In his book The Gospel among the Masses, Robert Key reported that in 1832, he was told that a Wesleyan preacher had come to Watton. When he began to preach, he was attacked by the mob, escaping only by the skin of his teeth. Nevertheless, a congregation was formed in the town and a Wesleyan chapel was built there in 1834 with 160 sittings.
In the Religious Census of 1851, 90 people attended the afternoon service as well as 28 children in Sunday school. A total of 82 were at evening worship. There was no morning service. The form was signed by Charles Ames of Watton, the chapel steward. He was a grocer, draper and glover.
Early attempts by the Primitive Methodists to establish a cause in the town also came to nothing. Robert Key, the great East Anglian evangelist wrote of his experiences there on 16 August 1832. Standing in the market place, he received ‘very rough handling from the infuriated rabble.’ However, Key was not to be deterred.
An article in the Bury & Norwich Post, submitted by an observer of the scene, described the event as an uproar, with blowing of horns, ringing of bells, beating tin kettles, shouting and yelling. ‘The preacher was twice thrown down from his stand to the ground, but with unabated zeal he as oft resumed his labours.’
Beer was circulated to encourage the rioters and it was affirmed that the violent protest was organized by a few prominent people in the town whilst an Anglican clergyman was ‘a prompter acting behind the scenes.’ Suddenly, several of the drunk ringleaders took Key’s part and saw him safely out of Watton.
The kitchen of a retired tradesman in Worm’s Yard belonging to a man named Took was first used for worship. He subsequently built a small chapel for the Primitive Methodists next to his house which was sold to the Connexion. It was built of clay lump with a brick floor and had two windows at the front. Rail-back forms were used for seating, providing 105 places, and light was provided by dip-candles.
Services were held in the afternoon and evening. Steward William Hart who completed the 1851 Census form reported 100 at the afternoon service on 30 March with 70 in the evening. Sunday scholars both in the morning and afternoon numbered 32. The numbers look suspiciously rounded, but were probably roughly correct. William Hart added, ‘we have a morning service for members of this place of worship exclusively 30-40’.
A replacement chapel was built in 1868 costing £500 and the old chapel became a house for the minister stationed in the town. The new chapel was prominently sited in the High Street, but it was sold to a resident in Watton when the congregation joined with the one at Saham Toney, presumably to strengthen the society there. The building was used as a Lecture Room until 1881 when it was bought back by the Primitive Methodists. A porch and schoolroom were added.
In 1913 the Primitive Methodist trustees bought a parcel of land from a Mrs Frost on which to build a new chapel. It had the proviso that no windows were to overlook the garden of Clarence House, the home of Mrs Frost. Two years later, it was felt that not enough land had been bought and so a further 10 feet were purchased for £25. A wall was erected in order to enclose the disused maltings there and all the land. A foundation stone was laid by Miss Moore in the east wall. However, building a new chapel was deferred until 1926.
A stone-laying ceremony for a new church was held on 7 July 1926. It was opened a year later on 7 July by Mrs C.K. Fisher of Coney Weston and Mrs G. Starling of Hilgay and the dedicating sermon was preached by the Rev. Professor A.L. Humphries, President of the Primitive Methodist Conference. It was built next to the old church which became the Central Hall and a Sunday school. The architect of the new building was Theo Scott of Norwich, son of the founder of the firm, A.F. Scott. The builder was Melville Peeke-Vout.
The cost of the new project was £3600. This included the alterations needed to convert the old chapel into a Sunday school and Institute of which £1577 was to hand as well as a £500 mortgage from the Primitive Methodist Chapel Aid Association. The huge sum of £176 was collected on the opening day. The organ, which had originally been installed in the old chapel in 1903 was restored and rebuilt by Messrs William Hill of Norwich.
Musical services were held on Sunday afternoons. The first in the new church was taken by Brighten Hardy, a farmer of Ovington, a ‘fire and brimstone Wesleyan preacher’, a JP and ‘possessing of a voice which could be depended on to wake every living thing within a quarter of a mile. And that was when he was speaking softly’.
A baby, Lyla Leggett, the daughter of John Leggett, a dairyman and his wife Louise had been baptized in the old church in 1884. She became a missionary in Nigeria and for a time worked in a leper colony there. Her name was inscribed on one of the foundation stones of the new building. She maintained close ties with the church where she had attended Sunday school both as a pupil and teacher and was the honoured guest there on many occasions.
At Methodist Union in 1932 the Wesleyan chapel on Saham Road closed and the congregation joined that at the ex-Primitive Methodist church.
In the 1980s, the old chapel, after refurbishment became the Watton Christian Community Centre. Its management was shared jointly by the Church of England and the Methodist Church. At the outset, it received support from Norfolk Social Services. It was opened in 1989 by Gillian Shephard, MP. The sharing agreement came to an end in 2019, as it was no longer required, and the building once again became a Methodist Centre.
Entry written by: NV
Category: Place
Comment on this entry