North Shields Saville Street Primitive Methodist chapel

Saville Street West NE29 6QW

Christian Messenger 1908/217

The laying of the foundation stone for Saville Street Primitive Methodist chapel took place on Whit Monday (May 28th) 1860. Hugh Taylor MP laid the stone. Those present included Rev. Mr. Smith (the minister), Rev. Mr. M’Kechnie, Rev. Mr. Fenwick, Ald. Mease, Ald. Twizell, Councillors Green and Wascoe, Messrs. W.Irvin, E. Pearson, W. Johnson, J. Spence, J. Bolam, R. Cooke.

It is enlightening that Mr Taylor commented “how much he and other coal owners were obliged to Dissenters generally for the building of chapels. So soon as a colliery was won, they all knew that a large number of people were collected together, and he was glad to be able to state that the difficulty of providing places of worship for them was speedily met by the earnestness and desire of the Dissenters to supply this want, as well as to do all they could to promote the religious instruction of the people.”

We are told that “The chapel will contain about 812 sittings. The ground floor will be appropriated to Sunday Schools, and there will also be a residence for the chapel-keeper. The chapel will be built of brick, with stone facings, and its cost exclusive of the price of the site, will be about £1,740. The contractors are Messrs. J. and M. Robson of North Shields.“

In 1930 Saville Street closed and the top floor was removed before the building became Woolworths.

Ordnance Survey maps show a Methodist chapel although of unnamed variety, at the northwest corner of the junction of Saville Street West and Little Bedford Street.

You can read how the story of Primitive Methodism in North Shields continues with the Hawkeys Lane Primitive Methodist Church here.

Reference

Primitive Methodist magazine August 1860 502-504