Street is a large village approximately 2 miles southwest of Glastonbury. From the mid-seventeenth century there was a Quaker presence in the village and the Clarks, a prominent Quaker family, developed a very successful shoemaking business in Street from the mid-nineteenth century. The Clarks were generous donors of land and funds to successive Methodist chapels.

Wesleyan Methodists: Preaching probably began in private houses licensed for worship in the early nineteenth century. The first chapel, built in 1839, was extended several times and then replaced by a new building in Leigh Road in 1893, a Geometrical Gothic chapel with side aisles and transepts, designed by Henry Hawkins. A two-storey Sunday School, with an assembly hall and ten classrooms, was added in 1897.

Primitive Methodists: PM open-air meetings began in Street in 1852 and a Society was formed in 1863. A chapel was opened in the High Street in 1872 and extended in 1882-83.

Both chapels remained in use after Methodist Union, but the ex-PM chapel was closed in 1963.

Entry written by: DHR
Category: Place
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