Saint Piran's Chapel is a long, single storey slate construction in the hamlet of

Trethevy Trethevy ( kw, Tredhewi) is a hamlet in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is midway between the villages of Tintagel and Boscastle in the civil parish of Tintagel. Trethevy has a number of historic buildings and is an early Christian ...

in the parish of

Tintagel Tintagel () or Trevena ( kw, Tre war Venydh, meaning ''Village on a Mountain'') is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle are associated with the legends surroundin ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, UK. It is a

chapel-of-ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ease is deliberately bu ...

in the Anglican parish of Tintagel.

History

The chapel's earliest recorded mention is in May 1457 when Parson John Gregory had a licence to celebrate mass in the Chapels of

St Piran Saint Piran or Pyran ( kw, Peran; la, Piranus), died c. 480,Patrons - The Orthodox Church of Archangel Michael and Holy Piran'' Oecumenical Patriarchate, Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain. Laity Moor, Nr Ponsanooth, Cornwall. TR3 7HR ...

and

St Denys St Denys is a partially riverside district of Southampton, England, centred north north-east of the city centre facing variously Bitterne Park and quay across the River Itchen estuary. The river is here spanned in the mid-east extreme of t ...

(the latter being at Trevena). The building was used for farm purposes after the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. A field above the building, Chapel Meadow, was named on the

Tithe map The term tithe map is usually applied to a map of an English or Welsh parish or township, prepared following the Tithe Commutation Act 1836. This act allowed tithes to be paid in cash rather than goods. The map and its accompanying schedule gave the ...

, 1841. Until the early twentieth century a massive stone altar slab was in position and the old arched oak door frame of the south door (now built up but traceable), was still to be seen. A stone coffin was found in July 1944 by Father Edward Arundell, vicar of Tintagel. The body was buried with the feet towards the west, suggesting that it may have been that of a priest. Until its theft in 1993, a granite

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

lamp was displayed in the chapel. At some point in the late 19th century, the walls were lowered. It is unclear why there should be a chapel dedicated to Saint Piran so far from the concentration of places associated with him to the west of the county but the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

mentions the ‘monks of St. Pieran’ who owned the manor of Tregrebri in this part of Cornwall (this can plausibly be identified with Tregenver, a farmstead near Trethevy). In 1941 the owner of the building, Sidney Harris, gave it back to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

. The chapel was restored by Father Arundell and builder George Climo. The first mass was celebrated there on 8 February 1944. Sidney Harris died in hospital later that day. Occasional services are still held in the chapel. Other chapels bore St.Piran's name, including that according to

Giraldus Cambrensis Gerald of Wales ( la, Giraldus Cambrensis; cy, Gerallt Gymro; french: Gerald de Barri; ) was a Cambro-Norman priest and historian. As a royal clerk to the king and two archbishops, he travelled widely and wrote extensively. He studied and taugh ...

standing in the road in front of Cardiff Castle where Henry II was the recipient of a vision precluding Sunday markets.

Features of the chapel

A small

lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet wi ...

with a

trefoil A trefoil () is a graphic form composed of the outline of three overlapping rings, used in architecture and Christian symbolism, among other areas. The term is also applied to other symbols with a threefold shape. A similar shape with four rin ...

head remains in the east wall and what appears to be a rough stone shelf or

piscina A piscina is a shallow basin placed near the altar of a church, or else in the vestry or sacristy, used for washing the communion vessels. The sacrarium is the drain itself. Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a piscina. For Roman ...

is on the south side. On the north wall there is also a more recent stained glass window (1940s?) representing

Saint Piran Saint Piran or Pyran ( kw, Peran; la, Piranus), died c. 480,Patrons - The Orthodox Church of Archangel Michael and Holy Piran'' Oecumenical Patriarchate, Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain. Laity Moor, Nr Ponsanooth, Cornwall. TR3 7HR ...

, standing in the

Rocky Valley Rocky Valley ( kw, Glynn Duwy, meaning ''deep valley of the river Duwy'') is a small valley in the parish of Tintagel, north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The valley has been carved by the Trevillet River ( kw, Duwy, meaning ''dark riv ...

Parish status

The church is in the Boscastle and Tintagel group of parishes which includes: * St Symphorian's Church, Forrabury * St Merteriana's Church, Minster *

St Michael and All Angels' Church, Lesnewth St Michael and All Angels’ Church, Lesnewth is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England in Lesnewth, Cornwall. History The church dates from the 12th century. With the exception of the tower, it was rebuilt between 1865 an ...

St Denis' Church, Otterham St Denis's Church, Otterham is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England Diocese of Truro in Otterham, Cornwall. History The dedication to St. Denis is undocumented according to Charles G. Henderson who observes that nearby la ...

St Julitta's Church, St Juliot St Julitta's Church, St Juliot is a Grade II* listed parish church in the Church of England Diocese of Truro in St Juliot, Cornwall. (St Julitta's Church, Lanteglos-by-Camelford is dedicated to the same local saint.) History The parish church i ...

St Materiana's Church, Tintagel The Parish Church of Saint Materiana at Tintagel is a Church of England parish church in the Church of England Diocese of Truro in Cornwall, England, UK. It stands on the cliffs between Trevena and Tintagel Castle and is listed Grade I. The firs ...

*The Holy Family Church,

Treknow Treknow () is a small village in Tintagel civil parish, Cornwall, England, United Kingdom: it is the second largest settlement, and is located between Trevena and Trebarwith. It is situated north of Bodmin, north-west of Camelford, and west ...

*St Petroc's Church,

Trevalga Trevalga ( kw, Trevelgi) is a coastal civil parish and hamlet in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The parish is bounded on the north by the Celtic Sea, on the southeast by Forrabury and Minster parish and on the west by Tintagel parish. ...

References

{{Portal, Cornwall *Canner, A. C. (1982) ''The Parish of Tintagel: Some Historical Notes''. Camelford: A. C. Canner * Maclean, John (1879) ''The Parochial History of the Deanery of Trigg Minor'', Vol. 3

Tintagel