The May 1901 Primitive Methodist magazine tells us that within the past few months, a new chapel had been opened in Pooltown, (later called Overpool)) a small village only a mile from Ellesmere Port. The chapel was one of only three chapels in the Ellesmere Port circuit.
Although Pooltown had only 80 residents, around 50 people attended evening services in the chapel and the Sunday school had over 30 scholars. The new chapel cost £450; previously the society had met for over 80 years in a cottage.
The 1909 Ordnance Survey map shows the Prim chapel on Rivacre Road. The area has been developed for modern housing since.
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The first PM society
1847: ‘It was in this year that the first Primitive Methodist service was held in Ellesmere Port ….’ – see above from ‘Ellesmere Port: Primitive Methodism in Ellesmere Port, transcribed from The Christian Messenger, 1905/23’.
1882: The Q4 Preaching Plan for the Chester 1st Circuit showed twelve ‘Places’: George Street Chester (the 1862/3 chapel, head of circuit), Guilden Sutton, Saughall, Willaston, Little Neston, Whitby, Ellesmere Port, Pool Town [sic], Manley, Elton, Dunham and Trafford. At Pool Town there were weekly Sunday services at 2.30pm, led mostly by lay preachers with one of the ministers visiting about every third week. Most weeks, the preacher had taken the 10.30am service at Ellesmere Port, journeyed to Pooltown for the 2.30pm service and then went back to Ellesmere Port to take the 6pm service. There were no mid-week services. The chapel had one class.
1892: Ellesmere Port Circuit was formed, separating from Chester First; Ellesmere Port chapel became the head of a new Circuit, with Whitby and Pooltown as members.
The Rivacre Road chapel (1901)
1901: A new chapel was opened in Rivacre Road (shown labelled on a 1909 25” OS map); it scales at about 27ft x 18ft with two extensions. It is mentioned in Kelly’s Directory of Cheshire 1910, page 328, as the only place of worship in Overpool.
The 1940 list of Methodist chapels has an entry for this chapel in the ‘Districts C’ download, page 73, Circuit 411: Ellesmere Port:
Pooltown: Brick; seating for 80; Pews; 1 School Hall; 1 other room.
1950: The chapel was destroyed by fire on about 20th December.
The modern location of this chapel is 48 Rivacre Road, CH66 1LL.
The Rossmore Road chapel (1955)
1950: Services were held in temporary premises until a new chapel in Rossmore Road West was opened in 1955. This chapel was closed in the early 1980s and Naylor Court, a Methodist Housing Association retirement housing complex, was built in 1984 on the site (CH66 1SY).
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