Churches of the British Isles

Indian Queens Preaching Pit sits about 150 metres due south-east of the United Free chapel in Indian Queens (above). It was opened in 1850 by Captain Elvins of Retew, and was termed the 'Indian Queens United Wesleyan Sunday School Amphitheatre'. The site is now a scheduled monument, built within a disused open mine working. In time its use faded, leaving it overgrown by the 1970s. It was restored and reopened in 1978 and remains in use by a trust.

Tresithney Old Chapel (or Tresithny) lay in or near the hamlet of that name, east of St Columb Road and south of the A392. Hals describes four ancient chapels in the parish, with one here. Nothing remains of it and even its precise location is not known, with cemeteries being converted into gardens and orchards. Many settlements in the area, particularly those including the element 'tre', meaning farmstead, such as Trefullock and Trevarren, are over a thousand years old.

Trevarran sits to the north of the Parka Road roundabout, which is where the A392 joins the dual carriageway A39. Archived records note the existence of a mortgage for two fields (Higher Parkenbrose and Lower Parkenbrose), formerly part of Trevarren, near Black Cross to the north of the hamlet. The adjoining Roberts tenement contained what can be termed Trevarren Preaching House in 1852. Unfortunately its precise location has been lost.

Black Cross (Second) Bible Christian Chapel was on the west side of Parka Road, almost halfway between Trevarren and Black Cross. This building, which extended back from these parked cars, replaced an earlier chapel in Black Cross itself (below). Noted by Kellys in 1902, it became Blackcross United Methodist Church in 1907, and Blackcross Methodist Church in 1932. It is possible there was a rebuild for 1944, but it closed in 1986 and was demolished in 1988.

Black Cross (First) Bible Christian Chapel sat on the western side of the Black Cross crossroads. It was still marked as a chapel in 1888, but by 1907 it was a Sunday school, replaced by the new chapel (see above). The Sunday school remained in use until the 1960s but was no longer marked as such by 1974. It is not clear when the original chapel was built but records relate to baptisms in 1836. The present building on the site may or may not be the same structure.

All photos on this page by Jo Lewis. Additional information from Cornwall, T Cadell & W Davies (1814).