Methodism in this part of north Cornwall was strongly influenced by the Anglican evangelicals, notably George Thomson and George Whitefield, although neither appear to have come nearer to the coast than Stratton. Bude only began to develop after the opening of the Bude Canal in 1823 to carry sea sand to improve the quality of soil inland.

The first Wesleyan Chapel opened in about 1830, when a small house behind Garden Terrace (then without a name) was adapted for use. In 1835 a slightly larger chapel near 'The Villa' was opened.

With the development of the holiday trade the town began to grow, although it wasn't until the arrival of the railway in 1898 that the present town really began to develop. Quite early on it was evident that a larger chapel would be needed, but it took the forcefulness of the Rev. Mark Guy Pearse, staying in the town on a period of recuperation in 1876-7, to make progress. He suggested the site on the recovered land on the south side of the river. The new building opened in 1880. SinceMethodist union in 1932 it has been known as 'Bude Central'.

The United Methodist Free Churches came to the town as the result of expansion of the Launceston Circuit. A Stratton & Bude Circuit appeared in 1883 and in 1905 a new chapel in the Gothic Revival style was opened at Flexbury Park on the northern side of the present town.

Entry written by: CCS
Category: Place
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