Digital Archive: Methodist Chapels in Ewyas Lacy and the Golden Valley, Ewyas Lacy, Golden Valley, 1800s, Ewyas Lacy Study Group

Held at:	Internet
Reference:	https://www.myprimitivemethodists.org.uk
Source:	webpages
Title:	Digital Archive: Methodist Chapels in Ewyas Lacy and the Golden Valley
Place name:	Ewyas Lacy, Golden Valley
Date:	1800s

Description:

The rise of religious dissent and Nonconformist movements in Herefordshire in the nineteenth century is documented in a variety of articles on the ‘Herefordshire in Time’ website of Herefordshire Council, which are summarised here.

They describe how a Religious Census conducted in 1851 revealed that nearly half of those that attended church services in Herefordshire did so at a dissenting meeting house. In Ewyas Lacy and the surrounding area the strongest of the dissenting denominations were Methodists and Baptists, who gained congregations at the expense of the established Anglican Church during the first half of the nineteenth century. They constructed meeting places which were relatively cheap to build and maintain and where the emphasis was placed on communal religious worship, whereas the Anglican church had traditionally positioned itself more as a means of maintaining the social order, in elaborate buildings with seating graduated according to status and services often delivered in a language that emphasised divisions of wealth and class.

Some argue that the growth of the dissenting denominations reflected a more general drift away from ancient manorial and feudal traditions as the working and middle classes began to strive for wider political and economic reform. Others argue that their popularity was because they were more evangelical, and the directness and simplicity of their teachings appealed to the rural working class. Whatever the reasons, a large number of non-conformist chapels and meeting houses appeared in a relatively short period of time, led in Ewyas Lacy by the so-called 'primitive' Methodists who espoused a community based approach with particular appeal to the rural working class.

Non-conformism was not without its dangers for the congregations, however. Choosing to worship away from the established church was easily seen as a slight to the local elite who controlled many aspects of dissenters’ lives - and indeed to some extent may have been intended as such. Nevertheless rural labourers and tradesmen in particular typically earned their livelihoods from local farmers and gentry who were often central figures in the Anglican parish church. The repercussions if their employers took offence over religious differences could be and sometimes were severe.

For this reason, amongst others, in the early part of the nineteenth century most preachers from the non-conformist religions were itinerant, travelling around the country spreading their faith by preaching in the open air or at private meetings, often in remote locations where the attendance of local people was less obvious. By the mid to late nineteenth century non-conformism had become somewhat less controversial and dedicated chapels and meeting houses began to appear; most of those in Ewyas Lacy and the Golden Valley date from that time, but even then the tradition of itinerant preachers covering a 'circuit' persisted as it was felt to help keep their message fresh and relevant.

Methodist chapels in Herefordshire are comprehensively described on a website at https://www.myprimitivemethodists.org.uk/content/category/chapels/herefordshire . Those in Ewyas Lacy and the Golden Valley have been abstracted from that source and are shown below, with location details and Historic Environment Record [HER] reference numbers abstracted from Herefordshire in Time.

Craswall: Methodist Chapel

HER no. 34634, OS grid ref: SO 2927 3443

Close to Forest Mill is a chapel marked as Primitive Methodist on the 1891 OS map. It is still marked as a chapel on modern OS maps.

Chapel pictured in 1992 - converted to a dwelling

David Hill

Chapel pictured in 1992

David Hill

Cwm: Methodist Chapel

HER no. 48866, OS grid ref: SO 3016 3297

To the northwest of Cwm Mill is a chapel marked as Primitive Methodist on the 1891 OS map. It is no longer marked as a place of worship on modern OS maps. The Cwm, in Clodock parish, Herefordshire, was the base for the missioning of Herefordshire from 1826 onwards. A chapel was built next to Cwm farmhouse in 1828 and it was still in use in 1940, when it could accommodate 100 souls sitting on forms. It was the head of a Circuit from 1826 to Union in 1932, and then of the Cwm and Kingstone Circuit which existed until this century. The chapel itself seems to have gone out of Methodist use before 1970.

The ruined chapel

David Hill

Converted chapel photographed in October 2015

David Hill

Newton Zion Primitive Methodist Chapel, St Margarets

Historic Environment Record reference no. 33582, Ordnance Survey grid reference: SO 3470 3290

A chapel which dates from 1833.

