In Cornwall, UK, the
busy A30 road carries visitors from Launceston to Bodmin and
beyond. Near Five Lanes is the hamlet of Trewint with a place all its
own in the Wesley Story.
One Summer day in 1743, two of John Wesley's advance agents, John Nelson and John Downes, tired and hungry, asked for refreshment at a house with a stone porch, the home of Digory Isbell, a Journeyman Stonemason. In his absence his wife, Elizabeth, entertained the two strangers who insisted on paying and then knelt and prayed - "without a book!"
The story of these unusual visitors, with such unusual ways, was told to Digory on his return.
A year later John Wesley himself, wet and weary, was entertained in the Stonemason's house and left a rich blessing behind.
One evening Digory Isbell read in his Bible of the Shunamite woman who built a Prophet's Chamber for a man of God. This passage seemed to Digory to contain a direct divine command, and he immediately set about building an extension to his house, two rooms, one up and one down, which could be used by John Wesley and his preachers whenever they were in the district.
Trewint became a flourishing Methodist Society, but when other chapels were opened the Trewint rooms fell into disuse and eventually became a roofless ruin.
In 1950 the Isbell house and the Wesley rooms were suitably restored and opened to the public. Annual Wesley Day Celebrations are held in May each year.
The rooms are also believed to be the smallest Methodist preaching place in the world.
The A30 road symbolises the stress and strain of modern life. Digory Isbell's house at Trewint calls the soul to prayer and peace. For those who will linger and listen there, voices will speak of the riches of yesterday providing a thrill for today and a challenge for tomorrow.
New Opening Times from May 27th 2008
Tuesday, Friday & Saturdays. 10.30-.3.30pm
More space, more information and a lot to see.
Call Doug & Pam Baker on 01566 86690 for party viewing.