Herefordshire Through Time
Herefordshire Through Time
Historic Environment Record reference no. 34513, Ordnance Survey grid reference: SO 5103 3515
A Wesleyan Methodist Chapel on Ridge Hill, which is not marked on the 1st Edition OS map for this area.
HER no. 35771, OS grid ref: SO 4650 5118
This chapel is located just outside the village of Westhope near Canon Pyon. The chapel is marked on the 1st edition OS map of 1890 but is missing from the 1984 edition. The chapel is of brick with a slate roof. Above the front door is an inscription which can no longer be read, and on either side of the door is a large round-headed window, which is the same as the opposite wall.
Before the chapel was built the Methodists at Westhope would meet in private houses, but in March 1858 a Miss Sarah Reynolds provided the land and the chapel was erected for £95 in the same year, with a seating capacity of 135. At that time there were 28 members in the local society. Attendance was alleged to have been 100 on a Sunday and 80 at the weeknight services.
By 1860 the membership had dropped to 24 but they were still averaging 80-90 people on a Sunday and 30 on a weekday.
Originally the chapel had no Sunday School, but one was established by 1866; there were four teachers and 35 scholars. By 1882 the chapel had two services on a Sunday - at 2.30pm and 6pm - with an evening service every Thursday.
The membership at Westhope Chapel slowly dropped and by 1933 there were only 10 members. Eventually the services stopped and the chapel building was sold to a Mr. Williams.
(Information taken from Fred Bluck, Methodism in the Marches)
HER no. 35772, OS grid ref: SO 4638 5105
A Mission Room in the centre of Westhope that is not marked on the 1890 1st Edition map for this area. The building is on the side of the main village road and is built of green corrugated iron. A sign on the gate reads: "Church of St Francis, Westhope in the parish of Canon Pyon".
HER no. 35249, OS grid ref: SO 4500 3700
A Primitive Methodist Chapel at Gorsty Common, close to Clehonger to the west of Hereford.
The chapel is now empty and in poor condition. It was last used for worship in 1957 and had been active for around 100 years. There are five gravestones at the front of the chapel but there may be more hidden.
On the 1st Edition OS map of 1887 the chapel is marked as a Jubilee Chapel.
The datestone on the chapel reads "Primitive Methodist Jubilee Chapel. 'A Jubilee Shall That Fiftieth Year Be Unto You', 1860".
HER no. 1411, OS grid ref: SO 2620 4420
To the south-east of Hardwick Court stands a ruined chapel dated to c. 1754. On the 1844 tithe map the field is named as "Chapel Orchard".
HER no. 33826, OS grid ref: SO 2569 4519
A large grey stone chapel close to Priory Wood in Clifford in the west of the county. The chapel is very simple in design with a door and two round-headed windows on the side.
A Non-conformist chapel of 1827 with later 19th century alterations. It is built of rubble with a half hipped slate roof. The south front has two sash windows under semi-circular arches. The windows are flanked by iron girders. The entrance to the chapel was also on this side.
The interior was re-arranged in the late 19th century, with the pulpit within a raised enclosure to the west end.
There is a centrally placed datestone which reads: "Calvinistic Methodist Chapel 1827". The building is Grade II Listed, but is no longer used as a chapel.
(Information taken from English Heritage's Listed Building listing description.)
HER no. 1393, OS grid ref: SO 2880 4470
A small chapel at Middlewood seen by Silas Taylor in 1657. It is also mentioned in Duncomb's History of Herefordshire in 1897 (in volume 25).
HER no. 35596, OS grid ref: SO 6466 6100
To the north of Lowerfield House is a building which is marked on the 1st Edition OS map as a Primitive Methodist Chapel.
HER no. 35670, OS grid ref : SO 7508 4126
To the west of Evendine, and opposite Colwall Post Office, is a building marked as a chapel on the 2nd Edition OS map of 1905. No denomination is given.
HER no. 35588, OS grid ref: SO 3675 6305
The chapel at Combe Moor stands near the road that leads from Mortimer's Cross to Presteigne. It is on a narrow track and is almost hidden from passers-by.
The building is of stone with a slate roof and a front porch with double doors and windows on each side. A plaque over the door reads "Primitive Methodist Church 1865". The chapel has now been converted into a house with extensions either side of the main building.
Few records survive of the religious life of this chapel. It is not shown on the Circuit Plan for 1948 and it is assumed that services had ceased by this time. Unusually, it is shown on the Plan for 1962 after it had been re-opened by a couple from Birmingham who kept a shop nearby. When they moved away the chapel was closed once again.
On 17th January 1967 the Circuit Chapel Committee agreed to the closure of Combe Moor Chapel, and the building was later sold.
(Information taken from Fred Bluck, Methodism in the Marches)
HER no. 30794, OS grid ref: 7270 4713
A Chapel is shown on the second edition OS map of 1905 within a strip field, which suggests a post-medieval date.
This chapel is one of several chapels in the area which originally belonged to the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion. Selina, Countess of Huntingdon married into wealthy and influential circles. In 1739, after her conversion, she became a close associate of Charles Wesley and George Whitefield and joined the Methodists. She founded a non-denominational theological college in South Wales which later moved to Cambridge. She founded many chapels, appointing ministers and travelling across the country promoting the cause. This chapel was founded in 1823.
HER no. 36557, OS grid ref: SO 7143 4800
To the north of Ridgeway Cross, in an area called Snails Bank on OS maps, stands a building which is marked as a Mission Room on the 1886 1st Edition OS map. It is not marked as a place of worship on modern OS maps, and is now a private house.
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.
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.
HER no. 36924, OS grid ref: SO 4379 4284
A Methodist Chapel and adjoining manse. Built in 1830 but with 20th century alterations, it is of red brick with a hipped slate roof. The chapel is entered on the south front, which has a dentilled eaves cornice. Semi-circular headed windows flank the doorway.
The chapel is associated with the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion and was originally built for Calvinistic Methodists.
The chapel is still in use today.
HER no. 21507, OS grid ref: SO 4705 6481
In the centre of Yarpole village is this small brick-built chapel with a slate roof. Above the brick porch at the front an inscription reads "Wesleyan Centenary Chapel".
The land required for the chapel was secured in March 1891 from Mrs M. Mason of the Post Office and handed over to Mr. Charles Norgrove and the trustees. The chapel was built on a plot of land adjacent to the Post Office, which is still open today. Mrs Mason also performed the opening ceremony and organised the Sunday School. Each Christmas there would be a Christmas tree and gifts for the children, and in the summer a local farmer would lend a horse and dray to take the children to Bircher Common for a picnic.
By 1931 there was a Sunday evening service and a service every third Thursday. During 1944 there were 11 members but this had dropped to four by 1954. Later the Border Counties Commission Experiment recommend that the chapel amalgamate with the local Baptists. The chapel continued for a few more years before finally closing in 1971.
HER no. 23985, OS grid ref: SO 4595 6535
A stone-built Methodist Chapel located near Bircher Common. A plaque in the wall dates the building to 1841; it was converted into a house in 1996. It is suggested that the building was once a barn, but a bread oven at one end of the structure backs up the theory that it may originally have been a house.
According to an extract from the Primitive Methodist Magazine of 1842 the barn for the chapel was donated by Mr. Thomas Meredith after many successful Camp Meetings in the area. The chapel was opened for Divine Worship on Sunday 8th August 1841.
In February 1964 it was agreed to transfer the Bircher Common Society from the Ludlow Circuit to the Leominster Circuit. By 1968 the Reverend Lewis had suggested using the chapel for conferences, and alterations for this purpose were carried out in 1972.
[Original author: Miranda Greene, 2003]