Nantwich Wood Memorial Primitive Methodist Church, Barony.

This Chapel opened in 1881 and closed in 1965.

In 1864 the Society at the Welsh Row Primitive Methodist Chapel (Nantwich) made the attempt to form a Society on the Barony, a suburb of Nantwich. At first only cottage meetings were held. Once these meetings become established, Sunday afternoon services were commenced lead by the leaders of Welsh Row Chapel.

After a period of time and through the work of the evangelist Mr T Cooke, commissioned by the Welsh Row Society in 1879 to work, in particularly, the area called ‘Barony’ where there was a large and increasing population. Mr Cooke accomplished two things, he established a society and suggested the beginning of a Sunday School which was carried on independently by Miss M. Banks who gathered the poor children of the district for religious instruction in a empty dwelling in Willaston Terrace.

Suitable premises became a pressing necessity and securing an excellent building site the foundation stone of the Chapel and Sunday School was laid on Monday October 11th 1880. A Mr. John Wood, a leader of Welsh Row Chapel, gave practical evidence of the sincerity of his interest by placing a cheque for £200 on the foundation stone he had just laid. In all John Wood gave about £1000 to the Borony Society. Because of all the generosity of Mr John Wood it was decided to call the chapel – ‘Wood Memorial Church’. The estimated cost of the undertaking including land and legal expenses was about £850.  The Chapel and Sunday School were opened in 1881.

The school premises soon proved to be too small for the number of children who came to the Sunday School. On the 5th June 1895 the foundation stones of the enlarged school room were laid. The opening ceremony of the larger school room was held on the 1st September 1895. Cost of enlargement was £400, Mr John Wood bequeathed £50 towards the new school an a school library.

For thirty years or so the Society flourished and new members add. In 1925 a decision was taken to alter the inside of the chapel building. A portion of the wall was removed between the school and the chapel. A folding partition was installed so that there was additional seating for services when required. A pipe organ was also installed. A vestibule added and all this cost another £950.

Comments about this page

  • There’s a note about the opening of the chapel and schoolroom – simply called Nantwich – in the Primitive Methodist magazine of December 1880 page 761. No date is given for the opening, but we are told tat Thomas Bateman gave the opening address and John Wood’s generosity is commended.

    By Christopher Hill (09/05/2019)

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