Burnett's Hill Calvinistic Methodist Chapel is a rare and important survival of early Pembrokeshire chapel architecture. Built in cottage style in 1812 to serve the coal-mining community of Landshipping and Martletwy, it has been little altered over the years and has a timeless charm all of its own.

Like so many Welsh chapels, Burnett's Hill was forced to close in the 1980s for want of a congregation, and it might have become a complete ruin but for the intervention of a group of local people who formed themselves into the Friends of Burnett's Hill Chapel and set about saving the building.

Thanks to the help of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park and the Heritage Lottery Fund, this was achieved and the beautifully restored chapel re-opened in 2001.

Visitors are always welcome at Burnett's Hill where the door is always open. There is an information board in the porch telling the story of the local coal-miners who built the chapel which is now a venue for occasional concerts which help to support the upkeep of the building.

To order a copy of the history of the chapel (pictured above), please send your name, address and a cheque for £5.00 payable to The Friends of Burnett's Hill Chapel to 3 Pisgah Cottages, Cresswell Quay, Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire SA68 0TD

 

BURNETT'S HILL CHAPEL EVENTS

If you wish to be added to our mailing list, please email burnettshill@btinternet.com

THURSDAY 2nd APRIL 2026 - 7.30pm - THE VARIFOLKALS - The Varifolkals are a lively new five-piece band from Pembroke. Featuring twin fiddles, the band performs folk and world music, from Irish traditional songs to Eastern European mazurkas. Tickets £5 each - all proceeds to chapel funds.Please book tickets for this concert via email burnettshill@btinternet.com or ring 01646 - 651725.

 

SATURDAY 18th APRIL 2026 -7.30pm - LOUIS O'HARA AND HIS BURLEY CHASSIS with support from pictureframes - Louis O'Hara is a singer-songwriter from Pembroke Dock, whose music finds beauty in the soft details of everyday life. Blending tender folk sensibilities with poetic lyricism and chamber-pop flourishes, his songs draw from memory, family, place and quiet emotional truths. Live, he performs with a six-piece arrangement of guitar, piano, cello, clarinet, vocal harmony and bass.

pictureframes self-released their debut EP in August, which has been championed by The Pastels and has been played on BBC6 Music by Gideon Coey. They have recently performed alongside acts including Daisy Rickman, Modern Nature, Brown Horse, John Myrtle and Dana Gavanski and have a new EP set for release in April 2026. Tickets are £12.50 each. Please book tickets for this concert via email malcolm.cawley@btinternet.com or ring 07900-091-664.

 

HOW TO FIND BURNETT'S HILL CHAPEL

FINDING BURNETT'S HILL CHAPEL FROM CANASTON BRIDGE

Head towards Carew on the Oakwood road. At Cross Hands, turn right just after Canaston Bowl. Stay on this road for 3.3 miles (straight through Martletwy) and then take the left turn up a steep hill. Turn left at the top and park along the verge on the right or in the farmyard on the left.

FINDING BURNETT'S HILL CHAPEL FROM CAREW

Head towards Cresselly on the Canaston Bridge road. At Whitehill, turn left just after the Land Rover Garage. Keep going past the pub at Cresswell Quay and over the narrow stone bridge, taking the left hand fork up the hill and past Penquoit towards Lawrenny. At the first cross-roads (Deals Cross) keep straight on. Half a mile further on you come to Knowles cross-roads. Turn right and keep going along a narrow lane for a mile and a half until you reach the chapel. Park in the farmyard on the right.

Useful tip: Bring a small cushion (the pews are hard) and also a pocket torch to find your car afterwards...

Burnett's Hill Chapel, Martletwy, Pembrokeshire SA67 8AX