Converted chapel photographed in 1992

David Hill

Wall Plaque

David Hill

Newton Chapel Zion PM Chapel, St Margarets, Herefordshire, 2000

Paul Wood

Newton Chapel Zion PM Chapel, St Margarets, Herefordshire, 2000

Paul Wood

Newton Chapel Zion PM Chapel, St Margarets, Herefordshire, 2000

Paul Wood

Peterchurch [Golden Valley]: Primitive Methodist Chapel

HER no. 35668, OS grid ref: SO 3431 3907

A grey stone chapel in the village of Peter church, not far from the Baptist Chapel. On the 1st Edition OS map of 1887 the building is marked as a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel but on modern OS maps it is not marked, suggesting that it is no longer used for worship and has most probably been converted into a residence.

Converted chapel photographed in 1991

David Hill

Urishay: Methodist Chapel

HER no. 37141, OS grid ref: SO 3195 3788

A Primitive Methodist Chapel to the north-west of Urishay Castle that is no longer marked as a place of worship, but is shown on the 1891 OS map.

Kelly’s Directory, 1929 for Herefordshire reports that there is Primitive Methodist Chapel at Urishay, built in 1867, seating 100 persons, although the statistical return of Methodist Churches in 1940 gives the seating capacity as 60.

There is an account by William Gwillim in the 1858 Primitive Methodist magazine April 1858 pp.238-239 of the opening of Urishay Primitive Methodist chapel. There was no other place of worship locally, and in the summer of 1857 William Lewis of Crickhowell gave the society a thousand year lease at 2/6 per annum on a site where they built a stone walled, blue-slate roofed chapel.

It opened on January 17th 1858 with sermons by Mr Gwillim of Great Campstone and Mrs Gwillim of Kingstone. The total cost was £90 of which they expected to raise £60. Donors included Mr Powell and family of Snodhill, Mr Jenkins of Snodhill and Mr Jones of Oteley. The following Sunday they held a protracted meeting with several preachers including Mr Peake.

[photograph not available]

Dorstone [Golden Valley]: Methodist Chapel

HER no. 36559, OS grid ref. SO 3151 4163

A chapel situated in the centre of Dorstone village, on a road called Chapel Lane.

The chapel is of red brick with yellow stone dressings around the edges. The door is a pointed arch shape in the middle at the front and has a matching pointed arched window on either side. The datestone above the door reads ”Bethesda Primitive Methodist Chapel 1864″.

On the 1844 tithe map the building is marked as cottages, but on the First Edition OS map of 1891 it is marked as a Primitive Methodist Chapel. The chapel is still there today, but planning permission was granted in June 2014 to convert the chapel into a 2-bedroom property for holiday letting.

Dorstone PM Chapel - 1992

David Hill

Wall Plaque

David Hill

Ewyas Harold [Golden Valley]: Methodist Chapel

HER no. 36616, OS grid ref: SO 3895 2850

A Chapel that is marked as “Primitive Methodist” on the 1st Edition OS map. The building is of red brick with a low-pitched slate roof. At the front there is a small slate-roofed porch with a round-headed window on either side. Above the windows are yellow brick dressings. An extension appears to have been added to one side.

The chapel is still in use as a place of worship (2015) and is within the Shropshire and Marches Methodist Circuit.

Ewyas Harold PM chapel - 1992

David Hill

Photograph taken in 1992

David Hill

Llanrosser Primitive Methodist Chapel

HER no. 37140, OS grid ref: SO 2889 3769

A Primitive Methodist Chapel to the south-west of Llanrosser, Michaelchurch Escley, which is marked on both the modern and the 1885 1st Edition OS maps.

Chapel pictured in June 1992

David Hill

Interior of chapel in 2006

David Hill

Photo taken July 2017 of Chapel plaque

E & R Pearce

Photo taken July 2017 during conversion to a dwelling

E & R Pearce

Longtown: Ebenezer Primitive Methodist Chapel

OS Map Ref:161:SO326284

The Primitive Methodist chapel was built in 1889 of stone, classified as being rock faced. Date of closure is unknown but in 2017 it has been converted into a dwelling. Salem Baptist chapel nearby, built in 1843, is still used for worship. The 1889 Primitive Methodist magazine (page 571) contains a report of the soon to occur opening of a new chapel at Longtown in the Cwm station.. There had been an active society in the village for 60 years – during which time they had met in 10 different places.

Photos taken July 2017

Lower Maescoed Primitive Methodist Chapel

HER no. 36614, OS grid ref: SO 3485 3052

A Bethel Primitive Methodist Chapel at Lower Maescoed. It is marked as a Bethel Chapel on both the 1st Edition and modern OS maps.

Exterior of chapel in 1992

David Hill

Wall Plaque

David Hill

Upper Maescoed Primitive Methodist Church

OS map reference SO 326 352

The original church was built in 1924 with a more modern extension attached to the rear. The property was sold in 2018 with outline planning permission for conversion to a private dwelling.