Emneth is located on the boundary of Norfolk and Cambridgeshire with a postal address of Wisbech (Cambs). At one time there were three chapels of Methodist persuasion in this village.
The first Wesleyan chapel opened in 1815 with sittings for 260. Replacing it was the (extant) building on Gaultree Square which opened on Sunday 5th November 1854. The Rev Thomas Hughes of Market Rasen preached at the inaugural service. The chapel seated 140.
A sizeable number of members withdrew from the cause during the upheavals of the Reform movement, and built their own chapel (Wesleyan Reform) nearby in The Wroe.
Circuits: Wisbech Wesleyan; and Wisbech Methodist post-union.
Following union (1932) it was known as the Wesley to avoid confusion with the ex-Primitive which became the Central. In 1940 the two amalgamated, leaving the Central as Emneth’s sole Methodist church. The Wesley is included in the 1940 Methodist Returns but presumably closed soon after.
It is now a dwelling called Chapel Lodge. There is a weathered stone plaque on the front elevation of the property.
Sources include
Census of Religious Worship 1851 (Norfolk): Ed. J Ede and N Virgoe 1998
Wesleyan Returns of Accommodation 1873
Lynn Advertiser 10th May 1940
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