Maidenwell Bible Christian Chapel
Maidenwell Bible Christian Chapel is a former Bible Christian Methodist chapel of mid-19th century origin in Maidenwell, Fortuneswell. Built in 1865-66 and opened in 1866, the building has been used as a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses since 1974. In recent years, it has been designated an Important Local Building within the conservation area of Underhill.
The chapel is the last surviving one on Portland to be erected by the Bible Christian Methodists. The society's original Zion Chapel at Wakeham, built in 1859, was closed and demolished in 1938, while a third place of worship, a Mission Chapel erected at Grove in 1904, was an iron building sold to the Open Brethren in the late 1910s.
History
Use as a Methodist chapel (1865-1971)
Portland's Bible Christian Methodist society was established by Rev. William Mason in 1857, at a time when the island's population was rapidly growing as a result of the transformation of Portland Roads into a harbour of refuge and its associated government works. After being sent to the island by the Bible Christian Conference, Rev. Mason was successful in establishing a society, who had the Zion Chapel erected in Wakeham in 1859. Meanwhile, those living in Underhill, namely Chiswell, began congregating in the home of William Burden, a keeper of the Breakwater Lighthouse, for meetings and services. When the congregation became too large, they were transferred to another temporary place of worship, the Long Room.
Wishing to erect a chapel of their own, the society's initial efforts to find a suitable site proved unsuccessful, but eventually a plot of land at Maidenwell was purchased for £70. William Burden, who has been described as the "founder of Maidenwell Chapel" and the "mainstay of the [Maidenwell] society", was instrumental in raising money towards the chapel's construction and its subsequent debt. The plans for the chapel were drawn up by the Weymouth architect Robert Bennett and Mr. J. Pallen was hired to undertake all of the masonry work. The remaining work was carried out under the supervision of both Burden and William Coombe, who acted as joint surveyors. Construction commenced on 16 August 1865 with the laying of the corner stone by Mr J. Allen of Kensington. The following proceedings of the day included a celebratory tea meeting and a service in the Congregational Chapel at Chiswell.
The new chapel, which had its own schoolroom, was able accommodate up to 220 worshippers and first opened for service on 14 January 1866. On the day, Mr W. Gilbert held two services (morning and evening) and Miss Potter held one in the afternoon. A following service on 15 January saw the Bible Christian Magazine describe the various speeches as "truly catholic and earnest" and Mr. Gilbert as "eloquent", while the same day had 280 people gather into the schoolroom for a celebratory tea event. Opening services continued for the rest of the month, with services on 21 and 28 of January described as "largely attended", with the "proceedings [having] passed off most satisfactorily".
In February 1866, less than a month after its opening, the Sherborne Mercury reported of a Sunday service held at the chapel during a gale of "great fury", which saw "some of the congregation obliged to board and prop up the windows, to prevent their being blown out of the wall". By the end of the year, the debt associated with the chapel's construction and opening was £324. Later in Easter 1868, a successful bazaar held in the schoolroom hoped to reduce the debt down from £276 to £200. Meanwhile, William Burden continued to involve himself in all aspects of the society over the years, serving as a preacher, steward, class leader and superintendent of the Sunday School. A memorial tablet was placed inside the chapel after his death in 1896.
Despite Portland's society continuing to gain followers into the 1880s, it was later reported in 1887 that the society was showing "signs of decay rather than of life and growth". However, despite the drop in numbers, the chapel at Maidenwell underwent renovation in 1886-87. A revival was seen during the pastorship of Rev. E. C. Bartlett; average congregation numbers for around 1894 was 20 and this had increased to over 100 by 1899. Another renovation was carried out in 1900 and the chapel reopened on 25 November, with Rev. J. Page and Rev. O. Binns preaching during the reopening service.
In 1907, the Bible Christian Church became part of the newly-formed United Methodist Church, which saw it amalgamated with two other Methodist denominations, the United Methodist Free Churches and the Methodist New Connexion. The chapel was then referred to as the Maidenwell United Methodist Church, while the Zion Chapel at Wakeham became the Wakeham United Methodist Church. Finally, in 1932, the United Methodists merged with the Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists to form the "Methodist Church", with the Portland Methodist Society forming in 1933. Throughout the following decades, the Maidenwell chapel continued to serve the Methodist community at Underhill, alongside the larger Underhill Methodist Church and the former Primitive Methodist Church of 1869.
