Gwithian Wesleyan Methodist chapel

Gwithian Wesleyan Methodist chapel on Churchtown, Gwithian, Near Hayle,  TR27 5BX is the last remaining thatched roof chapel in Cornwall. Whilst not in weekly use it is used  occasionally.

It is a grade 2 listed building.  The register entry tells us:

” Circa 1810.

• MATERIALS: painted rubble and cob walls, the lifts of the cob clearly visible; wheat-reed thatched hipped roof.
• PLAN: small rectangular aisle-less plan with gallery at the rear (west) end and doorway to the north wall.
• EXTERIOR: single-storey elevations. North entrance front has late C19 horned sash with coloured margin panes set high up on the left and doorway with [ate C19 door. Similar windows near centre of opposite wall and to centre of east end.
• INTERIOR: not inspected but former list description notes: “simple interior with plain plastered walls and canopied ceiling. C19 panelled gallery front with coved cornice rostrum with choir stalls at either side and 2 flights of steps, otherwise much renewed in the C20”.
• FITTINGS: replaced in 1959. Now the only original thatched Methodist chapel left in Cornwall, very much in the mould of nonconformist vernacular buildings of the Old Dissent such as the Quaker Meeting House at Come-to-Good, Kea. In a national context, this survives as a very rare and outstanding example in the vernacular tradition. “

National Grid Reference: SW 58631 41166