 |
The Methodist Church in CumbriaKeswick and Cockermouth CircuitWesleyan History |
 |
|
|
The Methodist Church in CumbriaKeswick and Cockermouth CircuitWesleyan History |
|
Throughout John Wesley's adult life he was an Anglican priest. He always wished the people he influenced, called Methodist, to remain in the Church of England. But this became more and more impossible as time went on. Eventually a separate body called the Wesleyan Methodist Church came into being.
This Wesleyan Methodism spread around the country, including West Cumbria, principally at Whitehaven, but also including the Keswick and Cockermouth area, formally created into a separate circuit in 1854.
Here is a little background to some of the places where Wesleyans met for worship in this area.
Pardshaw Methodist Church.
Ex-Wesleyan, built 1822/3.
Closed for worship 1963.
Grid Ref: NY097248.
The Wesleyans built a chapel in Pardshaw, a small village about four miles south of Cockermouth, as early as 1822. This was the first village Methodist chapel in the area bounded by the present circuit. It was built on land given by Mrs Ann Wood of Pardshaw Hall.
Around 1879 a porch was added to the chapel, which evidently kept out the cold east winds which sometimes threatened to blow the preacher out of the pulpit! Later, in 1933, a schoolroom was also added.
The cause failed in 1963 but in 1983 the Circuit re-opened the building as a residential youth centre, later renamed a holiday centre. Insufficient use led to its closure in 1998 and sale the following year as a private house.
Greysouthen Methodist Church.
Ex-Wesleyan, built 1833.
Closed for worship 1975.
Grid Ref: NY072294.
Greysouthen, pronounced 'Greysoon', is a small village about three miles west of Cockermouth. It is difficult to believe that this building was ever a church, but the engraved stone on the wall above the door betrays its origin. The date is given as 1833, which makes it one the older Wesleyan Churches in this area. There is evidence that the members were meeting as early as 1822.
The chapel cost £161. By the mid 1850s the membership stood at 40 - one wonders how they all got in! But by 1900 that figure had dropped to 2. In 1902, following an increase to 20 members, the chapel was renovated, with a new pulpit, communion rail and seats.
By 1975 services had ceased, and the building was sold later that year. It is now a private house.
Cockermouth Methodist Church.
Ex-Wesleyan, built 1841.
Sold to Council 1932.
Grid Ref: NY124307.
Wesleyans have a long history in Cockermouth, using a number of buildings in their history. In 1841 they moved to Market Place, to a new and larger church shown here. One day a preacher from Lorton unfazed by its large size told his congregation, "You may be used to wheaten-bread here, but this morning you must put up with barley-bread"!
The debt on this church was cleared by 1871. The work was clearly doing well and by 1914 the members had bought a site on Lorton Street, but had to wait nearly twenty years before they built the church, currently in use, to which they moved in 1932. The local council bought the old church in 1933 and it is now used as the local Council offices and the Tourist Information Centre.
Lorton Methodist Church.
Ex-Wesleyan, built 1841.
Closed for regular worship 1980. Sold 2004.
Grid Ref: NY161258.
John Wesley visited Lorton in 1752 preaching to a congregation which included two local vicars. He also preached in the village in 1759 and 1761. By 1822 there was a Wesleyan cause in the village, which lies about three and a half miles south east of Cockermouth. It was not until 1841 that a chapel was opened there. Membership was always small and by October 1938 services were discontinued on a regular basis for a long while. They were restarted in April 1959 on a fortnightly basis until the end of 1980. However in more recent years there have been special services on Wednesdays in August attended by people from the circuit and beyond.
The chapel has just been sold, but these summer services will continue in the village churches which remain open in the circuit.
Scales Methodist Church.
Ex-Wesleyan, built 1843.
Closed for worship 1938.
Grid Ref: NY347269.
Scales, a hamlet about five miles east of Keswick, was home to another Wesleyan cause. The chapel was built in 1843, the congregation came partly from another cause at Wallthwaite, known to be around in 1841 and less than a mile away. Little is known about the society but in a sparsely populated area it must have struggled.
The property was renovated in 1890, but by 1900 the cause had almost failed. A special effort revived the chapel until 1937/8. The date on the converted building gives 1970 which suggests this was when the building was finally sold as a house.
Eaglesfield Methodist Church.
Ex-Wesleyan, built 1845.
Closed for worship 1970.
Grid Ref: NY095281.
Wesleyans were meeting in Eaglesfield, two miles south-west of Cockermouth, by 1822 and by the early 1830s they met in a weaving shop which stood near a 'ruinous ivy-covered cottage - somewhat inaptly nicknamed 'Paradise'. Evidently the stairs up to the room were rickety and had to be propped up for safety! Special services were held in a nearby barn. Another local tradition has it that early services were held in a smithy.
In 1845 the chapel shown was built, and later altered in 1887, and a schoolroom added in the 1930s.
Services ceased in December 1970. The chapel was sold in 1981 for a private house.
Sunderland Methodist Church.
Ex-Wesleyan, built 1862.
Closed for worship around 1920.
Grid Ref: NY183357.
Sunderland is a remote hamlet five miles north-east of Cockermouth. A small Wesleyan society was formed and met in a farmhouse in the village around 1850. It was not until 1862 that a chapel was built when a free site was offered by Sir Wilfred Lawson. Unusual for its day the chapel was free of debt when it opened.
In 1898 an organ was added to the chapel. By about 1920 the tiny congregation decided to stop meeting. The membership became nil in 1926 and the chapel was later sold. Now it is a private house with a wonderful view of the land below.
Embleton Methodist Church.
Ex-Wesleyan, built 1863, rebuilt 1903.
Closed for worship 1970.
Grid Ref: NY177306.
A chapel for Wesleyans in Embleton, a scattered community about three miles east of Cockermouth, was late in coming. It was not until 1863 that the worshippers left East House, Jonathan Granger's home, to begin worship at the newly-built chapel, on the old main road from Cockermouth to Keswick. The cost of this building was £127, but the members soon realised that the foundations were laid over a hidden spring. It was not long before cracks and bulges appeared. This meant a complete re-build, but they had to wait till 1903. While this work was going on they met in a local farmhouse (Netherscale). The new building cost £450.
Services ceased in spring 1970, and the chapel sold in 1977. It is now a private house.
Threlkeld Quarry Methodist Church.
Ex-Wesleyan, built 1903.
Closed for worship 1972.
Grid Ref: NY324245.
Link to Threlkeld Village Website.
Threlkeld Quarry, not to be confused with Threlkeld half a mile north, lies just over three miles east of Keswick. Services began here in May 1898 in the day school which the directors of the quarry loaned to the circuit. In October 1902 a ceremonial stone-laying took place, followed the next year by the completion of the new chapel, costing £1050. By that time the membership had risen to 17.
The chapel closed in 1972 and, after a dispute about ownership, it was sold in 1978. It is now a private house. However services continue in Threlkeld Parish Church where once each month there is a united service with Methodists in the congregation and leading worship.
Threlkeld
There was another more permanent cause was at Threlkeld, a village three miles east of Keswick. There was a joint membership with Scales by 1896, which became purely Threlkeld by 1898. Methodist services were held in a local Mission Room for many years before being discontinued in June 1959. Link to Threlkeld Village Website.
The nature of the early Methodist movement was such that causes arose in many places, though rarely based in a chapel to begin with. This meant that any cause which did not last would be easy to remove. Many communities, other than those already mentioned, had a Methodist interest at some time. These include in the Wesleyan tradition:
Copyright © 2006
Click here to return to the home page