I
was on my way to revisit East Bergholt's
venerable Anglican parish church of St Mary, when
this curiosity caught my eye. It is a former
Methodist church, but of an unusual date, built
in 1937. The East Bergholt Primitive Methodists
had erected their first chapel in 1838, and
managed 50 attendees on the afternoon of the 1851
census of religious worship, compared with 30 the
Wesleyans attracted up the road in Brantham. In
the 1930s, the different strands of Methodism
came together, and the result was a surplus of
buildings, with the need to rebuild on a large
scale for the new communities formed. The
replacement here is a handsome little structure,
the Art Deco styling of the frontage giving an
imposing effect and making it seem larger than it
actually is. The huge arched window with its
simple motif of stained glass is very effective.
This chapel
closed for business in 1982, and is now a private
house.
Simon Knott, October 2009
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