Bridgtown (Bridgetown) Wesleyan Methodist chapel

Englesea Brook Museum of Primitive Methodism postcard and picture collection contains this photograph labelled “Wesley chapel, Bridgtown”. We were confused as to which chapel this was.

Bridgtown, usually spelled Bridgetown, is in Staffordshire and Staffordshire records refer to a Primitive Methodist chapel in East Street and a New Connexion (later United Methodist) chapel in Park Street. Google Street View shows no sign of the existence of either of these that I can find now, although they are both visible on the 1918 1:2,500 Ordnance Survey map. The map also shows a Wesleyan Methodist chapel in Union Street which is visible on Google Street View in 2009 but it doesn’t look like the building in the picture.

However, in March 2016 we were contacted by Barbara Sigley who said ” The Wesley Chapel, in Union Street, Bridgtown was built in 1879. In 1909 the present chapel was built in front of it, closer to the road and the original chapel was used as the Sunday School until in was demolished. The current fellowship at Bethel is small but vibrant.”