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 The first recorded mention of Newlyn is in the appeal of Edmund Lacy, Bishop of Exeter, in 1435 ‘To all who should contribute toward the repairing of a certain key or jetty at Newlyn, in the Parish of Paul’. At that time the village would have been tiny, consisting of a cluster of houses surrounding the old harbour.
Over the centuries Newlyn grew in size and importance and in 1848 the decision was made to form the parish of St. Peter’s, Newlyn from the adjoining ancient parishes of St. Pol de Leon and Madron (St. Maddernus). An incumbent was appointed and a building in Newlyn Town, later transformed into a house, was used for services. The village was poor and it took almost 20 years to raise sufficient money to build a permanent church. Success was mainly due to the efforts of the third vicar of the parish, the Revd. John Pope Vibert, a Penzance man, 35 years old and the son of a Penzance Councillor. The Revd Vibert was enthusiastic, dedicated and much loved and respected in the community. He soon started to raise the £2,000 estimated as the sum needed to build the church and eventually, ten years after his appointment in 1856, he had the satisfaction of seeing the church completed. The foundation stone was laid on St. Peter’s Day, 1864 and the first services were held on Tuesday, 6th February 1866, the church being dedicated to the Patron Saint of fishermen. The Le Grice family of Trereife gave the land for the building.
 The church then consisted of the nave and south aisle, with a vestry on the north of the chancel. The massive short granite columns with bases and capitals of enormous size giving the church the appearance of a much older building. The granite came from a local quarry at Lamorna. The church could seat 370, which proved inadequate from the start, but lack of funds precluded the addition of the north aisle and transept, nearly completing the original plan, until 1886. A planned 70ft spire was never built but a more modest turret eventually completed the building.
In 1866 St. Peter’s would have seemed a long way out of the village on the road leading up the Coombe to Stable Hobba Smelting Works. The New Road and Bridge were not built until 1883 and the lower section of Chywoone Hill, known locally as Bucca’s Pass, in 1890. In 1866 the main road crossed the river on the bridge next to the Mission and continued up Jack Lane and Old Paul Hill.
 During the period between 1866 and 1900 the plain glass in the lancet shaped windows was gradually replaced with stained and ornamental glass and the church was heavily decorated in the late Victorian style. There was an oak rood screen depicting scenes from the life of St. Peter. This was removed, opening up the chancel, when extensive alterations were carried out in the late 1930s by the then vicar, the Revd Allan Wyon, a noted sculptor and medallist. At this time the organ loft was installed, obscuring the west window, and the east window covered by the erection of the canopy over the High Alter, surmounted with the crucifix carved by Allan Wyon. Underneath is a reredos, in terracotta relief, of the ‘Last Supper’ after da Vinci. In a niche in the chancel stands a life size bust of the Madonna and Child, also sculpted by Allan Wyon.
The gardens surrounding the Church contain some plants of interest to gardening enthusiasts. Near the porch entrance is an ancient cross head, mounted on a modern shaft. The cross head is in the form of a short, thick, Latin Cross, with a roughly sculpted Christ figure on the front. Found opposite the site of St. Peter’s in the mid 19th century, it was moved to the grounds of nearby Trereife House before being erected in its present position.
The vicarage was erected in 1877, somewhat larger than it is today, and in 1908 the present Church Hall replaced an earlier iron schoolhouse on the same site.
Margaret E. Perry
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