Monmouth Methodist Church
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Monmouth Methodist Church is located in
Monmouth Monmouth ( , ; cy, Trefynwy meaning "town on the Monnow") is a town and community in Wales. It is situated where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. Monmouth is northeast of Cardiff, and west of London. I ...
, south east
Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. It is set well back from St James Street between buildings. Designed by
George Vaughan Maddox George Vaughan Maddox (1802–27 February 1864) was a nineteenth-century British architect and builder, whose work was undertaken principally in the town of Monmouth, Wales, and in the wider county. Working mainly in a Neo-Classical style, hi ...
and built in 1837, it retains its original galleries, organ loft and sophisticated pulpit. In common with many non-conformist places of worship in the town built when town authority lay very much with the established church, it was deliberately set back behind the houses to avoid making too prominent a challenge to the established order. This is one of 24 buildings on the Monmouth Heritage Trail and is Grade II* listed.


History

In the eighteenth century the new
Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
s were challenging the presumption of the established churches in Monmouth. Visiting Methodist ministers were stoned and abused by unruly crowds who were encouraged by the churchwardens and gentlefolk. They were sometimes seriously injured – a preacher was killed by a blow in an open-air service near Hay-on-Wye in 1840. They persevered however and established their first chapel in Inch Lane, now called Bell Lane, a narrow alley off Church Street.
John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English people, English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The soci ...
came to preach in the town, firstly in 1779, and four more times in later years, and a larger chapel was built in Weirhead Street as Wesleyan Methodism grew. Finally, as this chapel proved too small, the present church was designed by
George Vaughan Maddox George Vaughan Maddox (1802–27 February 1864) was a nineteenth-century British architect and builder, whose work was undertaken principally in the town of Monmouth, Wales, and in the wider county. Working mainly in a Neo-Classical style, hi ...
, a local architect who had worked on
The Hendre The Hendre, ( cy, Yr Hendre a farmer's winter residence; literally meaning old home) in Rockfield, is the only full-scale Victorian country house in the county of Monmouthshire, Wales. The ancestral estate of the Rolls family, it was the child ...
. The 340 seated church with its impressive façade was built in 1837. Maddox included Ionic
pilasters In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wall ...
with round-headed
Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
windows on the first floor but with triangular window heads on the ground floor, and a fine
pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...
over all. The church is enhanced by the later Ionic porch. The
box pews A box pew is a type of church pew that is encased in panelling and was prevalent in England and other Protestant countries from the 16th to early 19th centuries. History in England Before the rise of Protestantism, seating was not customary in chu ...
allow 340 worshippers in sit in three sections below and in a gallery that follows three sides of the interior. The pulpit was much higher than it appears today; it was lowered in 1885 while the floor was raised by two feet. As a consequence, the internal columns bases are not visible as they are covered by the raised floor. The Reverend Peter Mackenzie was employed as preacher and he drew a large following; he had a personal relationship with many Methodists, whilst his sermons were filled with "grotesque descriptions and extremely funny stories". Mackenzie arrived from
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Bru ...
,
Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, and lived at Coleford with his wife and two children using a donkey to travel around the circuit. A lady visitor, Mrs Bullock, commented whilst waiting for the minister to arrive for the service that she would buy an organ if ever the church was full. The minister arrived and immediately the church had reached its capacity. True to her word an organ was purchased and installed in celebration of this achievement. This church is considered to be one of the most architecturally distinguished Methodist chapels in South Wales with an interior that reflects its purpose and design. According to the local
Pevsner architectural guide The Pevsner Architectural Guides are a series of guide books to the architecture of Great Britain and Ireland. Begun in the 1940s by the art historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, the 46 volumes of the original Buildings of England series were published b ...
:John Newman, ''The Buildings of Wales: Gwent/Monmouthshire'', Penguin Books, 2000, , p. 399 "The interior, quite exceptionally for an early C19 chapel, is a coherent piece of considered architecture." The church as a whole is described as "a most satisfying work."


The church today

The church has morning and evening services every week with a family service every month. The Monmouth church is part of the Newport and Lower Wye Circuit that includes other Methodist churches at Trellech, Broadoak, Llancloudy and Gwern-y-Saint.


References


External links

* * {{Buildings in Monmouth Methodist churches in Wales Buildings and structures in Monmouth, Wales Grade II* listed churches in Monmouthshire Neoclassical architecture in Wales Neoclassical church buildings in the United Kingdom