedimented gable contains panels with raised lettering:- “WESLEY” “1826” “CHAPEL” and added lettering below this:- “REDRUTH METHODIST CHURCH” “The return walls have 8 round-headed windows on each floor. Interior: a continuous gallery carried on fluted iron columns with foliated capitals, the gallery front having rounded open panels containing cast bronze open-work; flat ceiling with pierced roundels; very ornate late C19 pulpit, and on the wall behind this, 3 round-headed wooden Commandment Tables; large and ornamental organ case mounted on gallery above pulpit.

1834: Wesleyan (Day and Sunday) School established on the site of the Wesley old chapel. “A Wesleyan Day School attached to what is now the ‘Memorial Hall’ and adjacent to the chapel.” Now (2024) it can only be seen from Sea View Terrace and is a low rectangular building

Heritage Gateway: Wesleyan Day School attached to ‘Memorial Hall’ and adjacent to chapel. Recorded on the 1st and 2nd 1:2500 Editions of the 1880 and 1907 OS Maps. Shown as a Boys School on the 1880 OS Map, a Sunday school on the 1907 OS Map.https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCO52315&resourceID=1020

1834: Wesleyan Day School recorded on the 1st and 2nd 1:2500 Editions of the 1880 and 1907 OS Maps.

Shown as a Boys School on the 1880 OS Map and a Sunday school on the 1907 OS Map.

The 1851 return notes for the chapel states that there was seating for 1900(??) and Robert Bond was the minister.

1867: The Chapel was enlarged (lengthened at rear) and refitted.

1881: The Trustees agreed to spend over £1,200 on Silvanus Trevail’s renovation of this 1826 building. The work included new iron pillars to support the gallery, making the ground floor all one level, new seating, rostrum, communion rail and gallery fronts. New ventilation was installed and the interior re-painted. Unfortunately the doors that were made to swing in both directions so as not to hamper people entering or leaving tended to blow around in high winds making the chapel draughty. (Heritage Gateway)

1891: Memorial Buildings (north of the Sunday school) built to commemorate the centenary of the death of John Wesley, and there is a stained-glass window of him in the Memorial Hall.

Heritage Gateway: Wesleyan Memorial Hall built in Wesley’s Centenary Year as a meeting hall. Dressed granite with some rock-faced rustication; scantle slate roof with crested and pierced clay ridge tiles. Italianate style. Symmetrical 3-bay front with central bay broken forward and surmounted by bracketed open pediment carried on rusticated quoin pilasters and framing Venetian window. Mid-floor entablature (with name and date on frieze) over Tuscan distyle-in-antis doorway. Each side bay has round-arched window over lintelled openings. Round-arched windows have spoked fanlight heads. Interesting juxtaposition of high quality early C19 and late C19 facades.https://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?uid=MCO33142&resourceID=1020

1891 Listing: Redruth Centenary Hall.

Redruth Wesley Street SW 74 SW (south side) 11/317 Wesley Centenary Memorial Hall GV II Meeting hall, now offices (etc). Dated 1891 above door. Granite ashlar with rock-faced quoins, slate roof. Double-depth plan, with rear wing. Two storeys and 3 bays, in free classical style; symmetrical, with open-pedimented centre; rock-faced plinth, rusticated rock-faced quoins and banded rock-faced pilasters to the centre, prominent string course and 1st floor sill-band; the wide and slightly projected centre forms a porch at ground floor, with 2 Tuscan columns in antis flanking a flight of 5 steps up to a large round-headed doorway with moulded imposts and keystone and double doors under a fanlight with stained glass; the pilasters are interrupted by a plain entablature to the columns and by the band, which is inscribed:- “WESLEY CENTENARY MEMORIAL 1891” and above this the 1st floor has a large Venetian window, the head rising into the pediment (which has unorthodox corbels to the eaves, and an apex finial). The windows of the outer bays are rectangular at ground floor and round-headed above. Gable chimneys, and red cockscomb ridge tiles. Sides, rear, and interior are of less interest. Listed for group value with Redruth Methodist Church (q.v.)

1932: The Wesleyan, Primitive Methodist and the United Methodist Church amalgamated to become the Methodist Church of Great Britain.

1932: Became Redruth Wesley Methodist Church.

During the Second World War, the Chapel suffered damage from two evening bombing raids, and many of its windows were shattered and extensive damage was done to the ceiling.

1975: Became Redruth Methodist Church (RMC) with the closure/merger of other Chapels

1993: A modern vestibule, with toilets and kitchen area replaced the ground floor back pews which were tiered, and known as “The House of Lords”. It enable smaller meetings to take place in this building.

2017: The complex was closed for possible refurbishment.

2018: Alongside the Chapel, the Cornwall Centre For Culture and The Arts CIC was formed with the vision and goal to protect, preserve and transform the historic and iconic heritage site for the people of Redruth and, in partnership with Redruth 2000 (a registered charity), to create a space available to all groups, schools, organisations, musicians, theatre groups, performers to name a few of the possibilities offered. This remains very active with many events schedules in 2024 and 2025. https://redruthwesley.org/about-us/

By 2019 there was a plan to merge with two other churches to create a new Redruth church with meetings held in the Memorial Hall.

2020: Gateway Porth an Dre was formed from a merging of the memberships of Bridge, Paynters Lane End and Redruth Methodist Churches.

2021: Planning documents suggest that there was permission to convert the Jubilee Hall into commercial units with, possibly, building three houses on part of the grounds but at a recent visit (2024) there appears to have been no progress with this and it may be that the development of the Arts centre has saved the complex from re-development.

2023: Became Redruth United Methodist Church.

There are Sunday school records from 1867.

David Thomas commentary

“One of Cornwall’s largest chapel interiors, though not the largest. This is Redruth Wesleyan chapel, right in the heart of the mining district, constructed in 1826, as the head chapel of the Redruth Wesleyan Circuit, which also, until 1828, included the Camborne area. The 1825 building contract for this structure has survived in the archives and is immensely detailed, with instructions to the builders and the types of materials to be used. There were five rows of seating on each side of the gallery. Also shown is the chapel’s second pipe organ, replacing an earlier instrument which had ‘Praise Hallelujah Glory’ emblazoned on its frontage.

Sadly this actual building is not currently in use, as the north west corner of its facade, sitting right over a railway tunnel, has structural problems. The congregation meets in the chapel’s hall and the fine organ has been placed in storage.”

A fine postcard image of around 1907 from the David Thomas collection, taken by H Darlow Wooton of Redruth.