This small stone chapel is one of many in Cornwall dedicated to fishermen. St Leonard's Chapel on Smeaton's Pier is of similar size and construction. It's not known when St Nicholas' was built, but there are records of its repair dating from the 15th Century.

In the 18th Century the chapel was used by revenue officers as a lookout for smugglers and in the early 20th Century it was used as a store by the War Office, whose attempt to demolish it in 1904 was met with angry local opposition.

The Chapel was restored in 1911 and again in 1971. The floor tiles depicting fishing scenes that run under the window between the pew and the fireplace are by the famous St Ives potter, Bernard Leach.