Netherhay Methodist Chapel

Netherhay Methodist Chapel is a Methodist Chapel in Netherhay, near Drimpton, West Dorset, England.[1] To date, the chapel remains active as part of the South Petherton and Crewkerne Methodist Circuit. The chapel has been a Grade II listed building since 1984.[2]

Netherhay Methodist Chapel in 2000.

The chapel was built with "dressed stone walls on a chert rubble-stone base". It has a slate roof, which includes some carved wooden barge-boards, added in 1898.[2] A burial ground was established alongside the chapel.[3]

History

Netherhay Methodist Chapel was built in 1838. The funds for its construction was raised by public subscription, while the plot of land had been donated by Henry Northover of Greenham. The chapel was opened on 2 October 1838 by Rev. Thomas Lessey.[3][4] In 1887, a schoolroom was added to run Sunday school classes, and in 1898 the chapel was restored and a porch added.[5] By the late 20th century, the chapel was under threat of closure due to the declining number of worshipers.[6]

In the early 2000s, the remaining members of the chapel began looking at restoring and modernising the chapel, while ideas to broaden the chapel's use by the community were considered.[6] After a period of fund-raising, the chapel underwent renovation and modernisation in 2007-08.[7] The chapel remains in active religious use to date, with 15 members. The chapel, available to hire, regularly holds exhibitions and workshops. An adjoining community room is used for small events and meetings, while the chapel's two small studios are let to local artists.[7][8]

References
  1. http://www.heritagegateway.org.uk/Gateway/Results_Single.aspx?resourceID=1012&uid=MDO27741
  2. "METHODIST CHURCH, Broadwindsor - 1290543". Historic England. 1984-07-31. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  3. Pulman, George Philip Rigney (1875). The Book of the Axe: Containing a Piscatorial Description of that Stream and ... - George Philip Rigney Pulman - Google Books. ISBN 9780901571212. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  4. "The Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine - Google Books". 2009-11-11. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  5. Stell, Christopher (2009-05-20). An Inventory of Nonconformist Chapels and Meeting-Houses in South-West England - Christopher Stell - Google Books. ISBN 9780113000364. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  6. http://www.methodist.org.uk/downloads/world_rural_presence_1_0609.pdf
  7. "South Petherton and Crewkerne Methodist Circuit | Netherhay". Spandccircuit.org.uk. 2015-06-28. Retrieved 2017-07-02.
  8. "Creative Somerset / Spaces / Jenny Beck / Spaces / 0000-00-00T00:00:00Z / Netherhay Chapel". Creativesomerset.com. Retrieved 2017-07-02.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.