Both John and Charles Wesley visited Hatfield on several occasions, the latter to visit his sister Anne (Nancy) and her husband, John Lambert.

Wesleyan Methodists

In 1829 William Clerk licensed his house for Methodist preaching. A chapel was opened in a stable annex in 1851. In 1870, 1880 and 1886 the St Albans Circuit approached the Marquess of Salisbury, the principal local landowner, for a site for a new chapel, but to no avail. This apparent obstruction was raised with the Committee of Privileges, with R.W. Perks taking a leading role. An expensive site was secured in 1889 and the chapel opened on 30 October. By 1902 it was reported that the building was in a poor condition.

Subsequent development brought chapels at Birchwood (built in 1936-38; closed in 2024) and Oxlease (1961).

A PM chapel was recorded in the 1851 Religious Census, but it had closed by 1853.

Queenswood School, opened in Clapton in 1866, moved to Brookmans Park, Hatfield, in 1925.

Entry written by: DHR
Category: Place
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