Coalville Primitive Methodist chapel

Marlborough Square Coalville LE67 3WD

Coalville Primitive Methodist chapel and schoolrooms faced on to Marlborough Square at the junction with Jackson Street.

After Union in 1932 it served as Coalville Methodist church. The chapel building is substantially unchanged externally between 1927 and 2018 although the school building has lost its chimneys.

The Primitive Methodists previously had a chapel at Coalville on Belvoir Road, north of the level crossing for the Snibston Colliery Railway. You can see a picture here.

 

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  • Coalville Marlborough Square Primitive Methodist l Chapel, Leicestershire
    The chapel was built of brick with masonry dressing in the Gothic style. The façade has some unusual features. The octagonal towers containing the stairs to the gallery project from the main building at both the front and the sides of the chapel and are octagonal in shape with conical towers. Their long slender, square headed windows are an innovative way of lighting the staircases. The space between the projecting towers is occupied by the single storey entrance porch. Its arch is supported by four marble columns with capitals decorated with foliage and fruit (images 8-10). Each depicts a different species. From the left the first is a grape vine and the fourth oak leaves and acorns. But what are the other two? The door furniture is also worthy of note. One suspects that it owes more to the contemporary Art and Crafts Movement than to medieval models (images11-12). The chapel building measures 80 feet by 35 feet. In 1940 it seated 290 on the floor of the chapel and 260 in the gallery. Internally it follows the traditional pattern: three blocks of pews on the ground floor separated by two side aisles, a rostrum at the front and a gallery all round. The furnishings are plain and functional. An unusual feature is a large arch behind the rostrum inscribed with the words “how amiable are thy tabernacles o lord”. In recent years the back section of the chapel has been partitioned off and a servery and chairs and tables have been installed.
    The school stands behind the chapel. The gothic theme is echoed in the entrance but otherwise it is a very plain building until one turns the corner into Owen Street. There a surprise awaits the viewer (image 4). The ground floor of the gable end has three windows similar to those in the rest of the building. The light the small hall (see below). Above is a Venetian window serving the main hall. The whole has been painted and, given a door, the result would grace the façade of many chapels. The ground floor of the school building is mainly occupied by small rooms, probably the nine vestries and other rooms reported in 1941. At the far end there is a room measuring 22 feet by 25 feet which was called the primary department in 1941. Upstairs is the main school hall measuring measured 55 feet by 25 feet which is now used for concerts, etc.
    There are many foundation stones, not all of which can be seen. Legible names include Mr J W West,
    Mr & Mrs Clamp of Derby, Mr Thomas I McGarthy, architect, Mr & Mrs Walter Brownlow, Mr J W West, Mr J R Bennet, Mr & Mrs J Brownlow of Lancaster, Mr John Starkey of Wirksworth, J H Howard, esq, Mr JR Bennet, Mr Jas Ford, Mrs Haynes of Ripley.
    On a personal note may I express my appreciation of the warm welcome and useful information I was given when I attended a coffee morning at the chapel.
    Sources
    25 Inch, Leicestershire OS sheet XXIII 4, 1927-9
    John Rylands Library University of Manchester, DDPD1 Methodist Church Buildings: Statistical returns including seating accommodation as at July 1st 1940/479 Coalville P circuit
    Site visit 22.10.2022

    By G W Oxley (22/11/2022)

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