We have 1 Image Above Photograph(s)
Copyright of John Williams

Northgate Wesleyan Chapel (Demolished),
Northgate,
Gloucester, 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 in 1788, but we understand it was closed in 1972.

The site - in lower Northgate Street, behind some cottages - was provided by George CONIBERE in 1787. It was open by 1788, and Wesley is known to have preached there several times.

In 1814, a Sunday-school was opened, and in 1835 seating was improved, and a separate schoolroom was built at the back. It was further enlarged in 1840, and more accommodation was provided for the poor. This was followed by a drop in membership in 1850, following the schism of 1849, when 3 ministers were expelled from the Wesleyan Methodist Conference, leading to the formation of the United Methodist Free Churches (1857), and the Wesleyan Reform Union (1859).

Nevertheless, membership was still impressive, with congregations of as many as 650 recorded for evening service in 1851, for what may have been quite a small building. In 1877 the chapel and the buildings in front were pulled down and a new chapel and schoolroom were built. There is a photograph showing it prior to its demolition in the Visit Gloucestershire : Old Gloucester collection of Old Photographs, where it can be seen through an archway between two houses. It appears to have had a square frontage, of two stories, with round-arched windows, and a hipped roof, and was set well back from the road.

The new building was designed by Charles Bell, and has been described as "baroque style, with eclectic detail". As can be seen from the accompanying postcard, it had twin towers topped by small spires, facing towards the roadway, with a semi circular entrance portico, and rose window above it.

It would have graced any city street, but in 1972 sadly, this lovely building was in its turn demolished. Its congregation was merged with that of St John Northgate, and a supermarket now occupies the site.

The above website has two more recent photographs, where the buildings on either side are visible. The webpage also includes a copy of the cover of the booklet published to mark its demise, for which it cites three reasons - that it was too costly to maintain; it had become too large for its congregation; and (perhaps the deciding factor), the site was featured in the city development plans.

Note: Revd. Thomas Dudley Fosbrooke's An Original History of the City of Gloucester (1819) states that the Methodists, "Mr. Wesley's Connection" were meeting in the Lower North-gate Street, citing the premises as one of eight non-conformist chapels in Gloucester at that time. [Source: The Victoria County History series: A History of the County of Gloucester, Volume 4: The City of Gloucester (1988), pp.319-334 (Protestant Nonconformity)]

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 SO8336918677. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Northgate Wesleyan Chapel (Demolished), Gloucester shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Gloucester 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 Gloucester, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• The “Gloucestershire Portal” - Visit Gloucestershire : Old Gloucester (null) (verified 2018-11-12)
• The Victoria County History series: A History of the County of Gloucester, Volume 4: The City of Gloucester (null) (verified 2018-11-06)

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.