Southwell Methodist Chapel is a former

Methodist chapel Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

at Southwell, on the

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

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 (unitary authority), Dors ...

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 ...

. The chapel was built in 1849 between terraced cottages on the east side of the road leading from Southwell to Portland Bill. It closed in 1997 and is now a private residence. It has been Grade II Listed since May 1993. By the middle of the 19th-century, government works and defences led to a large increase within Portland's population. This increase saw a revival for the island's non-conformists, who were assisted by the help of influential leaders, as well as the available chapel-building funds available from the new money of the government works. The residents of Southwell had their own small chapel opened during July 1849. Now privately owned, and functioning as a holiday let under the name "Chapel Cottage", the chapel remains a modest but complete manifestation of the importance which Methodism played in the island's social history.

References

{{Isle of Portland Isle of Portland Chapels in England Former Methodist churches in the United Kingdom Former churches in Dorset Methodist churches in Dorset Grade II listed churches in Dorset 1849 establishments in England