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Victoria Methodist Church,
7A Bell Hill Road, BS5 7LT,
St George, Bristol, 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 before 1902, though it is now closed, but we don't yet know when.

It is not known when this place of worship was founded, but it was in existence by 1902, as it is listed in Kelly's Directory of Bristol of that year, and in the street directory portion of Kelly's Directory of 1914, between #7 and #9 Bell Hill Road (odd numbers). Possibly it was associated with the closure of a Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in nearby Hudd's Hill Road, which is shown on Old Maps of 1888, but not on later Maps, whereas conversely Victoria is NOT shown in 1888, but is shown on Maps of 1904.

It has a 3-bay front with a projecting central bay containing the entrance doorway, which is approached by a flight of steps. Above the doorway is a large pointed-arched window with glazing bars splitting it into 8 lights. The side bays each contain a rectangular window set in a twin-arched surround - difficult to describe, but certainly different! Underneath the windows are what might once have been dedication stones, and there may also have been a dedication plaque above the central window, but none of these can now be read.

The following notice in The London Gazette of 8th October 1965 (p.9402) recorded its formal closure:

The Registrar General, being satisfied that VICTORIA METHODIST CHURCH, Bell Hill Road, St. George in the registration district of Bristol in the county borough of Bristol is no longer used as a place of worship by the congregation on whose behalf it was on 22nd May 1942, registered for marriages in accordance with the Marriage Act, 1836, has cancelled the registration. Dated 1st October 1965.

After its closure, its congregation united with that of Clouds Hill Methodist, which then adopted the name of St George Methodist Church; and the premises are now (2014) the home of a glazing firm - Bristol Glass Limited, with an assigned address of 7A Bells Hill Road.

Note: it is not be confused with the Victoria Methodist Church in Whiteladies Road, Clifton, which as of 2014 is still open.

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 ST6291473762. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Victoria Methodist Church, St George, Bristol shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Bristol 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 St George, Bristol, 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.