__NOTOC__ Whitefield's sometimes Whitfield's Tabernacle is a former

Calvinistic Methodist The Presbyterian Church of Wales (), also known as the Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity based in Wales. The Calvinistic Methodist movement has its origins in the 18th-century Welsh Methodist revival ...

and

Congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...

(now

United Reformed The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. The URC is a Trinitarian church whose theolog ...

) church in Kingswood, a town on the eastern edge of Bristol where

George Whitefield George Whitefield (; 30 September 1770), also known as George Whitfield, was an English Anglican minister and preacher who was one of the founders of Methodism and the evangelical movement. Born in Gloucester, he matriculated at Pembroke Coll ...

preached in the open air to coal miners. The name refers to two buildings in which the congregation met. The congregation originally met in the New Society Room which was built in 1741 for

and John Cennick after a separation occurred between them and

John Wesley John Wesley ( ; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, Christian theology, theologian, and Evangelism, evangelist who was a principal leader of a Christian revival, revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies ...

. The former Society Room building was expanded to a large size in 1802, and is a

Grade I listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

. It is now roofless and derelict after an arson attack. In 1851 a very large Gothic building, designed by Henry Masters, was constructed just west of the original tabernacle. Masters Church is Grade II listed. In 1983 this building was closed and the

United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2024 it had approximately 44,000 members in around 1,250 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. The URC is a Trinitarian church whose theolog ...

congregation moved back into the original 18th-century building for a few years, before leaving both buildings to join together for worship with another congregation associated with the 18th-century revival, the

Moravian Church The Moravian Church, or the Moravian Brethren ( or ), formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestant denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohemian Reformation of the 15th century and the original ...

, in the Moravian building on the other side of the High Street. The new unified congregation was named United Church Kingswood and continued to worship until it closed in January 2023. In 2003 the Tabernacle featured in the

first series First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

of BBC's '' Restoration'' programme. As of 2007, there were plans for the redevelopment of the three listed buildings on the Tabernacle site, namely the two churches and the 18th-century Chapel House. Besides various proposed memorial facilities, the plan included flats in the Chapel House and the 19th-century building. The Masters Church is now home to the Ellis Court apartments. The Tabernacle is owned by the Whitfield Tabernacle Trust, who acquired the building in January 2019. After years of disuse and dereliction following a fire in 2000, restoration work began on the tabernacle in 2021 with a view to turning it into a community arts centre following a £682,000 grant from Metro Mayor

Dan Norris Dan Norris (born 28 January 1960) is a British politician who served as Mayor of the West of England from 2021 to 2025, and has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for North East Somerset and Hanham since 2024, having represented Wansdyke, ...

. The Tabernacle will be hoping to open its doors again in 2025.

References

External links

* Ordnance Survey
Whitfield Tabernacle Trust

* * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090906185926/http://www.southglos.gov.uk/NR/exeres/91ddbc91-4b76-4511-a846-4b07a2c71940 Whitfield Tabernacle Conservation Area
Restoration - Whitfield Tabernacle at South Gloucestershire Council site

The PG Group future project placeholder page with aerial artist's impression
{{Culture in Bristol 18th-century churches in the United Kingdom Churches in South Gloucestershire District Grade I listed churches in Gloucestershire Kingswood, South Gloucestershire Religious buildings and structures in the United Kingdom destroyed by arson Churches completed in 1741

See also

References

External links