The Preaching Pit
The Preaching Pit, a long-disused stone quarry sited here on Tregonning Hill, is thought to be where visiting Churchmen once preached to the miners of Breage and Germoe – who had a fearsome reputation! It is fact however, that nearby, at Keneggy Downs in 1743, Charles Wesley preached to “near a thousand tinners” and that John Wesley visited Breage on 18th August 1750, and again on 10th September 1765, when he recorded in his diary “I preached at Breage…” The present-day tranquility of the hillside belies the hard, dangerous and labour-intensive working conditions of the past.
On Whit-Sundays for well over one hundred years, Methodists, initially from Ashton but latterly from Balweset, congregated at the Preaching Pit for their Sunday School celebrations. Nowadays, Christians of many denominations meet here at Pentecost for an ecumenical service.
The financial help received from the Liveability Fund in realising this project is gratefully acknowledged by Germoe Parish Council
