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My great grandfather John Sumners was, according to his obituary, the superintendent of the Steele Street Sunday School for 19 years. He died in 1924, so the years would have been 1905-1924. I hunted a long time to decide that this little house was the church. Now I am delighted to have stumbled upon your site, confirming my find. Thank you. Sharon in Niagara Falls, ON
Bishop Lane Chapel was built in 1815. In 1851 it had 296 free and 1166 other sittings. By 1860 the original building and subsequent extensions and alterations had cost £4800. In1868 it had seating for 1600. In 1873 the chapel provided seating for 1260 persons. Schools were erected on a site east of the chapel in 1873 (See https://www.mywesleyanmethodists.org.uk/content/topics-2/education/leicester-bishop-street-wesleyan-schools-leicestershire). In 1940 the chapel had seating for 900 in pews and there was one schoolroom and seven other rooms. It continues to be used as a Methodist place of worship. Sources TNA HO129/417/1/13 Leicestershire etc. Record Office, N/M/NDD 1-15, Annual trust returns, Nottingham and Derby District 1860-1878 Whites Directory for Leicestershire, 1868, p 177 Wesleyan seating returns, 1873, p 57 Leicestershire etc. Record Office 23D67 Leicester building plans no 4062 Methodist Accommodation returns, 1940 Site visit 16.3.2019
The building to the left (beyond the tree and on the corner of Staffordshire Street) was the original manse for Hardres Street. Although long sold, the restrictive covenants were still in place in the 1970s I seem to recall!
I am a descendant of Martha Sussanah Cownley. Thanks for putting this history together. Is there a picture of Joseph Cownley or any family members?
I omitted one of my sources from the above: Leicestershire, etc Record Office, Building bye law plan no. 13187 of 1879
I have just been to visit a retired local preacher and his wife who showed me a poster for the opening a chapel in our circuit (though now closed) which advertised the Reverend Rattenbury as the preacher.
Very little remains of this building. The newel caps from the perimeter wall have been reused at the front of the new building and there are several foundations stones set into a wall at the back of the site,
Thanks Janice; I have now moved the chapel to the next door County!
I think this chapel was just inside Staffordshire, not Shropshire. The border is very close, but the crossroads just next to the chapel are shown on O.S. maps as in Staffordshire.
Great to see the Lower Caversham, New Wesleyan School Chapel and the foundation stone of July 15th 1891. My Grand Mother and her parents Mr and Mrs McIlroy (Department store in Broad St.) were members here and I have a Book of Wesley’s Hymns and new supplement which was presented to my Great Mother on the day of the dedication.
The original Chapel was pulled down and replaced on the same site by the new one of 1865, which still stands.
Camborne is the correct spelling of this Cornish town.
My great grandfather was Rev John Henry Sholl
The family story is that John Wesley preached from my Great (x3) grandfather Joseph Salkeld’s farm in Gamblesby & that he gave the land on which the chapel was built in 1784 & laid the foundation stone Joseph became a preacher of the Methodist persuasion & in 1781 Joseph Salkeld of Alston and a fellow preacher Stephen Brunskill obtained permission of the Mayor of Kendal to preach from the old stone stepe on the Market Place. Salkeld at 1 o ‘clock and Brunskill t 4.0 o’clock. – thus began the first established Wesleyan Methodist cause in Kendal
I was born in 1932 and used to go to Ashby Rd Chapel as a child. My brother (born 1922) was very engaged with the Young Mens’ group along with Ernie, Eric and the other members of the Wright family. Mr, Hallam was the Superintendent and he read out the notices on Sundays with some difficulty because he was scarcely literate, but utterly honest and kind.
I was trying to explain to a friend how ‘The Anniversary’ was organised in all the Methodist chapels in the town..Weslyans, Baptists, etc. and how important it was, with extra chairs being placed all down the aisles on Sunday evenngs. At about 8 or 10 I gave up on Sunday School – and indeed religion generally – when the teacher told us the Earth was 6000 years old when I already had some knowledge of paleontology and geology.
However, these were enormously formative years for me and the sense of community and fellowship is never totally lost. The chapel itself was abandoned and demolished many years ago.
The chapel has now been sold (July 2018) to be restored as a private dwelling. More historical information on http://www.bosburyhistoryresource.org.uk
Users should be aware that this is the same building that is on my page Oxford, New Inn Hall Street, Wesley Memorial Wesleyan Church, Oxfordshire
I have information about both the Forsyths and the Lancasters that would help both William Shearer and Cecil Rose, but is not of general interest. I have contacted the website to see how we may be put in touch.
Lydia Gray
This chapel has now been converted to domestic use.
Hi. My wife’s grandfather John Lancaster (b 1874), came from Hunsonby. His father was John Lancaster (b 1831) who farmed at Hunsonby. John jnr emigrated to South Africa somewhere between 1901 and 1908 when he got married there. We are trying to trace any information about the family that remained in Hunsonby. Can you help?
This fine building was built as the 2nd Wesleyan Chapel in Camborne. To this day both building are extensively used for social outreach and worship. The Mother Chapel is Camborne Wesley that is located in Chapel Street.
Thank you for pointing that out, Colin. We will contact Janine and move the page to our sister site, My Methodist History, which includes the United Methodist Church
Hi Sue. I wonder if you could email me. I think you might be related to my husband. We have a document of William Allwood’s you might be interested in. My email is callwood110@btinternet.com. Thanks
The architect was Joseph Botham. Eastbrook Hall, now closed, was opened on the site in 1903, architect W.J.Morley
Built 1804, rebuilt 1850 including façade, and further alterations in 1859, architect William Botterill, Replaced bytre Now demolished KIng’s Hall in 1910
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