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Our Charity and
The Chapel

Built for the benefit of the local tin and copper mining families in 1833, the Chapel has served as a cornerstone of the St Just community for almost 200 years!

A Grade II* listed building of huge cultural, historical and spiritual significance the Chapel is a testament to the strength and resilience of our towns people. Centuries of meaning has been passed on through celebration, performance and remembrance held within the Chapel walls, a meaning which helps to define the community we know and love today.

Part of the World Heritage Site, today the Chapel is a rare example of important architectural and historic features and with its outstanding acoustics, the Chapel is a magnificent setting for music.

St Just Miners Chapel Charity became a registered charity in 2017, when the Chapel was first threatened with closure. Shortly after this the Chapel was placed on Historic England’s At Risk Register.

Volunteer run the charity uses the proceeds from welcoming audiences into the Chapel, to add to the efforts of the small local Methodist congregation in the repair, maintenance and restoration of the fabric of the Chapel buildings.

Through the Chapels preservation and use as a cultural hub for song, music and storytelling and as a venue for worship, education and community the charity aims to ensure the Chapel remains a place for the benefit and education of those visiting and using the buildings.

Why Are We Called
St Just Miners' Chapel?

We are called ‘St Just Miners’ Chapel’ to reflect the heritage and cultural significance of St Just, our mining past and where the lessons from history can contribute to a fair, just and prosperous future for our community.

An integral part of what can arguably be described as one of the most visually powerful post-industrial rural and coastal landscapes in Cornwall, for many miners the Chapel was the last recognisable building in Cornwall they saw when they sailed to seek employment overseas.

Amongst the graves, all of equal importance to their families, are 15 of the 31 Levant miners killed in the disastrous accident in 1919.

Our Trustees

Ian Marsh, Chair
Jack Roberts, Vice Chair
Caroline Watling, Treasurer
Robert Chaddar

Bronwen Rowland
Marna Blundy
Richard Trahair
John Anderson

“Our hope and our prayer is that the Miners Chapel Charity can ensure that the great legacy of local Methodism will not be consigned to history and that our emphasis on social justice for all and practical service in the community, will be the basis going forward for the magnificent local asset that our Chapel building has always been, and we believe should continue to be.”
John Andersonlocal congregation member
“I have attended numerous performances in the chapel and sung there many times in drama productions, community celebrations and commemorations. It is a wonderful building holding almost two centuries of memories for the people of St Just. The Chapel is altogether a great resource for the town and a valuable asset for us all.”
Chris Hillnearby resident
“The Chapel is not only of considerable local significance but is also a national treasure”
Eric BerryCornwall Heritage Expert
“I rate this chapel in the highest rank of all Cornish Methodist buildings. I rank it so highly precisely because it is in scale and architectural ambition one of the ‘cathedrals’ of Cornish dissent, so important to the county’s cultural history. For the ‘Tin Coast’ it is simply the lodestone, irreplaceable, evocative, deeply moving. Every effort to secure a viable future will be worthwhile.”
Peter Beachamformer Heritage Protection Director for Historic England
“The Chapel is now beginning a new chapter of its life, imagining a better future, where the lessons from history contribute to a fair, just and prosperous Cornwall. Where once again the Chapel stays relevant (and standing) for the community it has served past, present and future.”
David James
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