Churches of the British Isles

Penryn Highway Church is on the southern side of Church Road (B3292), with a petrol station on its eastern flank, about two hundred and fifty metres to the west of St Gluvias. The church's Highway Centre is the nearer building here, next to the 1837 National Schools building which dominates the photo. The centre formerly housed Old School Antiques. It is part of 'Church of the Nations' (COTN), an international family of churches, and specifically part of the 'Acts Life Cluster'.

Penryn's Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses can be found some way out of the town's central areas. It sits on the northern flank of Penryn, sandwiched between Trewarton Road and a lane which is known as Packsaddle, and faces the Packsaddle Hill new-build apartments on the hall's northern flank. Much of Trewarton Road consists of post-war semi-detached houses, while the hall itself is even newer, having been erected in 2008 at the road's western end.

The lost site of Penryn Salvation Army Centre can only approximately be located when returning towards the town centre. The Salvation Army started its work in Penryn in 1882, in a building which was located behind the West Street Post Office, somewhere to the east of the town's modern railway station. Salvation Army centres are less often shown on Victorian OS maps, however. This centre was joined with Falmouth's in 1944 (see 'related links').

Penryn Bible Christian (Second) Chapel is on the north side of Penryn West Street, known as New Street when the chapel was built and opened in 1866 to replace the first chapel (see below). It became Penryn United Methodist Church in 1907, but merged in 1942 with the nearby Penryn Wesleyan Methodist Chapel (see links). This chapel became a Sunday school. Part of the congregation broke away to return here until a re-merger in the 1970s. This chapel closed in 1979.

Penryn Bible Christian (First) Chapel was on the northern side of Lower Street, approximately opposite the pedestrian-only Chapel Lane entrance. The low whitewashed stone building here stands out as a potential site. Penryn had a Bible Christian society from 1822-1824, at first meeting in private dwellings. Trade directories from 1830 onwards refer to a Bryanite or 'Bible Christian Place of Worship', giving a rough build date. It was replaced in 1866 (see above).

Five photos on this page by Jo Lewis, and one kindly contributed by Tim Green via the 'History Files: Churches of the British Isles' Flickr group.