Churches of the British Isles

Gyllyng Street Quaker House is at the bottom of Pike's Hill and overlooking that junction on the eastern side of Gyllyng Street. The Society of Friends (Quakers) was first established in Falmouth in 1670. Meetings were in a variety of places, including Quay Street (see links) until 1803 when this meeting house opened with a burial ground behind. It was rebuilt on the same site in 1873 but was sold in 1969 even though it remained in use until 1988, when Bank House took over.

Gyllyng Street Mortuary Chapel is on the western side of the street, about one hundred and forty metres north of the Quaker House (above). This eighteenth century mortuary building was used with the (now disused) upper burial ground for the parish church of King Charles the Martyr (see links). This part of Gyllyng Street was previously called Porhan Hill. Just inside the arch to the old burial ground is the early/mid-1800s mortuary building itself, now a studio dwelling.

Well Street Baptist Chapel stood on Well Lane, a narrow lane between Gyllyng Street and Church Street which is accessed about one hundred and fifty metres to the north of the mortuary chapel (above). The car park at New Street can be seen at the top of the hill here, while Church Street is behind the camera. The town's Baptist presence dates to 1663, but it was not until 1769 that a meeting house was established in Well Lane, although the exact location is not known.

Falmouth Methodist Church (New Street) has no dedicated chapel. The society now meets in the King Charles Theatre shown here, which lies on the western side of New Street, just twenty metres to the south of the parish church which lies opposite. Central Falmouth Methodists have worshipped in the town since 1791, mainly at the Killigrew Street site (see links). However, the chapel there closed in 2022 and the congregation selected this handy hall as a replacement.

Porhan Street Wesleyan Methodist Meeting House & Chapel are both long gone. Porhan Street and Porhan Hill were gradually subsumed by New Street and Smithick Hill. The Methodists in 1755 had the 'Our Own Room' Meeting (Smithick Hill) and then later met in a building in Porhan Street before the 1791 Killigrew chapel was built (see 'related links'). Research indicates a Methodist meeting on Porhan Hill (in 1787) prior to a Porhan Street chapel of 1829.

Smithick Hill Bible Christian Chapel, on the eastern side of the hill, is located almost exactly behind the former site of Market Street Baptist Chapel (see links). There is some confusion about this location, however. The Falmouth circuit was formed in 1821, with the chapel being built in 1830. It faced closure in 1850 but likely closed in 1867 in favour of the new Berkeley Vale chapel (see links). It was then used by Baptists as a Sunday school, but was still referenced in 1869.

Smithick Hill Presbyterian Meeting & Burial Ground, location unknown, is shown on a lease, perhaps for 1719 but dated 1739, on a piece of ground with other buildings. While boundaries are described, this has not yet helped to pin down a location. A newly-erected Presbyterian conventicle house is noted, with an enclosure used for burials, while burials were recorded elsewhere as taking place in John Attwell's cellar or cave, described as a new Presbyterian catacomb.

The former Smithick Hill Jewish Synagogue is a distinctive Grade 2 listed building. It can be found at the top of the hill where it connects with Vernon Place via a divided roadway. It was erected in 1806 to replace the meeting near Fish Strand (see 'related links'). The earliest recorded minister for this community, known as Rabbi Saavil, died in 1814 and is buried in the Jewish cemetery at Ponsharden. The last known rabbi was Samuel Herman, recorded in 1851.

The synagogue closed in 1879 due to dwindling numbers and, in 1892, the chief rabbi ordered its sale. The last representative of the community, Samuel Jacob, had left in 1881 and, after his death, his widow deposited the Torah scrolls in the Royal Institution of Cornwall in Truro. One of the scrolls was previously held at the Royal Cornwall Museum, but that is now used by Kehillat Kernow (the 'Jewish Community of Cornwall') while the building is now a private residence.

Nine photos on this page by Jo Lewis.