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Ebenezer Chapel (now Chapel Cottage),
Kings Head Lane,
Withington, Gloucestershire.

Cemeteries

We believe the Chapel 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 about 1816, but we understand it was closed before 1979.

Although this is a Listed building, there is no suggestion on the British Listed Buildings website that it was once a place of worship, other than the name - "Chapel Cottage". Old Maps do show however that the building at this location was once a Methodist Chapel, and the property itself has a large stone plaque on the side facing towards the road, which may have recorded its dedication. The house name also reveals its origins - "Ebenaezer House". The British Listed Building account records that it was originally 2 cottages, dating from the late 18th century to early 19th century, so one possibility is that they may have been converted to a chapel at a later date, then subsequently reverted to a cottage again. Evidently this reversion was before OS 1979-1980 1:2,500, by which time it is marked "Chapel Cottage". Conversely, earlier Maps, for example OS 1902 1:2,500, and later label it "Ebenezer Chapel (Wes.Meth)"

The return to the Religious Census of 1851 (HO 129/341/2/6/13) records that it was a separate building erected in 1841, and used exclusively as a place of worship. The estimated congregation on March 30 was 32 to afternoon service, and 80 in the evening, with 16 Sunday Scholars at afternoon class. The Minister, Wm. Hy. Cornforth, of 22 Gt. Norwood Street, Cheltenham, remarked that "we have supplied preaching regularly for about 25 years previous to the erection of the chapel".

This suggests it was never a cottage. Curiously - on Maps, at least - it appears to predate the pub, the Kings Head, which is next door.

Denomination

Now or formerly Wesleyan 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 Chapel was located at OS grid reference SP0357915320. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Ebenezer Chapel (now Chapel Cottage), Withington shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Withington 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 Withington, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• Learn more about Buildings of special or historical interest on the British Listed Buildings (null) (verified 2018-09-19)

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.