Details

The monument includes a medieval chapel 120m south west of Bosence on the
Penwith peninsula.
The chapel survives as a small rectangular structure measuring approximately
9.8m east-west by 4.30m north-south. The walls are of substantial granite
drystone construction and stand to a height of up to 1.2m. There is no obvious
entrance and the interior is overgrown with vegetation. The chapel has become
incorporated into the field wall which extends to either side of it.
This chapel, when visited by the antiquarian Blight in 1864 had walls which
stood to a height of up to 2.1m. It had stone work dating to the 15th and 16th
centuries, which has been removed, two window fragments are built into a hedge
at Botrea, and other fragments are in the buildings at Botrea and Bosence. It
has been suggested that the walls may be earlier than 15th century. It has
also been suggested that this chapel was a Celtic hermitage or a domestic
chapel as it is situated on the side of a hill in the fields between Bosence
and Botrea with no well or homestead in the immediate area.
The field wall to the east and west of the chapel where it falls within the
monument's protective margin is included in the scheduling.

MAP EXTRACT
The site of the monument is shown on the attached map extract.
It includes a 2 metre boundary around the archaeological features,
considered to be essential for the monument's support and preservation.

Source: Historic England

Reasons for Scheduling

A medieval chapel is a building, usually rectangular, containing a range of
furnishings and fittings appropriate for Christian worship in the pre-
Reformation period. Chapels were designed for congregational worship and were
generally divided into two main parts: the nave, which provided accommodation
for the laity, and the chancel, which was the main domain of the priest and
contained the principal altar. Around 4000 parochial chapels were built
between the 12th and 17th centuries as subsidiary places of worship built for
the convenience of parishioners who lived at a distance from the main parish
church. Other chapels were built as private places of worship by manorial
lords and lie near or within manor houses, castles or other high-status
residences. Chantry chapels were built and maintained by endowment and were
established for the singing of masses for the soul of the founder. Some
chapels possessed burial grounds. Unlike parish churches, the majority of
which remain in ecclesiastical use, chapels were often abandoned as their
communities and supporting finances declined or disappeared. Many chantry
chapels disappeared after the dissolution of their supporting communities in
the 1540s.
Chapels, like parish churches, have always been major features of the
landscape. A significant number of surviving examples are identified as being
nationally important. The sites of abandoned chapels, where positively
identified, are particularly worthy of statutory protection as they were often
left largely undisturbed and thus retain important information about the
nature and date of their use up to their abandonment.

The chapel 140m south west of Bosence survives comparatively well in the form
of substantial wall footings and buried remains relating to its construction,
use and decline. The chapel is in an unusual location, in fields between
Bosence and Botrea, and was possibly a domestic chapel built to serve the two
communities. Parts of the chapel's more elaborate stonework survive in nearby
buildings.

Source: Historic England

Sources

Other
Consulted July 1997, Cornwall SMR entry for PRN No.30422,
Title: 1:25000 Ordnance Survey Map; SW 33/43/part 53; Pathfinder 1364
Source Date: 1989
Author:
Publisher:
Surveyor:

Source: Historic England