The Rotunda was a Primitive Methodist church in Aldershot in Hampshire in the UK [1] that was completed in 1876 and demolished in the 1980s. While the building took its name from the architectural form rotunda, it was in fact octagonal, and was notable as one of only 14 octagonal chapels built by the Methodists.
The Rev Dr William Harris Rule came to Aldershot in 1856 to open Methodist work among the troops, remaining until 1865 [2] and working in the town as a contemporary of missioner Mrs Louisa Daniell. The Wesleyan Connexion provided funding for the construction of an iron chapel on a site located in Church Street off Queens Road which was dedicated on 10 July 1857. Subsequently, a chaplain’s house and a Soldiers' Home were added. Methodism was not a recognised "religious denomination" in Army returns and there was great opposition from the local Anglican chaplains who found him an irritant [3] but Dr Rule was supported by Lieut-General William Knollys and by 1862 Methodism was accepted under "Other Protestants" and so the work could continue unhindered. [4]
The Primitive Methodists at that time were served by chapels in Victoria Road (the now demolished Rotunda building) [5] and the Ebenezer Primitive Methodist chapel on Ash Road, built in 1885; [6] [7] [8] while the Wesleyan Methodists were served by the Wesleyan church on Grosvenor Road completed in 1877.
Built with red brick and slate roof on the corner of Victoria Road and Albert Road for the Primitive Methodists in Aldershot, [9] [10] construction began in 1874 and completed in 1876. Built on land obtained from benefactor Richard Allden, a local contractor who supplied hay for army horses, the £16,500 for its construction was raised by voluntary subscription and donations. The architect was Farnham-based Thomas Wonnacott, who chose an octagonal design familiar to Methodists. [11] The construction was undertaken by local builder George Kemp. [12]
A report in the Primitive Methodist 1875-76 Yearly Report said:
"At Aldershot, the great military depot, we have built a schoolroom and house for the minister; the chapel is in course of erection. Several soldiers have been converted, among them, three young men, sons of ministers. Early in 1875 we opened our school room, which is now used as a temporary church." [13]
The original church was named as 'The Primitive Methodist Church' [14] and following the unification of Wesleyan and Primitive Methodism in the Methodist Union of 1932 it was sold to the Reformed Episcopal Church of England when it was renamed Christ Church. [5]
The building was unique in its octagonal construction [14] and in the number of commemorative plaques on its interior walls. Adjacent to the church was once the Christ Church Hall (originally the school room for the Methodist church) which had four foundation stones laid on 15 December 1874: one dedicated by William Terry; one by Mary Allden; a third by the scholars of the Methodist Sabbath School, while the fourth stone was defaced and the inscription illegible. [15] The church building also had four foundation stones on its Victoria Road frontage which bore the date 22 March 1876. Inside the church were seven segments of seats while the eighth segment contained the dais or pulpit. This type of seating eliminated any precedence among the congregation. [14]
The building was resold in 1962 and became flats, a driving centre and warehouse losing its Certificate as a Place of Worship in 1971 [16] and was demolished in the 1980s despite efforts by local people to save it who pointed out its unique position in Methodist church design and Aldershot's social history. [5] [17] The church was demolished by George Kemp Stroud & Co Ltd, the successors to George Kemp who had built the church.
Today on the site stands the small Rotunda Industrial Estate.
The Primitive Methodist Church is a body of Holiness Christians within the Methodist tradition, which began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834).
Combe is a village and civil parish about 5 miles (8 km) northeast of Witney in Oxfordshire. It is bounded to the south and southwest by the River Evenlode, to the northwest partly by the course of the Akeman Street Roman road and partly by a road parallel with it, and to the east by the boundary of Blenheim Great Park. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 768.
Primitive Methodism was a major movement in English and Welsh Methodism from about 1810 until the Methodist Union in 1932. The denomination emerged from a revival at Mow Cop in Staffordshire. Primitive meant "simple" or "relating to an original stage"; the Primitive Methodists saw themselves as practising a purer form of Christianity, closer to the earliest Methodists.