Closure and use as a Kingdom Hall (1971-)
In 1971, both the chapel at Maidenwell and the 1869 church closed, leaving Underhill Methodist Church to serve the local congregation. The chapel was then acquired by the Jehovah's Witnesses for use as a Kingdom Hall in 1974. The movement initially rented the building, but soon purchased it and undertook its restoration using voluntary labour. The hall was then dedicated on 6 September 1975, with the ceremony attended by over 200 people.
Portland's Jehovah's Witness movement was established in 1949. Members initially used a venue in Weymouth for congregation meetings and various open spaces on Portland for public meetings. In 1958, they acquired a lease from Portland Urban District Council for use of part of the Royal Hotel in Fortuneswell and remained there until 1972. Meetings were then briefly held at the Royal British Legion Club, but in light of encouraging membership numbers, the movement sought their own hall and acquired the Maidenwell chapel.
Some extension work was carried out on the building in the early 1990s. The Kingdom Hall remains in use to date, with two meetings held there each week.
Design
The chapel, built of Portland stone, was described by the Bible Christian Magazine in 1866 as a "good substantial building", "nicely situated" and "quite an ornament to the neighbourhood". It has eight arched windows (two on each side of the building) and one circular window, while ashlar quoins are incorporated into the entrance, windows and angles. The schoolroom was built below the chapel at basement level.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Bible Christian Magazine - various issues including 1866, 1868, 1870, 1876 and 1878
2) Dorset for You - Appraisal of the Conservation Areas of Portland - PDF document
3) Dorset for You - W&PBC - various planning applications on online archive - website page
4) How old William raised the interest - Rev. Josiah Flew - pamphlet published by the Wesleyan Methodist Book Room - undated (c. 1896) (with thanks to David Burden)
5) Island Times Magazine - Who's that knocking at my door? - Valerie Radbourne - October 1975 - article
6) Portland Year Book 1905 - Churches & Chapels etc. - Paul Benyon - website page
7) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
8) The Sixty-Sixth Annual Report of the Bible Christian Missionary Society - 1887 - report
9) William Burden biography - anonymous - undated (c. 1965) (with thanks to David Burden)
The chapel is the last surviving one on Portland to be erected by the Bible Christian Methodists. The society's original Zion Chapel at Wakeham, built in 1859, was closed and demolished in 1938, while a third place of worship, a Mission Chapel erected at Grove in 1904, was an iron building sold to the Open Brethren in the late 1910s.
History
Use as a Methodist chapel (1865-1971)
Portland's Bible Christian Methodist society was established by Rev. William Mason in 1857, at a time when the island's population was rapidly growing as a result of the transformation of Portland Roads into a harbour of refuge and its associated government works. After being sent to the island by the Bible Christian Conference, Rev. Mason was successful in establishing a society, who had the Zion Chapel erected in Wakeham in 1859. Meanwhile, those living in Underhill, namely Chiswell, began congregating in the home of William Burden, a keeper of the Breakwater Lighthouse, for meetings and services. When the congregation became too large, they were transferred to another temporary place of worship, the Long Room.
Wishing to erect a chapel of their own, the society's initial efforts to find a suitable site proved unsuccessful, but eventually a plot of land at Maidenwell was purchased for £70. William Burden, who has been described as the "founder of Maidenwell Chapel" and the "mainstay of the [Maidenwell] society", was instrumental in raising money towards the chapel's construction and its subsequent debt. The plans for the chapel were drawn up by the Weymouth architect Robert Bennett and Mr. J. Pallen was hired to undertake all of the masonry work. The remaining work was carried out under the supervision of both Burden and William Coombe, who acted as joint surveyors. Construction commenced on 16 August 1865 with the laying of the corner stone by Mr J. Allen of Kensington. The following proceedings of the day included a celebratory tea meeting and a service in the Congregational Chapel at Chiswell.
The new chapel, which had its own schoolroom, was able accommodate up to 220 worshippers and first opened for service on 14 January 1866. On the day, Mr W. Gilbert held two services (morning and evening) and Miss Potter held one in the afternoon. A following service on 15 January saw the Bible Christian Magazine describe the various speeches as "truly catholic and earnest" and Mr. Gilbert as "eloquent", while the same day had 280 people gather into the schoolroom for a celebratory tea event. Opening services continued for the rest of the month, with services on 21 and 28 of January described as "largely attended", with the "proceedings [having] passed off most satisfactorily".
