Herefordshire Through Time
Herefordshire Through Time
Historic Environment Record reference no. 35603, Ordnance Survey grid reference: SO 3820 5619
Bearwood Chapel is found halfway between Pembridge and Broxwood, just off the main route. It is a small, white, slate-roofed chapel with three windows on each side wall and a slate-roofed porch to the front.
In July 1864 a group of local people joined together to purchase a site from John Hoskins of Bearwood for £2 5s and 0d. The construction of the chapel was started later the same year. The chapel cost £135 6s 8d to build.
In the 1880s there was trouble at Bearwood when the Trust Treasurer borrowed £24 of Trust money for use in his own business, which subsequently failed. Numbers at Bearwood declined until in 1888 there were no members, although services still continued.
G.L. Harriman in Pastor at Pembridge, a book he wrote about his experiences as a lay preacher in Pembridge in 1949, says that although Bearwood was well attended it was also something of a problem. The people who organised the evening meetings did not do so very often and sometimes forgot to turn up.
Up until 1969 the chapel had a thriving Sunday School with annual outings to the seaside and Christmas parties.
Electricity was installed in the chapel as late as December 1960. In the Spring of 1975 the chapel was re-decorated; the re-opening service was held on 22nd May and conducted by the Reverend John Clarke.
Regular Sunday services continue to be held at this small chapel, and on Sunday 9th May 2004 the 140th anniversary was celebrated, attended by almost 60 people. The service also celebrated the recent restoration and refurbishment of Bearwood Chapel.
(Information taken from Fred Bluck, Methodism in the Marches)
HER no. 31489, OS grid ref: SO 3629 5770
A Methodist Chapel shown on the 1st Edition and 1964 OS maps. On the 1842 Tithe Map the field is labelled chapel and is under the ownership of the Wesleyan Methodists, who are the trustees of Thomas Copner. The field behind the chapel is labelled as Meeting House Field and is owned by Thomas Copner.
The building is on the left hand side as you go through the hamlet of Marston from Pembridge and is now in private ownership.
There were Methodists in this area in the early 19th century, and by 1835 there were seven members in Marston. By 1860 there was a chapel in Marston which was one of seven in the Kington Circuit. The chapel that stands today is a later version, which was built in 1891 by the Wesleyan Methodists. By 1949 the numbers had dropped to just two members at Marston, and these were soon transferred to Pembridge.
There was no Sunday School at Marston, and the children had to walk to Pembridge to attend the Sunday School there.
In 1967 it was agreed that Marston chapel should be put up for sale.
HER no. 31450, OS grid ref: SO 3620 5945
On the 1842 Tithe Map the location of the chapel is occupied by a cottage and garden, but on the 1964 OS map it is marked as a chapel. It was probably converted in the 19th century.
HER no. 35595, OS grid ref: SO 3903 5815
The chapel sits by the side of the main road through the village, directly opposite the New Inn Public House. In 1890 Charles Russell donated land for a chapel and the building was erected in 1891 with the help of local members.
Services started with a Class Meeting at 10.30am, followed by Sunday School at 11.15am. The afternoon service started at 2.30pm and the evening service at 6.30pm.
Tuesday evening was Fellowship Night and Prayer Meetings were held on Friday evenings at 7.30pm. Until electricity was installed in the chapel in 1935, solid fuel stoves and oil lamps were used during services.
In 1948 the Congregational Chapel just up the road in East Street was purchased by Mr. T. Russell and donated to the circuit. It was renovated and used for Sunday School, among other things (see below).
In 1962 it was decided to move back to the High Street Chapel. The Pembridge Chapel now worships with Bearwood and Eardisland at Bearwood Chapel on the 1st and 3rd Sundays in the month and returns the favour on the 2nd and 4th Sundays.
(Information taken from Fred Bluck, Methodism in the Marches)
HER no. 36929, OS grid ref: SO 3920 5815
A former Congregational Chapel that was bought by the Methodists, whose chapel was just down the road in High Street. It was used by the Methodists for the Sunday School, as well as for Guides, Scouts, Youth Club and Women's Bright Hour. In 1962 the Methodists returned to using only the High Street Chapel (see above) and the Congregational Chapel was later sold. It is now used as a gallery selling many different arts and crafts.
(Information taken from Fred Bluck, Methodism in the Marches)
HER no. 35759, OS grid ref: SO 3593 5582
Situated some four miles from the village of Pembridge, between the hamlets of Weston and Moorcot. This small chapel can be found at the bottom of the turning for Moor Court. The chapel is of corrugated iron with a small annexe on the eastern end. The roof is of stone tiles with a good-sized bellcote at the western end. On the southern side elevation are four ornate leaded-light windows. On the north side there are three, along with a wooden porch with stone tiled roof. The entrance to the porch is a pointed arch, which is flanked by smaller pointed arches. At the western end is an attractive window formation with three pointed arches.
