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The Encyclopaedia of Plymouth History |
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The St Budeaux Wesleyan Chapel was on the north side of Vicarage Road, Higher St Budeaux. The first Wesleyan meeting place at St Budeaux was in a building which formed part of Millbrook Cottages. This was registered in 1858 by Mr Thomas Knight, superintendent shipwright at HM Dockyard.
This is said to be the first
Wesleyan Chapel at As can be seen from the photograph above, it became very dilapidated and inadequate for that use, prompting several prominent members of the congregation to look for an alternative site upon which to build a brand new Chapel. An elevated site alongside what was then the old Saltash Road was given to them by Mr Newby Spooner. With plans prepared by Mr W J Carder, an architect from Millbrook, Cornwall, and a tender accepted from Messrs Paynter & Davy of Bedford Place, Plymouth, the memorial stones for the building were laid on Wednesday December 7th 1892. The day was apparently very cold and unpleasant but a large gathering from St Budeaux, Devonport and Ford opened the proceedings with the hymn "These stones to Thee in faith we lay". The circuit choir was directed by Mr Davis. After a prayer from the Reverend C Speck and a portion of the scriptures was read by the Reverend A D White, the memorial stones were declared well and truly laid. The first was set in position by the Reverend J Felvus, standing in for Colonel Hipwell, who was unavoidably absent. Various documents of the time were placed in a bottle that was laid beneath this stone. Mrs Pearse laid the next stone, followed by Mr W Tonkin, Mr W F Moon on behalf of his wife, Mr T Whitby junior, and Mrs Short of St Budeaux. The three remaining stones were then laid by Mr T R Hawking, Mrs W A Saunders and Mr T Squire. It was so cold that the Reverend W Maltby, chairman and superintendent minister of the district, deferred giving the address. Instead the gathering retired to an adjoining barn, lent by Mr J Ford, for tea.
The 1893 Methodist Chapel at The Chapel was dedicated at 3pm on Wednesday June 14th 1893. It was constructed of dressed limestone, with black facings, and a porch. The windows at the front were of stained glass while the remainder were of Cathedral tinted glass. The roof beams were of polished pitch pine, which was also used for the rostrum and the pews. A partition in the centre of the building divided the schoolroom from the Chapel. There was seating for 160 in the Chapel but 200 could be accommodated at a pinch. The schoolroom could hold one hundred children. The building and fees had cost £725. A prayer meeting was held first, presided over by the Reverend W T Gill. This was followed by an ordinary service at which the Reverend W Maltby, chairman of the Devonport and Plymouth Western circuit preached. The Saltash Wesleyan Choir, accompanied by Mr E D K Hawke on the harmonium (kindly lent by Captain Short), provided the choral music. The weather in June being somewhat better than when the memorial stones were laid, at 5pm the gathering then moved to an adjoining field lent by Mr Cole of St Budeaux, where tea was served by Mesdames Short, Doidge, Bartlett, Mends, Knawles, Moon, Camp, Gregory, Jones, Martin, Truscott, Foster, Cuthbert, Hayman and Saunders assisted by the Misses Camp, Martin, Peard and Foster. It survived until after the Second World War but has become a Royal British Legion branch meeting place. The foundation stone of a new Methodist Chapel for St Budeaux was laid in September 1956 by Mr Isaac Foot.
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