Churches of the British Isles

The Church of St Nicholas, Downderry, is located on the northern side of Main Road with Treliddon Lane on its eastern flank. The church was built in 1883-1884 as a mission church for St Anne's Church in Hessenford (see 'related links'). This small-but-neat edifice was built in stone in the Early English style, and has a belfry which contains a single bell. The building was rebuilt and/or renovated around 1905. A new wing was added in 2001 to enable multipurpose use.

Minard Cross Wesleyan Ebenezer Chapel is found by heading north from Downderry, though Narkurs and the crossroads on its northern edge, and along Windwhistle to the v-junction. The chapel lies just down the left-hand turning here. This may also be the Narkurs Chapel as described in some research. Built as Wesleyan in 1860, it became Minard Cross Methodist Church in 1932. It was renovated in the 1960s, closed around 1984, and is now a private residence.

Polbathic Wesleyan Reform Chapel is to the east of Narkurs, on the A374. It sits on the southern of the road, at the end of a terrace which is opposite the Minchella Bros Garage. On it is a plaque which reads 'Wesleyan Reform Chapel 1860'. When the chapel was out of action following bombing, its members met in the village hall (see below). The chapel became Polbathic Methodist Church in 1959. It appears to have been sold in 1994 and is now a private residence.

Polbathic Village Hall & Reading Room is on the south side of the B3239 road towards St Germans, about fifty metres east of Barn Hill. Originally the Polbathic Institute, the name changed to the 'Reading Rooms'. The original hall was a former army hospital hut, purchased in 1921. When the chapel was out of action for rebuilding following war damage, in 1959 the little green hut was used for weddings and services. A new hall was built on the site which opened in 2012.

Crafthole Wesleyan Methodist Chapel is on the north side of the B3247 at the east end of the village. This is a way to the south-east of Polbathic, close to the coast. A chapel has been here since 1795, part of the Callington Wesleyan circuit from 1840. The current Crafthole Methodist Chapel was built in 1867, likely on the same site. The 'Schoolroom' sits underneath. The building was modernised in 1983 and, in 1988, two coloured glass windows were installed behind the pulpit.

Three photos on this page copyright © Philip Halling, J Thomas, and Tony Atkin, all via Geograph, reused under a cc licence, one copyright © Cornish Times / The Zone, and one copyright © Polbathic Village Hall.