John Wesley preached at least 23 times in Frome between 1753 and 1790 and was typically uncomplimentary about town and congregation.

Wesleyan Methodists

Methodist preaching in Frome dates from 1747. A Society was formed in 1757 and by 1761 the membership had grown to 74. They met in a house in Broadway. In 1779 the Society bought land in Clay Batch, and built a meeting house to seat 420 people. Around 1792 shortly after retiring as the churchwarden in the parish church of St John the Baptist Robert Blunt (1745-1821) a clothier, and his wife Sarah (1747-1827), started a Wesleyan Sunday school. They were assisted by Edward Griffith (1761-1816), a linen draper and grocer, who later became a class leader, Sunday School Superintendent and a Local Preacher, and also a churchwarden. There was a revival of religion in Frome in 1809 and the congregation in the Wesleyan meeting house doubled. In October 1810 the trustees bought a piece of land adjacent to the meeting house. For about a year during the building of the new chapel the Wesleyans worshipped at the parish church of St John the Baptist. The new chapel was opened on 14 May 1812 and was later known as Wesley Church. A Sunday school was re-started in 1813. Frome became a Circuit out of the Bath Circuit in 1812. !n 1854 an organ was installed in the chapel.

Bethel Wesleyan Chapel sited at The Butts was opened in 1859. The chapel was renovated and re-seated and re-opened on 27 May 1909. It closed c. 1968.

Primitive Methodists

The area was missioned in 1823 by the Western Mission. William Paddison (1801-1885) held a camp meeting in 1826. The Society built a chapel to seat 480 people in 1834 in Sun Street. It was opened on 14 and 19 October 1834 when the preachers were Rev. Spedding Curwen (1792-1856), Independent Minister, and Rev. W. Jones. The Sunday school was started in 1835. On Thursday 28 February 1907 the chapel was reopened after an extensive restoration and extension. Closed in 1982, it became the Frome Gospel Hall.

United Methodist Free Churches

From around 1850 the Society worshipped and held their meetings in a small chapel behind the Temperance Hall. In July 1908 a scheme for a new church was proposed. Money was raised by fundraising, grants and interest free loans and the sale of the old chapel to the trustees of the Temperance Hall. On 5 May 1910 the foundations stones for a new church were laid in Portway. The Church with seating for 240 and a schoolroom for 120 was opened on Thursday 3 November 1910.

The new Frome and Shepton Mallet United Circuit was formed 1964 and the Portway chapel closed in September 2021.

Entry written by: DHR
Category: Place
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