Chapel openings, re-openings and stone-laying

The Primitive Methodist Magazine each month contained accounts of what was happening across the Connexion - including chapel openings, re-openings and foundation stone laying.

We are working our way steadily through these accounts, building up a database of the significant detail of each chapel.   As the listing for each year is completed, it is added to the relevant decade below.  Follow the link to download the document for that year.

On the When did the chapel open? page you will find an alphabetical listing of chapels included in the magazine with the year of their opening and the date and page number of their  publication.

The database of all the accounts is also available in the form of a spreadsheet.  If you would like a copy, send an email to info@myprimitivemethodists.org.uk .  The spreadsheet will be updated as new years are added.  The spreadsheet currently (May 2020) includes around 2,100 chapel openings, re-openings and laying of foundation stones and will continue to grow.  I wonder how many there will be overall?

Where a chapel listed in the Primitive Methodist magazine is not already on this site, a page is being added.  Where a chapel is already on this site, we are adding some of the information, such as names of people involved, to that chapel’s page.  Can you add to these pages through a comment?  Do you have a picture of the chapel as it was or as it is now?  It would be good to know whether each chapel still exists.

To find out more about a particular chapel, follow the Chapels link in the top menu.  You can also have a look at our Circuit Plans page.  A plan will tell you for example who preached there and when services were held.

Alternatively, use the search box at the top right of the page.  This could introduce you to some of the people involved in a location.

Working through the chapels in the Primitive Methodist Magazine is a long process, but new years will be added to this page and the spreadsheet as they are completed.