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Ebenezer Methodist Chapel,
Lower Knole Lane,
Brentry, Henbury, 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 after 1903, but we understand it was closed by 2010.

A Wesleyan Chapel at Brentry is mentioned in Kelly's Directory of Gloucestershire of 1914, under "Henbury"; and its location is shown on Old Maps of 1915 onwards, labelled "Ebenezer Chapel (Wes. Meth.). At this time it was one of the few buildings in what was later to be named Lower Knole Lane, through an area which on Maps of 1903 was still open fields. The Chapel probably served the residents of Henbury, as well as Brentry, as its only place of worship at the time was St Mary the Virgin's Church.

The surrounding area was a focus for new development after WWII, and a larger building was needed. By 1954, a hall had been built, to the north of "Ebenezer", but this was later demolished, and the area it stood on became a car park for a new Church, built at the rear of the original building. Although both buildings have now been closed, and sold for private development, at the time of the Google StreetCar drive-past in 2012, both were still standing. The original building is (was) of red brick, with 3-bay sides, and a pantile roof.

The following notice in The London Gazette of 7th December 1951 (p.6404) recorded its registration for marriages:

A Separate Building, duly certified for religious worship, named EBENEZER METHODIST CHAPEL situated at Brentry, Henbury in Bristol Registration District in the county borough of Bristol was on the 27th November 1951, registered for solemnizing marriages therein, pursuant to Section 41 of the Marriage Act, 1949. Dated 3rd December 1951.

A similar notice published in the Gazette of 18th January 1957 (p.441) recorded the cancellation of its registration as of 11th January, with the proviso that the building remained certified as a place of worship. Its replacement, BRENTRY METHODIST CHURCH, was registered for marriages on the same day, 11th January, 1957. The latter was offered for sale on Friday 14th May 2010 by estate agents Perry Bishop and Chambers of Cirencester, the site including "a small former Methodist Church dating from Victorian times" - a reference to the above building.

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 ST5737079119. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Ebenezer Methodist Chapel, Brentry, Henbury shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Henbury 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 Brentry, Henbury, 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.