18 - Primitive Methodist Chapel, Meadow End and The Gas

Primitive Methodist Chapel
The precise date when Primitive Methodism was first introduced into the village is not known. However around 1820 a house on Bag Lane (now Curzon Street) was used temporarily as a meeting place before moving to a larger upstairs room over some cottages on Malt Street. Members of the congregation provided food and overnight accommodation for Ministers who came to preach each week.

By 1846 a tide of religious fever swept the village and the upper room proved too small and a more specific building was needed. Mr John Trussell in 1848 donated a piece of land at Little Lunnon (now Moor Lane) for a new Chapel, which cost £140 to build and able to seat 120 people.

This Chapel too became overcrowded by 1870, donations including gifts of cows, sheep and poultry were used to purchase land and to build the new Chapel at Meadow End. The latter built by Mr John Haywood and was officially opened in January 1871.

The Trust set up to govern affairs and the Ministers who served there are well documented. Unfortunately, not all the Baptism and Marriage Registers have been recovered when the Chapel, initially amalgamated with the Wesleyan Chapel in 1961, and finally to be closed 1989 due to lack of attendance and cost of repairs.

The Chapel has been converted to a private dwelling but Methodist services continue in St Lawrence Church on a monthly basis.

The Gas
This was the name given to a narrow footpath running alongside the hedge of Jacket Leys Field. It provided a shortcut through the village avoiding the main road. The name Gas originated either from its gas tarmacadam surface or from a Second World War soldier returning home using the German word die Gasse which translates into narrow passage. It is believed to be the only alleyway with this name in the country.