Cinderford Wesleyan Methodist Church

Cinderford Wesleyan Methodist Church ‘Wesley’ Belle Vue Road
The society began in 1822 from a petition on behalf of the ‘Methodist Society of Colliers in the Forest of Dean’ who described the change in men who had come to know God from ‘lawless heathen’ to men who feared God. The present Church was opened in 1849 as a Wesleyan Church, but kept as the property of Mr Aaron Gould; colliery owner, who provided and paid for a resident preacher. The chapel was described as ‘the most beautiful building in Cinderford’. Problems led to its closure in 1873 but it was reopened on the Wesleyan Trust in 1881. It is unusual for a Methodist Church in that it has a number of stained glass windows in memory of various members of local families who supported the church with depictions of some of their interests as well as local scenes. In 2004 Wesley Methodist Church was joined by the Church Road Methodists to become Cinderford Methodist Church