Escalls Chapel

Escalls Chapel sits on the A30 just before Sennen, closer to Land’s End than to anything resembling a city. The first Bible Christian chapel here opened in 1832. By 1900, a new one had gone up beside the road, carved in stone with its own birth year: “Bible Christian 1900.” The old one faded, the new one kept going, and the rhythm of Sunday carried on.

It is not grand, but it has presence. Pale stone, a graveyard, and a Sunday School that has seen more than a few generations come through its doors. Inside, about 200 seats. Enough for a village, never meant for a crowd. It was built for use, not for spectacle, and that is still how it feels.

What makes Escalls stand out today is the surfboard cross above the entrance. Real surfboards, nailed into the shape of a cross, facing the main road. It is part landmark, part in-joke, and part welcome sign for anyone on their way to Whitesand Bay. You may not notice the stone date, but you will notice the surfboards.

Harvest decorations used to fill the place with flowers from the moor. These days, the biggest decoration is the surfboard cross. It looks odd until you think about it, then it makes sense. A seaside chapel should have a marker of its own sea.

Escalls still holds Sunday worship at 11 a.m. It belongs to the West Cornwall Methodist Circuit, but it belongs just as much to the drivers who glance at it from the A30 and wonder about the surfboards. A chapel that once told people when to show up for prayer now tells them they are almost at the beach.