Tregona Chapel is a Methodist chapel built in 1834 of mud. The people walked or came by cart from all over the small Parish of St Eval on the North Coast of Cornwall. It houses the main collection of St Eval Archive which includes original documents, artifacts, a herbarium of plants which grow on land and in the sea and ninety paintings of nine natural habitats in St Eval and an extensive collection of books about wildlife, Cornish History, art and world culture

The chapel has been renovated with help from Cornwall Community Foundation, WREN, FEAST and Boardmasters. There is now a compost toilet, rainwater gathering tank, a wild meadow, print making facilities, a vegetable patch and a large pond.

Workshops have included etching, plant identification, pressing seaweed and other wild plants, oil painting, exploring the local area, bat detection, making oak gall ink, making pots in the Bronze Age Trevisker style from local clay and drawing plants from life.

Events are open to all who live locally or work in the arts or education in Cornwall. They are usually free and made by arrangement with Jane Darke and Andrew Tebbs. We advertise in the local magazine Dreckly only.

The herbarium is an ongoing project with about 300 species of plant. We have started to plant trees and a hedge with 19 native species and some others which are hardy and provide a good wind break. The Chapel is exposed to winds from all directions. 

In the meadow and the chapel yard we have re introduced perennial and biennial species which grow elsewhere in the parish. The pond is now full of native pond plants such as brooklime and ragged robin. Several species of dragonfly now visit and lay their eggs.

ST EVAL ARCHIVE

Saint Eval Archive is collection of local photos, stories, videos from a distinctive Cornish coastal community.
The The aim of St Eval Archive is to record the people, the history and the landscape online, so everybody can enjoy!