Gwennap Pit
John Wesley first came to Cornwall in 1743 and one of the first areas he visited was the copper belt to the south of Camborne and Redruth. One of the first places he preached was the busy complex of mines at Gwennap, an area he returned to time and again over the years. When Wesley came to the area in September the weather was particularly stormy and, for protection from the wind and so the crowd could hear him, he preached in a natural amphitheatre created by a mine-shaft collapse. He returned there 17 times, preaching to crowds claimed to be as large as 30,000. In 1806 local mine captains rebuilt the pit with its present 13 concentric rings of turfed seating. In 1836 Busveal chapel was built close by. In the 1980s sculptor Guy Sanders created the series of commemorative panels. A small visitor centre is open from Whitsun to September. A service is held every Whit Monday. Gwennap Pit is not an easy place to find but the effort is worth it for the special atmosphere. From A30 at Scorrier east of Redruth take B3298 south, turn right into St. Day centre, then west. Not far from Gwennap Pit is Carharrack Museum of Cornish Methodism in Carharrack's Methodist Church. It has a small collection of Wesleyana and artefacts of Cornish Methodist history and is open by appointment only with Mr Barrie S May - 01209 820381.
Gwennap Pit
At Busveal near St. Day. See also Wesley's Cottage
More in Churches & Holy Sites
Gwennap, St. Wennapa's Church
You might expect Gwennap Church and Gwennap Pit to be located adjacent to one another. You would be wrong: The pit, a collapsed mine shaft where John Wesley is claimed to have preached to 30,000, is in Busveal village. Gwennap village is a couple of miles away to the south-east, a little way off the Redruth to Falmouth road. I had been to Gwennap previously, in November 2015, but had been unable to gain access to the interior of the church. I revisited in August 2018 and was delighted to find the church open. I parked in the large car park outside the gate to the graveyard and walked up to the church. It is a surprisingly long way and, oddly, you go through a lych gate halfway up the slope. St. Wenappa's is thought to be of Norman origin but what you see now is largely 15th century but incorporating some 13th century parts. Like so many Cornish churches it was heavily restored in the late 19th century by J P St. Aubyn. To the right of the porch is a small Cornish Cross. Inside, the church consists of nave and north and south aisles. There is a variety of stained glass, some box pews, and an attractive modern font, perhaps of Elvan stone, on a simple Norman base. There are some interesting monuments: a slate tablet over the north door is by Neville Northey Burnard of Altarnun; and there are some good monuments of the 1840s to the Williams family. Above the church, to its north-east, is a remarkable detached bell-tower, rebuilt in the 15th century and possibly of Norman origin. When I was there in August 2018, parked in the car park by the entrance was an open-topped "wedding car", a Nissan Figaro of 1970, complete with its ribbons.
Gwinear
I visited Gwinear church in early April 2017, on a sunny Saturday when I also got to see Gwithian Church and Phillack Church, all in a relatively small area to the east of Hayle. Gwinear's church is slightly confusing architecturally in that, from the east, is appears to have nave and three isles; in fact the third aisle is a chapel, the abbreviated Arundell Aisle, dedicated to a local family. Slightly srprisingly for a Cornish church, there at first appear to be no bench ends. In fact there are but not on the ends of pews. Instead these have been utilised to construct the pulpit, lectern and kneeling desk. Part of the 15th century screen survives, of very dark oak and looking not unlike the face of a Jacobean chest. In the south aisle is an attractive modern subsidiary altar. The early 18th century font is deliberately designed to look Norman, with unusual carvings, including a figure, a hand and a face. The capital of one of the arcade columns exibits a carving of what is said to be a deer but looks more like a rabbit. On the window sill near the font is an unexpected Cornish Cross Head. More Cornish Crosses may bee seen in the churchyard, one short cross, one taller cross and a cross head rather hidden in the grass at the east end of the church. So I was pleasantly surprised to find, altogether four Cornish Crosses or Crossheads.
Gwithian
I revisited Gwithian on a sunny Saturday in Aporil 2017, a day when I also visited Gwinear and Phillack. I was pleased to find all open. This, though medieval in appearance is later in date. Nor is it Gwithian's original church. As with St.Piran's church on Piran Sands, there was an early Christian Oratory in the dunes. This was excavated in the 19th century but again left to nature and has disappeared beneath the sand. The present church was built in 1866 and incorporates parts of the earlier structure. There is an unusual square font, on pillars of blue (perhaps Catacleuse) stone, with carvings of a snake, a rosette and a cross inset. There is little else of special note but there is a very fine collection of embroidered kneelers. Just up the road is the last remaining thatched chapel in Cornwall. A deed of 1771 names John Wesley as 'Protector of the Religious Society.'. The present chapel built in 1810. The Society ceased in 1995, but the chapel was rescued from dereliction in 1999 and reopened for worship. There is a display of documents and photographs. The chapel is open Easter to October; occasional Sunday evening services are held.