Churches of the British Isles

Until 1982, regular services were held in what officially was Kerley Downs Bible Christian Chapel, but it was forced to close due to a dwindling membership. It reverted to Lord Falmouth, the owner of the freehold. With his consent and help, the Billy Bray Memorial Trust was formed by a group of five Methodists, each with a close association with the chapel. On 1 June 1984, the chapel was rededicated by Reverend Ian Haile and is now maintained as a memorial to Billy Bray.

Head back to the staggered crossroads and turn right onto a narrow lane just a few metres further up the road to find the Church of St Michael the Archangel, Baldhu. The church was dedicated in 1848 in a new, 1847 parish, with Billy Bray being buried here. It was meant to serve workers in the proposed Baldhu mine. The mine did not prosper and the church found itself without congregation. It was restored during the 1960s and, in 2008, was converted into two dwellings.

Baldhu Wesleyan Methodist Chapel (First Site) and Sunday school can be reached by continuing down the road for two more junctions to take the right turn which is signposted for 'Wheal Jane / Baldhu Chapel'. This slurried rubble chapel is on the western side of the lane. It may have been built about 1820. The Sunday school facility was added in 1832. The entire building became a dedicated Sunday school when the second chapel was built in 1889 (below).

Baldhu Wesleyan Methodist Chapel (Second Site) sits alongside the original chapel and later Sunday school (see above). This building was erected in 1889 to replace that original chapel. It is built in roughly-coursed killas rubble with granite dressings and painted rubble to the sides and rear. In 1932 it became Baldhu Methodist Church. It is now a Grade 2 listed building which is known as Baldhu Christian Chapel and is also a 'Messy church'.

The former Penweathers Wesleyan Methodist Chapel can be found by heading eastbound, direct from Baldhu Chapel (see above) to gain Pound Lane and head north-east to Penweathers. The old chapel is on the right, part of Oak Villa at the beginning of Penweathers. Built about 1842, it became Penweathers Methodist Church in 1932. It was still marked as a Methodist church by the 1970s but it closed and the premises were sold about 1977. It is now residential.

Five photos on this page by Jo Lewis, and one kindly contributed by the Mapping Methodism project.