Ponsanooth Methodist Church, Including Forecourt Walls, Steps And Gate Piers

The Ponsanooth Methodist Church, along with its forecourt walls, steps, and gate piers, was built in 1843. The church is constructed of granite ashlar to the front elevation, with painted granite rubble walls and granite dressings elsewhere. It has a concrete tile roof with a pediment to the front and a gable end at the rear. The building follows a rectangular plan, lacking side aisles, and includes a gallery on all four sides. A rostrum is located at the south-western end (ritual east), and an entrance hall leads to a pair of stair halls at the north-eastern end. A semi-circular organ loft (originally a communion apse) projects from the rear, likely with a vestry and entrance lobby underneath. A slightly later single-storey vestry adjoins the rear right-hand corner, accompanied by a lean-to porch in front. The exterior elevations remain largely unaltered, with original doors and windows in their original openings. The symmetrical north-eastern entrance front displays a wide central doorway, a plinth, rusticated quoin strips, a mid-floor string, and a shaped parapet with moulded cornices. The central bay projects forward and is topped by a squat triangular pediment, which breaks the lower cornice of the main pediment. The elliptically arched doorway is set back within a porch and features a pair of six-panel doors and a spoked fanlight. Flat arches frame the two ground floor window openings, while the first floor has round-headed windows. The hornless sash windows have glazing bars; the first-floor windows are traceried. The front forecourt is semi-circular, with a wide central gateway flanked by square granite gate piers, a flight of six steps, and chamfered copings over the ashlar walls. The side walls include four windows per floor. Shallow keyed arches feature at the ground floor openings, with square-headed openings above, housing hornless sashes with glazing bars. Inside, the walls and ceiling are plastered, with original galleries supported by Tuscan columns, featuring panelled fronts that cantilever out on shaped brackets. A circa-late 19th-century rostrum, also on similar columns, and circa-late 19th-century pews are also present.