Churches of the British Isles

Treludderow Old Chapel, St Allen, can be found by heading down the lane opposite High Lanes and turning right at the start of Cargoll Road. Treludderow Farm is on the western side of this southbound road, sitting on a former manor house site. Henderson notes a barn here, said to have been a chapel but more likely to have been part of the Borlase family mansion. The family were Catholics, so the chapel may have been a post-Reformation Catholic chapel.

The Church of St Newlina, St Newlyn East, is sited in the middle of the village. The earliest stone church on this site was probably erected towards the end of the twelfth century to replace an Anglo-Saxon wooden church, being cruciform in shape. The lower parts both of the north transept (the Lady Chapel) and chancel walls are Norman, with distinct stepped work at the base on display. The church was enlarged in the 1300s with further extensions in the 1400s.

However, St Newlina's Church ended up in dire need of restoration. In 1883 work began under plans which were drawn up by a Mr Sedding. When the church was re-opened in January 1884, The Church Times reported that the church was now one of the most beautiful in Cornwall. The exterior south wall contains an embedded fig tree which seems quite healthy. The legend is that this grew from the staff of St Newlina, and that it carries a curse should anyone pluck a leaf.

St Newlyn Bible Christian Chapel is on the south side of The Cross when heading back towards the Nanhayes Row junction from the parish church. It is marked on early maps but is gone by 1907. Documents confirm its previous status as a chapel (as does its architecture). The Imperial Gazetteer notes a Byranite chapel in the village around 1870-1872. The chapel was built in or around 1850. It closed in 1920 to act as the post office. It is now residential.

St Newlyn Methodist Church is on the east side of Nanhayes Row, south of The Cross. The first chapel here was built in 1881 on leased land for mining-rich non-conformists. The present building replaced it in 1832, using the same stone as the church. Becoming too small, a larger Wesleyan Methodist chapel was built across the road (see links). The old building became the Wesley Hall for various local activities. It was renovated and rededicated in 1990, remaining in use.

Four photos on this page by Jo Lewis, one kindly contributed by Roy Reed via the 'History Files: Churches of the British Isles' Flickr group, and one via Geograph under a Creative Commons licence.