Alnwick
Alnwick Methodist Church
Last Updated:
7 Mar 2025
Alnwick
This is a
Church, Place of Worship
55.412228, -1.708348
Founded in
Current status is
Extant
Designer (if known):
Grade II listed
Have to say, this is probably the archetype of an 18th-century Methodist Church and reminds me a lot of the one I saw in Allendale. Its gorgeous, stoic design is austere but instantly recognisable as a non-conformist chapel.
It dates all the way back to 1786, and it’s known that Wesley actually preached here. Methodism in Alnwick dates back much further, to John Trembath in the 1740s. John Wesley’s younger brother, Charles, also preached here in 1746 during a northern tour. After hearing his faith denounced at St Michael’s, he gave a speech in the churchyard to counter the teachings of Anglicanism inside.
John came up a couple of years later, preaching at a house in the Market Place which was adapted as a sort of mission room. He quite liked it up here, stating it was a well-behaved and deeply attentive congregation, especially compared to the Scots, whom he doesn’t seem to have taken a liking to.
A small chapel was built at the Green Bat in 1755, and some 30 years later, Wesley laid the foundation stone of this very chapel in front of a large audience. Despite Wesley not actually liking it (apparently describing it as a “scarecrow with no eyes or appreciation for the English vernacular”), he preached at the pulpit, which still exists inside today.
In recognition of the centenary of labour into expanding the congregation, the chapel was improved alongside the minister’s house. They sought the designs of F. R. Wilson (a friend of NEHL) to improve and modernise the church. It cost £1,100, and the building was fitted to contemporary standards, with financial support from the Tyneside congregations and the Bainbridge family—well-known Methodists.
Services still run today, and you’ll see the tablet with its founding year on the shot below.
Listing Description (if available)
Both Ordnance Survey plans here illustrate Alnwick town centre, Clayport Street and the back lanes in which this chapel resides, from the middle of the 19th century until the latter. Clayport is one of the earliest streets in Alnwick forming the east-west link through the town. Given its status as an important market town & staging post, it was almost inevitable the street would feature valuable infrastructure and social institutions here. One of Alnwick's most important defensive buildings, Clayport Tower, was constructed here as a result in medieval times and formed the main western fortification in and out of the town. It was however demolished in 1804, presumably owing to expansion of the road for development.
Old Chapel Lane may have been originally constructed as a north-south link to reach this church in the 18th century. We see on the early plan it features 3 entrances - two public doorways at the front and one on the rear which presumably backs on to the ministers house. The lane was shared with a number of other dwellings crammed in the old tithe plots between Clayport and the Green Bat.
Seldom changed and still hasn't from this survey a century ago. Much of this central parcel of land between Green Bar, Clayport and Market Street is still in situ, though some buildings have been cleared for more modern developments. You may also notice a lot of public infrastructure visible, such as the public baths pushed by the Working Mens Club and a fire station.
Alnwick Methodist Church in February 2025
The church can be seen in the centre of this aerial shot just after the Second World War. Source: Historic England Archive (RAF photography) raf_540_a_412_sffo_0035 flown 6 May 1949
