When I wrote a previous article I assumed that the memorial stone laid in Wroughton in 1878, was that of the chapel which is still in use today. It was in fact the one for the Wesleyan Chapel which was situated in Devizes Road and which was demolished in 1972.

It seems amazing that both the Wesleyan and Primitive Methodist Chapels needed to be enlarged around the same time, for the memorial stone for the High Street Chapel was laid in September 1879.

The new Wesleyan Chapel was to replace one, which had been built over fifty years previously in The Pitchens.

Mr James Murray of Hodson, who had also been present when the memorial stone for the old chapel had been laid, was called upon to say a few words.

He talked of the hard times suffered by Nonconformists in the past. He said he could remember a mud and plaster chapel, which formerly “stood at the cross-way leading to the Wharf. This chapel was burnt down and it was generally supposed that this was done by a few young men, although this was not known positively.”

He also recalled when they worshipped in a shed and how “the boys would scrape the wall with a stone while they were at prayer in order to annoy and disturb their devotions”.

Open persecution was rampant against the Methodist Cause and a piece of land for a site for a chapel could not be obtained for love nor money. For a few years people worshipped in a shop, but, eventually a piece of land was acquired. The purchase had to be made by a stranger since it could not have been bought by anyone in connection with the Methodist Movement. Mr Murray believed the cost of the land had been £40, but he afterwards heard the vendor say that if he had been aware that a chapel was to be built on the site he would not have sold it for £100.

Prior to the opening of the chapel, Wroughton people would walk to Hodson to worship and Mr Murray had seen them do so “when they had to carry lanterns to show them the way, while the snow on the ground was almost knee deep”.

When the chapel was opened “instead of a harmonium with which to conduct the musical portion of the services, he brought his old bass viol all the way from Hodson and his wife brought the baby, and they both sang like nightingales coming along the way”.

The Rev J Brewster, who gave a lengthy address to those assembled, said there were many villages “in which there was no civil or religious liberty: the landlord backed up the parson and the parson backed up the landlord and they would not have a dissenter on their farms. In his own native village the squire had come down and threatened his tenants that if they went to chapel they should be turned out of their farms”.

N.B. This information has been taken from an article published in the North Wilts Herald on June 29^th 1878. If you would like to see it in full it is available on microfilm at Swindon Library. If you would like to read much more about the churches and chapels in Wroughton see the chapter written by Hilary Dunscombe in Wroughton History Book 5, “Between the Wars” .

Isobel Habgood