Minions (Cheesewring) United Methodist Free Church

A contribution from Jo Lewis to the My Primitive Methodists website about a chapel in Minions (formerly Cheesewring), Cornwall led to the discovery of a United Methodist Free chapel in the same small village.  You can read about the Primitive Methodist chapel here.  The Prim chapel  became  Cheesewring Methodist Church and closed c1981.

Minions was originally called Cheesewring Railway, and it grew as a central junction and shunting area on the Liskeard & Caradon Railway.

The building is still recognisable as a chapel and is in residential use.

Jo tells us:

Travelling south from Higher Stanbeare brings you into Minions village, the chapel can be found on the right (north-west) off the main road in the row of houses known as Minions Row. It has a plaque marking it as the old chapel.

Local CISI documents date this as 1840 to 1880 but it does not appear on OS maps until 1907.  Mining history suggests this was built in 1864. Before that the meetings were held in the house of Richard Edwards (‘Cap’n Dick”) of the Marke Valley Mine.

For a time the chapel was used as a temperance hotel.

The chapel still has its original roof, but the windows have been replaced and there is a modern porch.

Next to the United Methodist Chapel is the former school. The school was clearly run in association with the chapel. The school was probably constructed following the 1870 Education Act, or possibly converted from two of the recently constructed cottages.