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

Trethevy Trethevy () 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 site. The ha ...

in the parish of

Tintagel Tintagel () or Trevena (, meaning ''Village on a Mountain'') is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, UK. It is a

chapel-of-ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, 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, generally due to trav ...

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

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. 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 England, English or Wales, 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 s ...

, 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 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

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 at the behest of William the Conqueror. The manuscript was originally known by ...

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 State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. 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 (; ; ; ) 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 taught in France and visited Rome several times, meeting the Pope. He ...

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 sharp pointed arch at its top. This arch may or may not be a steep lancet arch (in which the compass centres for drawing the arch fall outside the opening). It acquired the "lancet" name from its rese ...

with a

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

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. Lutherans and Anglicans usually refer to the basin, calling it a pisci ...

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

Saint Piran Piran or Pyran (; ), 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. Retrieved: 16 February 2 ...

, standing in the Rocky Valley.

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 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 In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statu ...

* St Materiana's Church, Tintagel *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 o ...

*St Petroc's Church, Trevalga

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