Billy Bray
Billy Bray, born 1 June 1794 in Twelveheads, Cornwall, was a famous but unconventional Cornish preacher. He was the oldest of three children. His father, also named William Bray, worked as a miner and died when Billy was young; his mother Ann came from Gwennap. After school, Billy worked as a miner in Cornwall and later in Devon. In his early years he drank heavily and caused trouble.
In 1821 he married Joanna, and they had seven children. In 1823 he narrowly escaped a mining accident and later said he was converted in November 1823 after reading John Bunyan’s Visions of Heaven and Hell. He joined the Bible Christians, a Methodist group, and began preaching in a lively, unconventional way, with singing and dancing.
Bray did not only preach. He helped others, raised two orphans with his children, and used his money to help people. He helped raise funds to build three new Methodist chapels: in Twelveheads, Carharrack, and Kerley Downs (the Three Eyes chapel because of its three windows).
He died on 25 May 1868 and is buried at the Saint Michael and All Angels church in Baldhu, where a granite obelisk marks his grave. In 1984 the Three Eyes chapel, the only one that still stands, was dedicated to him.
His life has been told in books and songs, and people remember his joyful, vibrant way of worship. One famous saying of his was that if he were put in a barrel, he would shout glory out through the bunghole.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 01:58 (CET).