Chapel of St Michael at Roche Rock is a Grade I listed building in the Cornwall local planning authority area, England. First listed on 10 February 1967. A Mediaeval Chapel.

Chapel of St Michael at Roche Rock

WRENN ID
final-corbel-briar
Grade
I
Local Planning Authority
Cornwall
Constituency
St Austell and Newquay MP: Noah Law (Lab)
Country
England
Date first listed
10 February 1967
Type
Chapel
OS grid reference
SW 991 596
Coordinates
50.40201, -4.82825
Source
Historic England listing

Also on this page: flood risk · radon risk · weather exposure · detailed attributes ↓

Description

The Chapel of St Michael at Roche Rock is a historic chapel licensed in 1409, constructed from squared dressed granite. It resembles a three-stage tower, featuring a lower room for a chaplain and the chapel situated above. The chapel is built on the side of a massive jagged outcrop of schorl, with the floor of the lower room formed by the rock itself.

The east front displays moulded string courses, with no windows on the first stage. The second stage features a small single light with a trefoil head, complete with moulded granite jambs and a lintel with voussoirs. The third stage includes a large two-centred arched window, also with moulded jambs and a relieving arch, topped by an upper gable end. On the south side, there is a doorway to the chaplain's room, characterized by a four-centred arch and a roll-moulded surround.

Inside, the floor between the chaplain's room and the chapel has been removed. At the upper level to the north, there is a small window with a flat lintel. St Michael's Chapel is noted for its outstanding landscape value, having been chosen for its isolation and suitability for dedication to St Michael. Although it is no longer used as a chapel and lacks a roof, it has taken on the qualities of a romantic folly. The combination of the jagged rock face and the dressed granite creates an architectural unity, whether viewed as a medieval chapel or as a romantic ruin.

Local climate

Chapel of St Michael at Roche Rock receives an average of 960 mm of rain a year. This makes it wetter than 74% of listed buildings in the UK. Its exposure to wind-driven rain is greater than that of 86% of listed buildings.

It experiences an average of 10 freeze-thaw cycles a year, fewer than 91% of listed buildings. Of these, 4 follow at least 1 mm of rain in the preceding 48 hours. Average temperatures at this location have risen by 0.3°C per decade since 1991.

Averages for 1991–2020; temperature trend 1991–2025. Figures describe the wider area (a grid cell of roughly 10 km), not the individual site. Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026.

More on this building

Sign in or create a free account to unlock:

  • No EPC on record for this property
  • No sale records on file
  • No related consent applications matched
  • Detailed attributes — period, style, materials, features
  • Flood risk assessment
  • Radon risk assessment
  • Weather exposure and heating demand — rain and frost month by month and year by year, wind direction, solar and humidity
Create free account

Matched applications, energy data and sale records are assembled automatically and may contain errors. Flag incorrect data.

Similar buildings

The closest matches to this building from all 493,000 UK listed buildings, by architecture, period and materials.

Nearby listed buildings

  1. Roche War Memorial Grade II 323 m
  2. Church of St Gomonda Grade II* 362 m
  3. Hendra Farmhouse Grade II 497 m
  4. Cross in the Glebe Field Grade II 528 m
  5. The Old Rectory Grade II 564 m
  6. Cross circa 35m south of The Old Rectory Grade II 570 m
  7. Roche Wesleyan Methodist Church and Attached Schoolroom Grade II 721 m
  8. Marker Stone for the Cornubian Mine at SW 999597 Grade II 867 m
  9. Carbis Brick and Tile Works Grade II 996 m
  10. Great Wheal Prosper China Clay Works Grade II 1.1 km