Default Image Place of Worship has been
Demolished.
Image by courtesy of
openclipart.org

Park Methodist Church (Demolished),
Market Street,
Church Gresley, Derbyshire.

Cemeteries

We believe the Church did NOT have a graveyard.

Note: any church within an urban environment may have had its graveyard closed after the Burial Act of 1853. Any new church built after that is unlikely to have had a graveyard at all.

Church History

This Place of Worship was founded before 1883, but we understand it was closed in 1997.

The first available Old Map to record the location of this chapel is dated 1883. It shows a Primitive Methodist Chapel in Market Street, to the north of Regent Street, where "Andy's Fish Bar" is now. On later Maps it appears that it moved south of Regent Street, and by 1960, it was called "Park Methodist Church". In 1923 it had a Sunday School next to it, on the south east corner of the junction of Market Street with Regent Street - this building was shown as "Peoples Hall" on earlier Maps. According to Kelly's Directory of 1932, the latter was built in 1859.

The following notice appeared in The London Gazette of 15th June 1971 (p.6360) regarding its closure:

The Registrar General, being satisfied that PARK METHODIST CHURCH, Church Gresley in the registration district of Repton in the county of Derby is no longer used as a place of worship by the congregation on whose behalf it was on 23rd February 1886 registered for marriages in accordance with the Marriage Act, 1836, has cancelled the registration. Dated 7th June 1971.

Apparently however it didn't close immediately, as Derbyshire Record Office's Non-Conformist Register Guide mentions a register of baptisms at "Park Methodist Chapel" for the period 1904-1997 (but not a marriage register).

The "Park" (which the Church would have overlooked) borders the east side of Market Street. It was originally part of Church Gresley Common, and is now known as the Maurice Lea Memorial Park. Over £2,000 was given for the purpose by H. Lea esq. to perpetuate the memory of his son, killed in the Great War.

The site of the Church, and Sunday School, is now occupied by a modern housing development.

Denomination

Now or formerly Primitive Methodist.

If more than one congregation has worshipped here, or its congregation has united with others, in most cases this will record its original dedication.

Maps

This Church was located at OS grid reference SK2979418494. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Park Methodist Church (Demolished), Church Gresley shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Church Gresley shown on a Google Map.
• Streetmap.co.uk (arrow on map shows the Place of Worship's location) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Bing (Ordnance Survey option) (verified 2018-10-13)
• Bing Maps ('Bird's Eye' View) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Ordnance Survey "getamap" (NB some of the 'Change Map' options may require a subscription) (verified 2018-10-15)
• OpenStreetMap (Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA) (verified 2018-10-15)
• A Vision of Britain Through Time - useful for Boundary Changes (verified 2018-10-15)
• www.magic.gov.uk (Modern Maps with various overlays) (verified 2018-10-15)

Resources

I have found many websites of use whilst compiling the information for this database. Here are some which deserve mention as being of special interest for Church Gresley, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• Notices of Civil Registration of Places of Worship for marriages are published in the London edition of The Gazette. Hint: search for registrations from 1998 by choosing 'Church' notices, and the option 'Registration for solemnising marriage'. (verified 2018-12-11)

The above links were selected and reviewed at the time I prepared the information, but please be aware their content may vary, or disappear entirely. These factors are outside my control.