Paignton is a market town and seaside resort on the south coast of Devon, which developed as a popular holiday destination from the mid-nineteenth century.

Wesleyan Methodists

John Footman, a Royal Navy pensioner, licensed his home as a place of worship in May 1824 and when the society grew, meetings were held in the home of John Jenkins, father of the Rev. Dr Ebenezer E. Jenkins. After worshipping for some years in a converted barn, a new chapel was planned, and the building, on Polsham Road, was opened on 12 November 1868. An extension and refurbishment followed in 1881 and in 1895-96 the chapel was replaced by a larger building, seating 550 people, in Palace Avenue.

Bible Christians

The Bible Christian cause began with meetings in Dartmouth Place around 1840, moving in 1884 to the former Independent Chapel on Cecil Road. This building was renovated in 1904, later renamed Southfield Methodist Church, and closed in 2022.

Primitive Methodists

A PM missioner preached in the town in 1864 and the Weston Mission Hall opened in Winner Street in 1881, but the cause seems to have been short-lived.

Entry written by: DHR
Category: Place
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