Swindon; Cricklade Road Primitive Methodist chapel
Gorse Hill, Swindon, Wiltshire, SN2 8AG
The first chapel was erected in nearby Chapel Street in 1871. It was later used by the Salvation Army (now in a new building). Owing to the growth of this part of the town, in 1890 a new site was found on the corner of Cricklade Road and Edinburgh Street for a new church seating 300 with a little later, new schools. It was called Russell Memorial Church after Thomas Russell the early missioner. The cost was to be around £1,000 of which they had raised half at the time of the stone laying. By the time of opening they owed around £400.
The 1897 Primitive Methodist magazine records that the chapel had been opened, although it doesn’t give a precise date.
In 1910 its vital statistics were recorded in the Brinkworth and Swindon Synod Handbook as:
- Number of sittings: 377
- School accommodation: 300
- Number of members: 109
- Total cost: £1,429
- Debt: £396
The Souvenir and Official Handbook of the Brinkworth and Swindon District Synod (April/May 1925) says of Cricklade Road:
“The church has contributed in no small measure to the pulpit efficiency of the Swindon and many other Circuits. The services are marked by heartiness, aided by a choir.”
In 1964 the chapel was closed and the congregation joined that of the Trinity Methodist Church, formerly Wesleyan, on the opposite side of Cricklade Road. In 1965 the chapel was sold for use as a warehouse. It has since been demolished.
Reference
The Souvenir and Official Handbook of the Brinkworth and Swindon District Synod (April/May 1925)
Primitive Methodist magazine 1890 October page 635
Primitive Methodist magazine 1891 April page 250
Primitive Methodist magazine 1897 page 74
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