There are decorative crosses on the bellcote, porch and eastern annexe, and ornate hinges on the small wooden door.
On the Tithe Map of 1842, the area is marked as meadows and gardens under the ownership of James Davies, but on the 1st Edition OS map of 1888 the chapel is marked as a Mission Room and Sunday School. Today, however, the chapel is used for Church of England services.
Within the grounds of the chapel is a separate smaller timber-framed building of one room. It may have once been used for the Sunday School.
This is a truly stunning chapel in a beautiful rural location.
HER no. 35760, OS grid ref: SO 3665 5475
In the hamlet of Lower Broxwood, approximately 4½ miles from Pembridge, lies this small chapel of grey sandstone. The front door has a pointed arch and large ornate hinges. The doorway opens down the middle and has stone arch detailing. Either side of the doorway is a simple window with pointed arch and stone arch detailing. The roof is of slate and has a relatively low pitch.
The datestone reads "Independent Chapel School House Founded October 24 1844".
In front of the chapel is a small grassed area behind a low brick wall with gate and end pillars and topped with an iron fence.
On the one side of the chapel is a small attached storeroom, which may have been the vestry. There was also originally a lean-to building to the rear but this has since been removed.
On the 1st Edition OS map of 1889, this chapel is marked as an Independent Chapel. It was founded in 1844 and erected by 1845. The founder and first preacher was the Reverend William Denham Ingham. It was founded for "promoting the Christian Religion as professed by Protestant Dissenters of the Denomination of Independents or Congregational Dissenters at Pembridge" (Abstract of the Title: there is a copy in the HER, the original is in the possession of the chapel's owners, Mr. and Mrs. M. Smith).
On 27th November 1956 a conveyance was made to sell the chapel for no less than £50; it was sold to a group of trustees for use as an Elim Pentecostal chapel.
The chapel was later sold into private use and now belongs to the old school-house next door. It is currently used as a workshop, and great care and attention has been made to restore and preserve the original chapel details.
(With thanks to Mike and Eileen Smith for their help with research and for allowing entry to the chapel.)
HER no. 12009, OS grid ref: SO 5703 5518
A small chapel built c.1744. The chapelry was restored and re-endowed in 1774.
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.
HER no. 35663, OS grid ref: SO 3437 3897
A red brick chapel in Peterchurch, which is a village in west Herefordshire. The chapel is of wide frontage with a slightly pointed arched doorway with a smaller window of similar style to each side. Above the doorway is a set of three windows of the same shape. There are blue brick dressings to the front of the chapel, with yellow brick dressings around the windows and doors. Along the sides of the chapel are two sets of two windows of the same shape as those on the front.
The chapel stands in its own small plot of land with a stone wall topped by white railings to the front. A stone in the chapel wall is hard to read but most probably says "Baptist Particular Chapel".
On the 1st Edition OS map of 1887 there are two chapels marked in Peterchurch, very close to each other. One chapel is marked "Wesleyan Methodist Chapel" and the other "Particular Baptist Chapel". Only one is marked on modern OS maps, and it is this Baptist Chapel.
HER no. 35668, OS grid ref: SO 3431 3907
A grey stone chapel in the village of Peterchurch, not far from the Baptist Chapel (see above). 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.
HER no. 36634, OS grid ref: SO 5656 2445
A Methodist Chapel shown on the 1st Edition OS map. The chapel is on the A49 in the centre of Peterstow village, not far from the Post Office. It is a small, one-room building of red brick with yellow stone dressings. At the front are two large round-headed windows on either side of a similarly styled door.
HER no. 36561, OS grid ref: SO 3850 4155
Preston-on-Wye is a village in the south-west of the county, sitting not far from the south bank of the River Wye. The chapel is on the main road that runs through the village. On the 1st Edition OS map of 1886, the building is marked as a Providence Primitive Methodist Chapel, and the building is still marked as a chapel on the 1998 OS map.
The chapel is of three bays with rubble exterior sides and a red brick front. The front of the chapel has round-headed double doors and a large round-headed window on each side of the entrance. Above the door is a moulded band of bricks and in the triangular section above this band is a date stone which reads: "Providence Primitive Methodist Chapel, 1862".
HER no. 36562, OS grid ref: SO 3850 4160
This is a Methodist Chapel situated just a few yards from the Providence Methodist Chapel (see above). The chapel is a small building with a red brick front. The entrance is via round-headed double doors with yellow stone embellishments. Either side of the doors is a large, round-headed window, again with yellow stone decoration. Above the windows is a moulded band and a small date stone sits above this.
The chapel is marked on the 1st Edition OS map as a Jubilee Chapel, which if it was built for Queen Victoria's Silver Jubilee would give it a date of 1862, the same as the nearby Providence Chapel. If it was built to commemorate the Queen's Golden Jubilee it would have a date of 1887. The date on the stone is unclear but it looks like it may read "Jubilee ... [something illegible] ...1886".