---
title: "Gunwen Methodist Chapel"
description: "Located in Gunwen, Cornwall. Built 1869, on the site of a chapel of c.1796. Grade II. Two-storey Cornish Methodist chapel style."
category: "Church"
tags: ["Church","Methodist Church","Cornwall","Gunwen","Luxulyan","Grade II","Wesleyan"]
canonical: "https://thebritishgazette.com/post/gunwen-methodist-chapel-gunwen"
pubDate: "2026-09-06T01:46:04.593Z"
dateModified: "2026-09-08T00:34:38.863Z"
location: "Gunwen, Cornwall"
country: "England"
county: "Cornwall"
town: "Gunwen"
address: "Gunwen, Cornwall, PL30 5DU"
postcode: "PL30 5DU"
built: "1869, on the site of a chapel of c.1796"
denomination: "Methodist Church"
grade: "II"
style: "Two-storey Cornish Methodist chapel"
materials: "Granite rubble with brick dressings, partly rendered; slate roof"
website: "http://staustellmethodist.co.uk/churches/gunwen/"
openingHours: "Sorry, there are no regular opening times for this church."
parish: "Gunwen with Stenalees"
listEntryUrl: "https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1158020"
gridReference: "SX 052 612"
accessNotes: "Level access to the main areas"
---

# Gunwen Methodist Chapel

Gunwen Methodist Church is a Grade II two-storey Wesleyan chapel of 1869 in the hamlet of Gunwen, Luxulyan parish, Cornwall, associated with William O’Bryan, founder of the Bible Christians.

## Overview

Historic England lists Gunwen Methodist Church (1158020, 28 August 1987): a Methodist church dated 1869, of granite rubble with brick dressings, partly rendered, under a slate roof with gable ends. It is of two storeys, with a schoolroom at ground floor and auditorium above. The front gable has a central door with brick segmental head, 16-pane sashes, and two round-headed first-floor sashes; a recessed round-headed slate datestone reads ‘Wesleyan Chapel 1869’. A later external stair at the rear leads to the first floor.

Cornwall Historic Churches Trust and the St Austell Methodist Circuit record the 1869 chapel on the site of a smaller building of about 1796. William O’Bryan (Bryant) was born at Gunwen Farm in 1789, built the first chapel on land he gave, and in 1815 formed the Bible Christian Church. The chapel was restored in 2017; the schoolroom is used as a community hall. From September 2024 the congregation joined Stenalees as Gunwen with Stenalees Methodist Church. The church has level access to the main areas.

## Further Information

- [Historic England list entry 1158020](https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1158020)
- [St Austell Methodist Circuit: Gunwen](https://staustellmethodist.co.uk/churches/gunwen/)
- [Cornwall Historic Churches Trust: Gunwen](https://www.chct.info/histories/gunwen-methodist-chapel/)