Listed status for village ‘tin tabernacle’
A‘TIN tabernacle’ church in Cornwall has been given protected status because of its links to the largest RNLI rescue in its 200-year history.
Historic England announced this month that St Mary’s Church in Cadgwith has become Grade II-listed not only for its architectural importance, but also due to its link to the rescue of 456 passengers and crew from the Suevic in 1907, after the ship ran aground on rocks off Lizard Point.
St Mary’s was built for the local community in 1898 as a mission church and chapel of ease – an Anglican chapel situated for the convenience of parishioners living too far from the parish church.
It is an example of a ‘tin tabernacle’, a prefabricated corrugated iron building developed in the mid-19th century as a relatively low-cost way to establish a place of worship in fast-growing urban and rural areas.
Tin tabernacles were built during the upsurge in Non-Conformism, which was particularly strong in Cornwall. Not many of these buildings survive today, having been designed for temporary use until permanent structures could be built, and St Mary’s Church is one of the few that is still in use.
The first vicar of St Mary’s Church, Reverend Henry Vyvyan, was an active member of the RNLI and was recognised as one of the most distinguished honorary secretaries of the institution, serving the Cadgwith station from 1898 until his death in 1937. He received a RNLI silver medal for gallantry for his active role with the Cadgwith lifeboat, Minnie Moon, in the rescue of 227 survivors from the White Star liner, Suevic, when it ran aground off Lizard Point on March 17, 1907.
The rescue of a total of 456 passengers and crew from the liner without any loss of life remains the largest in the institution’s history.