Churches of the British Isles

St John's Church is a Grade 2 listed chapel-of-ease which was privately constructed in 1838, with building work starting in 1836. The work of erecting it was handled by the Reverend W Rawlings, former rector, and it remained private property until 1887 when it was transferred to the ecclesiastical commissioners. The church closed in 2008 when the congregation was down to two people and the building needed a lot of general work and repair. It is now residential.

St Peter's Old Chapel once stood on the headland to the south of Polperroro's harbour. Formally known as the chapel of St Peter of Porthpyre, it was first recorded in 1392 on Chapel Point. It was apparently moved to Peak Rock in the 1800s but seems to have gone by 1820, even while its walls and Gothic windows were standing in living memory on a site which better served as a beacon. It may have been a lighthouse chapel, like St Catherine's on the Isle of Wight.

Pelynt Wesleyan Methodist Chapel is on the east side of Jubilee Hill in Pelynt, due north of Polperro. It was built in 1889 to a design by Hicks to replace the Shuffler's Hole chapel (see links), plus Sunday school. It was Pelynt Methodist Church in 1932, accepting the members of Summer Lane United Free Chapel in 1935 (see links). Those buildings were purchased in the 1920s, and sold in 1962 to pay for the purchase of Jubilee Cottages. This church remained active in 2026.

The Church of St Nonna, Pelynt, sits at the heart of the village, flanked on its eastern side by Summer Lane. The site was already important in the early medieval (Saxon) period and, by the late medieval period, the church building was a pilgrimage site which housed the tomb of St Juncus (probably a corrupt rendering of 'Nunit', the titular male saint). Today the building sits within an oval enclosure which may have started out as an Iron Age settlement site.

The west tower is perhaps of the 1300s, partially remodelled in the 1400s when the church was likely rebuilt. The north aisle arcade was remodelled about 1680. Restoration was by J P St Aubyn in 1879-1883. Pelynt is known as 'Trelawney's Parish', the family prominent in the West Country. Bishop Sir Jonathan Trelawney (1650-1721) was baptised and is buried here. He is remembered in the words of the song 'Trelawney', which has been adopted as Cornwall's unofficial anthem.

Three photos on this page by Jo Lewis, two kindly contributed by Roy Reed via the 'History Files: Churches of the British Isles' Flickr group, and one copyright © N Chadwick via Geograph, reused under a cc licence.