St Blazey Primitive Methodist chapel

Station Road St Blazey PL24 2NF

Funeral Directors at the back of the site of the demolished chapel
Jo Lewis
St Blazey: return from the Primitive Methodist chapel to the 1851 Census of Places of Public Religious worship. Return no: 306 1 4 18
transcribed by David Tonks 2021

The return from the Primitive Methodist chapel in St Blazey to the 1851 Census of Places of Public Religious worship wascompleted by the minister, Thomas Green. He reports that the chapel dated from 1840 and held268 people. On Census Sunday, 180 attended in the morning, along with a Sunday school of 87 scholars, and 127 attended in the evening.

The laying of the foundation stone for a replacement St Blazey Primitive Methodist chapel is recorded by J Bennetts in the Primitive Methodist magazine of October 1860.  The old chapel had become too small and dilapidated so they decided to build anew. The new chapel was planned to be 54′ x 38′ and 22′ high.

On May 20th 1860 J Hicks (Lostwithiel) laid the foundation stone. Preachers at the occasion and following tea meeting included J Pithouse (Liskeard) and Messrs, Broadway, Bennetts, Harry, Rich and Rackham.

The opening took place on November 25th 1860. Jospeh Shepherd tells us that the celebrations included tea in the New Market Hall. Speakers included  Rev. J. Best, Rev. J Watson (Wesleyan), Rev. W. Harvey,  S. Kernick, J Shephard, Mr Bate and Rev. E. Powell, of Penzance. The new chapel cost £450 of which they had raised just over £100.

Cornwall County records tell us that the chapel, called Ebenezer, was first built between 1836 and 1840 on the site of a pre-1832 Mission Hall. It was  rebuilt in 1860 and the late 19th century and demolished 1992. The rear of the site is shown on Street View as in use by a funeral director.

There is a photograph of the later building here.

Reference

Primitive Methodist magazine October 1860 pages 621-622

Primitive Methodist magazine April 1861 pages 235-236

Cornwall Record Office accessed online February 8th 2018 at:   https://www.cornwall.gov.uk/media/28970126/st-blazey_red1.pdf

Comments about this page

  • Thanks for the additional information Jo. St Blazey’s an example of the era of Methodist Central Halls that appeared all over the place but have since largely disappeared.

    By Christopher Hill (09/09/2019)
  • A little bit of extra information on the St Blazey Primitive Methodist Chapel

    Maps show the chapel become Central Hall Methodist in the 1950s; Archives record that St Blazey Ebenezer was built as a Primitive Methodist Chapel and closed 1939. It then reopened as St Blazey Central Hall Methodist Church c1958, having merged with St Blazey Mount Pleasant which closed c1958. SW churches record the Central Hall Methodist in existence until c 1989.

    By Jo Lewis (09/09/2019)
  • St Blazey Ebenezer Primitive Methodist Chapel. Site of chapel (built on site of pre-1832 Mission Hall). 1836-40, rebuilt 1860 & late C19th said to have been demolished in 1992.
    This is either built on the site of built in remnants of.
    SX 0696 5467.
    with Sunday school – lost

    The laying of the foundation stone at St Blazey Primitive Methodist chapel is recorded by J Bennetts in the Primitive Methodist magazine of October 1860. The old chapel had become too small and dilapidated so they decided to build anew. The new chapel was planned to be 54′ x 38′ and 22′ high.

    By Jo Lewis (20/06/2019)

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