Vale Royal Methodist Church
| Vale Royal Methodist Church | |
|---|---|
_(7).JPG) The former chapel in August 2021, following its conversion into a gymnasium | |
 | |
| 51°07′43″N 0°15′42″E / 51.1287°N 0.2616°E | |
| Location | Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent |
| Country | England |
| Denomination | Methodist Church of Great Britain |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | Vale Royal Wesleyan Methodist Church |
| Architecture | |
| Functional status | Closed |
| Heritage designation | Local heritage asset |
| Architect(s) | Charles Bell |
| Completed | 3 June 1873 |
| Construction cost | £5,000 |
| Closed | 5 April 2015 |
Vale Royal Methodist Church, also historically Vale Royal Chapel[1] and Vale Royal Wesleyan Methodist Church,[2] was a Methodist Church of Great Britain parish church in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England. It was opened in 1873 and stopped being used as a church on Easter 2015.[3] It was later renovated to become a gym.
History
[edit]The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, visited Tunbridge Wells in his early years as a preacher and gained a small congregation there.[4] Meetings initially took place in the Presbyterian chapel[5] at Little Mount Sion, which had opened in 1721;[6] Wesley preached there "on several occasions".[5] The congregation of the Wesleyan Methodist Church purchased land on what is now Vale Road for a small chapel in 1812[5] and worshipped in an inclusive way by also using Church of England liturgy during Sunday morning services by 1863.[7] Due to the growth of the congregation, they expanded the original chapel twice, but eventually required larger premises. Work began in 1872[8] and the church opened on 3 June 1873 at a cost of £5,000.[3][4][7] It was built to designs by the architect Charles Bell[3][8] and was built by the firm of Willicombe and Oakley.[8] The church's organ was installed in 1883 and was opened by William Thomas Best.[9] In the 1930s, the majority of Vale Royal's stained glass windows were installed.[3]
Closure
[edit]Due to the cost of maintenance of the church building, the Vale Royal congregation had proposed demolition and rebuilding of the church with 14 flats on the site in 2010.[10][11] However this proposal was rejected the following year by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council as "out of character" with the local area.[10] Eventually the congregation put the church up for sale, but the council noted that though the church was not a listed building, it was a local heritage asset.[12] The church held its last service on Easter Day in 2015 before closing and the Methodist congregation moved to worship at a nearby United Reformed Church.[3] The church eventually sold at auction for £900,000 in 2016, however the money went to the Methodist Church's headquarters and not the local congregation.[13] The church was later adapted into a gym with the building kept standing.[11] Vale Royal's licence to conduct marriages and Christian worship services within it, which was granted on 17 July 1873,[1] was formally revoked in 2018.[14]
Architecture
[edit]Charles Bell, a London-based architect, designed Vale Royal Methodist Church in a style described as "early French Gothic [Revival]"[8] or as Perpendicular Gothic Revival.[5] It is of local Kentish ragstone laid in the form of random polygonal masonry, and there are dressings of paler Bath stone. The roof is laid with slate tiles.[8] The gabled façade has corner buttresses which rise to form tall finials[5] or pinnacles, and there is tracery in the windows.[8] The entrance porch is "raised high above street level" and has a triple archway.[5]
See also
[edit]- List of places of worship in Tunbridge Wells (borough)
Media related to Vale Royal Methodist Church, Tunbridge Wells at Wikimedia Commons
References
[edit]- ^ a b "No. 24007". The London Gazette. 12 August 1873. p. 3776.
- ^ "Vale Royal Wesleyan Methodist Church, Tunbridge Wells". The National Archives. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e Smith, Alan (14 June 2016). "Royal Vale [sic] Methodist Church fetches £900,000". Kent Online. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ a b Turcan, Robert (2012). Tunbridge Wells Through Time. Amberley Publishing Limited. ISBN 9781445631790 – via Google Books.
- ^ a b c d e f Stell 2002, p. 185.
- ^ Stell 2002, p. 184.
- ^ a b "Brackett's Guide to Tunbridge Wells, 1863". University of Leicester. 11 February 2008. p. 37. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f Homan 1984, p. 98.
- ^ Curtis, Gordon (2016). A Provincial Organ Builder in Victorian England: William Sweetland of Bath. Routledge. p. 53. ISBN 9781317187028.
- ^ a b "Vale Royal" (PDF). Broadlands. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ a b "Planning application points to new gym". Times Local News. 6 July 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "Historic building goes to auction after sales stall". Times Local News. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "Bidding war pushes sale of the church". Times Local News. 14 June 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ "No. 62247". The London Gazette. 4 April 2018. p. 6043.
Bibliography
[edit]- Homan, Roger (1984). The Victorian Churches of Kent. Chichester: Phillimore & Co. Ltd. ISBN 0-85033-466-7.
- Stell, Christopher (2002). Nonconformist Chapels and Meeting-houses in Eastern England. Swindon: English Heritage. ISBN 1-873592-50-7.