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

Ebenezer Independent Methodist Church (Demolished),
125 Bell Hill Road,
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, but we understand it was closed in the 1990s.

Whilst at present, it is not known when this place of worship was founded, it was in existence by 1902, as Kelly's Directory of Bristol of that year lists it as the "United Free Gospel Church", and in the street directory portion of Kelly's Directory of 1914, as "Ebenezer Independent Methodist Chapel", between the odd numbers #121/123 of Bell Hill Road, the residence of William Crawford, a wholesale tobacconist, and #125, Mrs Emily Brewer, who kept a general shop.

Places recorded by the Registrar General under the provisions of the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 (2010) lists the Church, also Ebenezer Independent Methodist Schoolroom, at 125 Bell Hill Road, so maybe Mrs Brewer lost her shop!

The following notice in The London Gazette of 6th December 1929 (p.7968 ) recorded its registration for marriages:

A Separate Building, duly certified for religious worship, named EBENEZER INDEPENDENT METHODIST CHURCH, situated at Bell Hill, St. George, in the civil parish of Bristol, in the county borough of Bristol, in Bristol registration district, was, on the 2nd December, 1929, registered for solemnizing marriages therein, pursuant to 6 & 7 Wm. IV, c.85. Dated 3rd December 1929.

There is a photograph of it on Phil Draper's ChurchCrawler website, showing a building of light coloured stone, with 2 tall lancet windows on either side of a central pointed arched doorway, above which is a group of 3 similar lancets. Above this was a lozenge-shaped dedication plaque. Phil says it was demolished in the 1990s, but as of 2005 had not been replaced. This is no longer the case, as today (2014) some modern town houses occupy its site.

Denomination

Now or formerly Independent 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 ST6326573700. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Ebenezer Independent Methodist Church (Demolished), 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.

• The Church officiando's “Bible” - Phil Draper's ChurchCrawler (null) (verified 2018-10-16)
• Places recorded by the Registrar General under the provisions of the Places of Worship Registration Act 1855 (2010) is available as a "Freedom of Information" document on the website What Do They Know. (verified 2018-10-14)
• 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.