In February 1866, less than a month after its opening, the Sherborne Mercury reported of a Sunday service held at the chapel during a gale of "great fury", which saw "some of the congregation obliged to board and prop up the windows, to prevent their being blown out of the wall". By the end of the year, the debt associated with the chapel's construction and opening was £324. Later in Easter 1868, a successful bazaar held in the schoolroom hoped to reduce the debt down from £276 to £200. Meanwhile, William Burden continued to involve himself in all aspects of the society over the years, serving as a preacher, steward, class leader and superintendent of the Sunday School. A memorial tablet was placed inside the chapel after his death in 1896.
Despite Portland's society continuing to gain followers into the 1880s, it was later reported in 1887 that the society was showing "signs of decay rather than of life and growth". However, despite the drop in numbers, the chapel at Maidenwell underwent renovation in 1886-87. A revival was seen during the pastorship of Rev. E. C. Bartlett; average congregation numbers for around 1894 was 20 and this had increased to over 100 by 1899. Another renovation was carried out in 1900 and the chapel reopened on 25 November, with Rev. J. Page and Rev. O. Binns preaching during the reopening service.
In 1907, the Bible Christian Church became part of the newly-formed United Methodist Church, which saw it amalgamated with two other Methodist denominations, the United Methodist Free Churches and the Methodist New Connexion. The chapel was then referred to as the Maidenwell United Methodist Church, while the Zion Chapel at Wakeham became the Wakeham United Methodist Church. Finally, in 1932, the United Methodists merged with the Primitive and Wesleyan Methodists to form the "Methodist Church", with the Portland Methodist Society forming in 1933. Throughout the following decades, the Maidenwell chapel continued to serve the Methodist community at Underhill, alongside the larger Underhill Methodist Church and the former Primitive Methodist Church of 1869.
Closure and use as a Kingdom Hall (1971-)
In 1971, both the chapel at Maidenwell and the 1869 church closed, leaving Underhill Methodist Church to serve the local congregation. The chapel was then acquired by the Jehovah's Witnesses for use as a Kingdom Hall in 1974. The movement initially rented the building, but soon purchased it and undertook its restoration using voluntary labour. The hall was then dedicated on 6 September 1975, with the ceremony attended by over 200 people.
Portland's Jehovah's Witness movement was established in 1949. Members initially used a venue in Weymouth for congregation meetings and various open spaces on Portland for public meetings. In 1958, they acquired a lease from Portland Urban District Council for use of part of the Royal Hotel in Fortuneswell and remained there until 1972. Meetings were then briefly held at the Royal British Legion Club, but in light of encouraging membership numbers, the movement sought their own hall and acquired the Maidenwell chapel.
Some extension work was carried out on the building in the early 1990s. The Kingdom Hall remains in use to date, with two meetings held there each week.
Design
The chapel, built of Portland stone, was described by the Bible Christian Magazine in 1866 as a "good substantial building", "nicely situated" and "quite an ornament to the neighbourhood". It has eight arched windows (two on each side of the building) and one circular window, while ashlar quoins are incorporated into the entrance, windows and angles. The schoolroom was built below the chapel at basement level.
References
The following is an A-Z list of references for this page.
1) Bible Christian Magazine - various issues including 1866, 1868, 1870, 1876 and 1878
2) Dorset for You - Appraisal of the Conservation Areas of Portland - PDF document
3) Dorset for You - W&PBC - various planning applications on online archive - website page
4) How old William raised the interest - Rev. Josiah Flew - pamphlet published by the Wesleyan Methodist Book Room - undated (c. 1896) (with thanks to David Burden)
5) Island Times Magazine - Who's that knocking at my door? - Valerie Radbourne - October 1975 - article
6) Portland Year Book 1905 - Churches & Chapels etc. - Paul Benyon - website page
7) The British Newspaper Archive - various contemporary newspaper articles - website page
8) The Sixty-Sixth Annual Report of the Bible Christian Missionary Society - 1887 - report
9) William Burden biography - anonymous - undated (c. 1965) (with thanks to David Burden)
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