Fenny Compton Former Primitive Methodist Chapel

This little chapel stands derelict in Memorial Road, Fenny Compton. It was probably built in 1852.1  It consists of red brick, with a black brick pattern visible on the side wall, and has a slate roof. The porch still stands with two boarded up windows either side with stone dressings. It later became part of an industrial complex, with the addition of a much larger building alongside it. Two metal H-beams have been inserted into the side wall that is visible. The front has been covered in render, partly peeling off, but the plaque is still visible and reads: ‘PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHAPEL [illegible date]’.

Primitive Methodist congregation

A small group of Primitive Methodists were meeting in Fenny Compton from 1847 onward. Circuit records suggest the chapel was built in 1852 to seat 100 at a cost of £97; there was an attendance of 40 in 1895 (of whom only six were registered members).  By 1901 it had been closed ‘for some time’ and was let to the Wesleyans (presumably as a hall because they already had their own chapel just round the corner in the High St).2 The Primitive Methodist chapel was sold in 1906 for £62, when the sole surviving trustee was asked to sign the conveyance.3

References

1 The Royal Commission on Historic Monuments, 1986, SP 417523, suggests it was built in 1843, but it does not appear in the Religious Census of 1851, and other evidence suggests a more likely 1852 .

2 Warwickshire County Record Office: Leamington Circuit Records, reference CR 1688/46, 53 & 59.

3 Warwickshire County Record Office: Solicitor’s letter tucked inside, reference CR 1688/82.

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