PLYMOUTH |
The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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The Plymouth Methodist Central Hall is located at the top end of Cornwall Street, Plymouth. The Central Hall is a direct descendant of the first Wesleyan/Methodist meeting house in the garden of Mr Prideaux's house in Mud Lane. As the congregation grew so did the desire to have a larger place in which to worship. When the Old Town Gate was removed in 1809 this opened up the opportunity to move to a more pleasant site outside the very congested Town. When Plymothians had died of the plague they had been buried on a site just outside the Old Town Gate and it was this site that the Methodist congregation purchased. In 1633 it had been sold by Sir Francis Drake to Mr William Rowe of Stonehouse, hence the name of Rowe Street just to the north of the site. It had changed hands many times and eventually was purchased by Captain Fanshaw, who was Commissioner of the Plymouth Royal Dockyard. The foundation stone was laid on Saturday March 16th 1816 and it was opened in September the following year, when it received its name, the Ebenezer Wesleyan Chapel. The building is reputed to have cost £20,000, although seems rather excessive. The burial ground continued to be used. Some major work was carried out in 1860. This involved the removal of the staircases outside the chapel and turn it into an enclosed vestibule, allowing the inner porch to be fitted up with an additional 70 pews. The children's seats which were in the end gallery were also to be removed and replaced with open seating. This would then be used by the military at Sunday morning services and free on all other occasions. It would accommodate about 90 worshippers. The plans were prepared by Mr Foster of Plymouth and the contractor was to be Mr Vernon, also of Plymouth, whose tender of £690 was accepted. Renovation work was carried out in 1892 and a lecture hall and classrooms were opened on Wednesday January 22nd 1908. The Chapels congregation fluctuated over the years until a disaster struck a sister Chapel in Ebrington Street. On the night of Sunday September 12th 1937 the Wesley Chapel was destroyed by fire and its congregation moved to the Ebenezer, albeit in the firm belief that their own Chapel would be quickly rebuilt. As it turned out, the Reverend W E Chivers thought differently and persuaded everybody that it would be better to create a new Mission Church right in the centre of Plymouth, at the Ebenezer Chapel. There was a lot of debate on the subject but eventually this idea was accepted and on Sunday April 16th 1939 the Ebenezer closed its doors in preparation for conversion. The Minister, the Reverend J Leslie Nix, led a day of special events to mark the occasion: a Farewell Rally at 3pm; a Re-union Tea at 4.30pm, presided over by Doctor Rosa Bale; an Organ Recital by the Ebenezer's long serving organist, Mr David Parkes, at 6pm; a United Farewell Service at 6.30pm and finally Holy Communion at 8pm. During the conversion, the pulpit, some of the wooden pews and the organ from the school room went to Wotter Methodist Chapel. Services were held in the school rooms while the work went on. Finally on a gloriously sunny Wednesday May 1st 1940 the new Plymouth Central Hall was opened. Promptly at 3pm Mrs Gentle, one of the oldest members of the Wesley congregation, unlocked the gate to give access to the forecourt, and Mrs E Brewer, an older member of the former Ebenezer Chapel, invited the Reverend Chivers to unveil the plaque which commemorates the official linking of the two Chapels. Mayor-choosing ceremonies and civic meetings took place in the new Hall during the Second World War, as did local events like school prize days during the 1950s until the Guildhall was reopened. One of the most significant events was the granting of the Freedom of the City of Plymouth to Lady Astor. The old school premises were replaced in the 1970 by the present three-storey brick building. In that same year the Prayer Chapel, an octagonal building on the south side of the main building, was opened. This was financed by the family of the late Mrs Isabel H Smith, widow of Mr William B Smith, of Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, but the Chapel is dedicated to the memory of the Right Honourable Isaac Foot (1880-1960), who was not only a Privy Councillor but a well-known Methodist preacher. During the construction work of the new extension, the old burial ground was cleared and the remains transferred to a mass grave at Efford Cemetery. The Plymouth Methodist Central Hall is still in use today and not only offers refreshment of the soul but refreshment of the body in its cafe, which is open from Mondays to Fridays.
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