Conjurers Lodge is a former Methodist

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

and workshop on the

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct fr ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is located on the corner of Clements Lane within the village of

Chiswell Chiswell , sometimes , is a small village at the southern end of Chesil Beach, in Underhill, on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. It is the oldest settlement on the island, having formerly been known as Chesilton. The small bay at Chiswell is ca ...

. Established in 1816, the chapel was in use for a decade. The lodge has been Grade II Listed since 1993 and is described as a "rare surviving example of its kind" on the island. Following rumours of local Methodists believing in witchcraft, investigations by Rev. Francis Derry led to 50 members of Portland's society being expelled in 1816. This group then established a chapel on the upper floor of a workshop in Chiswell, which gained the name Conjurers Lodge. It remained in use for ten years until 1826, when the Methodist society was united once again. Portland Joinery later used the building as a workshop from 1973 to 2003.

References

{{Authority control Isle of Portland Chapels in England Former churches in Dorset Former Methodist churches in the United Kingdom Methodist churches in Dorset Grade II listed churches in Dorset 1816 establishments in England Religious organizations established in 1816