Brownhills Mount Zion Primitive Methodist chapel

High Street, Brownhills WS8 6EL

Brownhills Mount Zion Primitive Methodist chapel
Christian Messenger 1922/140
At the very top of this image can be seen Brownhills'former first Primitive Methodist chapel, with its Manse adjoining it.
Photo supplied by David Evans,courtesy of the successors of Aerofilms

The Primitive Methodist magazine for February 1857 contains an account by John Lawley of the opening of Brownhills Mount Zion Primitive Methodist chapel.  Brownhills possessed “some of the richest coal and iron mines in the kingdom”.

A small society was formed by Richard Ward around 1837 and a small chapel built. Over time a bigger chapel was needed and a plot of land 300 yards square was bought at 62s per yard from Mr Arblaster, an independent church member sympathetic to the cause. The building was undertaken by Mr Croft of Walsall and the foundation stone was laid on August 26th 1856 by JW Round with a sermon preached by J Lawley.

By October “the walls were raised and the roof on without the least accident having occurred”. Building did not take long in those days! A tea meeting was held in the chapel on October 6th; the Trustees anticipated 600 attending.  In fact there were 750 “and some went unsupplied”.

The opening took place on November 16th and 23rd. Sermons were preached by WE Saunders of Tunstall and H Wheeler of Ludlow.

The completed building was 36′ x 30′ and 26′ from floor to ceiling.  It had “a good orchestra behind the pulpit” and was intended to have a gallery in the future.  The cost was £420 and of that £212 had been raised. Donors included “the ex-mayor of Walsall” and Mr Harrison.

The Brownhills Bob blog tells us that the chapel was replaced in 1895 by a further building in the High street. It was closed in 1964.  In 2013, Kwik-fit accupied the site.  Thee are pictures on the Brownhills Bob blog.


Reference

Primitive Methodist magazine  February 1857 pp.108-109

Brownhills Bob blog – post January 2 Nothing Primitive accessed December 19th 2016  2013 https://brownhillsbob.com/2013/01/02/nothing-primitive/

 

Comments about this page

  • This page was modified on 22 April 2018 to add the aerial photograph above. 

    The chapel stood in Ogley Road Brownhills, a short distance from the row of houses which were at the junction of Ogley Road and High Street. 

    By David Evans (22/04/2018)
  • Thomas Howdill was the architect of the 1895 premises

    By Colin Dews (28/02/2018)
  • Please see-BrownhillsBob’sBrownhills Blog,  my article;- “a game of Catshill and Mouse hill, July 16th 2017” which gives details of the chapel’s predecessor at Catshill, the first settlement in Brownhills.

    By David Evans (08/08/2017)

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