More information : SX 42546855: Chapel (1)
Chapel c. 1490 built by Sir Richard Edgcumbe in memory of his escape from Sir Henry Trenowth of Bodrugan in 1483. Rectangular single cell chapel. (2)
Small medieval chapel located on the western bank of the Tamar, 280m ESE of Cotehole House. Constructed of coursed slate-stone rubble and measuring 6.3m by 4.6m it was built in c.1490 by Sir Richard Edgcumbe to commemorate his escape from Henry Trenowth of Bodrugan in 1483. Restored in 1620, 1769 and throughout the twentieth century, it is a rectangular, single-cell chapel with the entrance at the western end and the ritual focus at the rear of the gable end. The front gable end has a three-centred arched granite doorway with roll-mouldings and recessed spandrels and a nineteenth century door with cover strips. The north and south sides each have a two-light granite window , hollow-chamfered, with four-centred arched lights and deeply recessed spandrels. The east window has three lights of similar form but with leaves carved in the spandrels, semi-circular tracery above and four-centred arch over, with mutilated hood moulds and pintles from shutters. The east window has a narrow line of masonary around the circumference indicating that it is a replacement that has been inset into the existing wall. The lower portion of the right-hand granite jamb of the window has suffered cracking as a result of an iron pintle that has severely corroded. A crack is also visible between the window sill and ground level. These cracks need fairly urgent remedial works. The window and those positioned withi the north and south walls are amalgams of windows formerly used in other stuctures, possibly from within Cotehele Estate. The roof is a twentieth century replacement incorporating used hand-made crested ridge tiles surmounting regularly coursed slates of uniform size. The interior has a restored tile floor with four carved linenfold panelled bench ends. A painted wooden panel is inset into a recess above the doorway that commemorates the restoration of 1769 and recounts Sir Richard Edgcumbe's escape from his pursuer in 1483.
This is one of the most significant non-parochial chaples in Cornwall and of national importance a is reflected in the current Grade II* Listing.
The chapel has been extensively restored and incorporates features sourced from other, unknown, structures. It is the view that the building is not in its original form, having undergone successive restorations, and as it has a significant and ongoing maintenance requirment as a roofed building with unrestricted public access, it is best manged through the Listed Building controls as a present and at the present grading. (3) |