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Wesleyan Meeting Room,
Beckspool Road / Cleve Road,
Frenchay, Gloucestershire.

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 after 1838, though it is now closed, but we don't yet know when.

An electronic copy of Dr Charles Hugh Babington's definitive History of Winterbourne available on the Winterbourne Family History Online website provides some fascinating insights into the history of some of the older houses in the parish, including properties in Frenchay. Specifically, "Fromeshaw", known in 1768 as Ketchcold, or Costy Lovey, and in 1828 (and Old Maps as late as 1915-1916) as Woodfield House. Lord William Somerset, vicar of Stoke Gifford 1814-26 was a tenant for part of his term, but in 1938, it was conveyed to Robert Johnson, a Wesleyan, in whose time the room over the stables was used for services on a Sunday evenings. Evidently, he made an impression on the place, as the road to Cleve Mill (now Cleve Road) became known as "Johnson's road."

Whether by coincidence, or design, a return for a place of worship for Wesleyan Methodists to the Religious Census of 1851 (HO 129/330/6/4/19) was completed by Robert Johnson, its Steward. It was for a separate building erected "before 1800" used exclusively as a place of worship. There was free seating for 84, and an average attendance of 50 to morning service. Robert gave his address as "Frenchay, Nr Bristol".

Since this was a separate building, it seems likely to have been the above-mentioned stable block, but I have been unable to find a separate Wesleyan Chapel elsewhere in Winterbourne parish. The present-day Whiteshill Evangelical Church was marked as Wesleyan Methodist on OS 1881-1882, but this was enumerated separately in 1851 with a congregation of Independents or Congregationals, and was labelled on subsequent Maps as Congregational.

Apparently, John Wesley himself was a frequent guest at "Fromeshaw" during his visits to Bristol and one room is known as "Wesley's room", so its residents obviously had Wesleyan sympathies.

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 Church was located at OS grid reference ST6419877988. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Wesleyan Meeting Room, Frenchay shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Frenchay 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 Frenchay, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• Covering the ecclesiastical parishes of Winterbourne, Winterbourne Down and Frenchay - Winterbourne Family History Online (null) (verified 2018-11-16)

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.