Thomas Hazlehurst was known nationally as "the Chapel Builder" and more locally as "the Prince of Methodism" or "the Prince of the Wesleyans". He was given these titles because of his generosity in paying wholly or largely for the building of some 12 chapels and three schools in the area of Runcorn, Widnes and the villages in north Cheshire. His father, also called Thomas, had founded a profitable soap and alkali manufacturing business, Hazlehurst & Sons, in Runcorn in 1816.
The tiny hamlet of Ramsor in North Staffordshire played a significant part in the origins of Primitive Methodism. Listed in the Domesday Book as Ramshorn, this ancient hamlet is a typical example of the depopulation of the countryside. Very little now remains of this village apart from a few farms and cottages. The Primitive Methodist Chapel is the only surviving public building.
William Willmer Pocock was a British architect.
The Wesleyan Methodist Church was the name used by the majority Methodist movement in England following its split from the Church of England after the death of John Wesley and the appearance of parallel Methodist movements. The word Wesleyan in the title differentiated it from the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists and from the Primitive Methodist movement, which separated from the Wesleyans in 1807. The Wesleyan Methodist Church followed the Wesleys in holding to an Arminian theology, in contrast to the Calvinism held by George Whitefield, by Selina Hastings, and by Howell Harris and Daniel Rowland, the pioneers of Welsh Methodism. Its Conference was also the legal successor to John Wesley as holder of the property of the original Methodist societies.
The Primitive Methodist Chapel is a former Primitive Methodist church on Welsh Row in Nantwich, Cheshire, England. Built in 1840, it is listed at grade II. The chapel closed in 2001, and the building has been partially converted to residential use.
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John Wills was an architect based in Derby.
Charles Bell FRIBA (1846–99) was a British architect who designed buildings in the United Kingdom, including over 60 Wesleyan Methodist chapels.
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Bellamy and Hardy were an architectural practice in Lincoln, England, that specialised particularly in the design of public buildings and non-conformist chapels. Pearson Bellamy had established his own architectural practice by 1845 and he entered into a partnership with James Spence Hardy in June 1853. Both partners had previously worked for the Lincoln architect William Adams Nicholson. Hardy was described as "Chief Clerk" to Nicholson. Hardy joined Pearson Bellamy immediately after the sudden death of Nicholson. As all known architectural drawings by the practice are signed Pearson Bellamy, it is likely that Bellamy was the architect and Hardy was the administrator in the practice. The partnership lasted until Hardy's death, which was probably in 1891 or 1892. After this Bellamy continued to practice until 1896.
The Wesleyan Church is a former Methodist church for the town of Aldershot in Hampshire. Closed in 1988 the building has been a Grade II* listed building since 30 April 1981. In use today as offices, a dental studio and a gymnasium, the former Wesleyan Church is situated on the corner of Grosvenor Road and Queens Road in Aldershot.
The English Presbyterian Church is the former Presbyterian church for Aldershot in Hampshire. Built in 1863 it served that denomination until 1972 when most churches in the Congregational Church in England and Wales and virtually all of the congregations of the Presbyterian Church of England including that at Aldershot combined to form the United Reformed Church in England. By the late 1970s the building was derelict at which time it was purchased by the New Testament Church of God (NTCOG) who worship there today.
William James Morley FRIBA was an English architect who practised from offices in Bolton, Greater Manchester and Bradford, West Yorkshire.
Alfred Hill Thompson, ARIBA was an English architect in the Gothic Revival and Arts and Crafts styles, who specialised in small schools and chapels in the Yorkshire area. In partnership with Isaac Thomas Shutt he co-designed the Church of All Saints, Harlow Hill, completed in 1871.
Free Church, Great Charles Street, Dublin was a proprietary episcopal chapel in Summerhill, off Mountjoy Square in Dublin.
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Elijah Hoole was an English architect of Methodist churches, settlement halls and social housing. In relation to the social housing, he worked closely with the social reformer Octavia Hill for over 40 years.