Bourne Methodist Church
OUR HISTORY
In 1809 the first methodist Minister arrived in Bourne, at the request of four good men of Bourne. Mr Pollard arrived from Grantham on his horse on the 14th of January and they were both put up at the Golden Lion in West Street. The first methodist society meeting at Bourne was also held in 1809 at a cottage in star Lane (now called Abbey Road) belonging to John Brown. It is believed that the cottage was situated on what is now the front garden of the current Methodist Church.
There were just 8 members in 1810 but by 1815 there were 65. During the intervening years the methodist had bought a piece of land near the cottage to build a Chappel which opened it's doors in 1812.
Bourne became the head of a new Circuit in 1837. This eventually stretched from Folkingham and Billingborough in the north to Market Deeping in the south, and from Guthrum in the east to Swayfield in the west.
The members decided that they would like a bigger chapel to accommodate the increasing numbers. So in August 1842 a new Chapel was built at a cost of £1200 by Thomas Pilington and is the building you will find on Abbey Road today. The original chapel was then used as Sunday Schoolroom until it was demolished to make room for the present Hall in 1965.
To find out more about the history of Methodism, go to http://www.methodist.org.uk/who-we-are/history
Picture depicts John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church.
