The Building

A unique listed Methodist chapel, built in 1865 in the heart of Lizard village, by local families, farmers and fishermen as a place of worship and community.

It seats around 250 people, with excellent acoustics for concerts and theatre performances, whilst being adaptable for exhibitions, lectures and daytime use by local community groups. 

Seating in the main hall is on the ground floor and on the first-floor gallery.

The secondary space, currently used for community groups, is an accessible space that has the potential for a café and the housing of a small museum for the history of the Lizard village and peninsula.  There are kitchen facilities, toilets and a small outside area for a small number of cars.

Touring theatre groups, such as Miracle Theatre, and other arts organisations are currently looking for a venue of this size in this part of Cornwall. There is a clear need for a space of this type and size.

The Vision

To celebrate and promote Cornish culture, arts and heritage, making them visible and accessible to residents and visitors alike.

To facilitate local community groups in holding events such as crafting, learning the Cornish language, and enabling all ages and stages to have an affordable venue in which to meet.

To provide a concert /theatre venue to accommodate an audience of up to 250 people.

To establish a small museum for visitors to understand the history of both the village and the peninsula, including its maritime heritage, historic lighthouse and serpentine industry.

To hold arts exhibitions and seasonal festivals, encouraging local and visiting artists.

The Challenge

To raise a minimum of £200k to make an offer on the building.

To raise funds through grants and charitable donations to refurbish the building in line with the Grade 2 listing, allowing the building to become a welcoming and safe environment (with catering facilities) that allows flexible and innovative use of the space.

The People

Lizard CATCH is a registered charity, run by a group of committed villagers already involved in the cultural life of the area.

We are raising awareness of the campaign to save the Lizard Chapel for our whole community and aiming to raise £200k to purchase the building.  We have held successful public meetings to understand the views of our community and have over 200 pledges of support. The campaign has been featured in Cornwall Live, The Falmouth Packet and on local radio.