Wesleyan Methodist Chapel built, The Cross, Belchalwell Street

Year 1879 A small Methodist Chapel was built at The Cross, and remained in use as a chapel until around 1950. On the roadside external wall of the chapel are 12 sets of initials carved into individual stones. Eleven of these are said to be the intitials of the founders of the chapel F.G, G.C, G.P.R, E.T.P, J.J.A, E.M, S.A.R, A.R.M, E.C.M, A.L.S and T.E.S. One set of initials possibly belong to Edmund Marfess/Malphus. The Twelfth L.S is that of the current owner whose initials replace a set that were defaced and no longer identifiable. Also defaced is the carved chapel plaque which now only shows the date 1879. Two theories of why it has been defaced have been put forward, the first that it was done after the chapel fell into disuse, or secondly that it was done during rivalry between church and chapel. Within the chapel there are still the remnants of a pully system used to pull curtains across and so spliting the building in two. The chapel was in a sorry state when the current owners took over in the mid eighties, it's original plain windows were broken and replaced with the current stained glass, like many such chapels. The doors are still original and so are the paving slabs outside. The Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Belchalwell The Initials of the founders around the base of the outside Source: Date plate and thanks to current owner