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The History of The Greens Norton Methodist Chapel

How did the Methodist Church begin in Greens Norton?

The founder of Methodism, John Wesley, never came to Greens Norton, but he did visit Towcester in 1760 and wrote in his diary that he found only "one person whose soul keeps alive although he has scarce anyone in the town to converse with". This person was Samuel Basford and his efforts were the means of awakening personal religion, especially in Whittlebury. John Wesley described Whittlebury as "the flower of all the societies in the circuit".

James Foster and Ann Ratledge were members of the Whittlebury Society. They married, moved to GREENS NORTON and played a major part in starting the Greens Norton Society.
The beginnings of the Methodist Church in GREENS NORTON was not without its opponents; a report appeared in the Northampton Mercury of 12th January 1788:
"Last Sunday was distributed to the poor of Greens Norton £6 19s 8d in Penalties levied on Methodists who had unlawfully assembled in the said street of the Parish. It is now clearly ascertained that all Assemblies and Conventicles held in the street are unlawful; and the parties present, if amounting to the Number of Five are liable to the severe penalties imposed by the said Act of Charles the 2nd".
In 1796, an itinerant preacher called Edward Gibbin was sent by the Northampton Methodist Circuit to preach in the villages around Towcester. He held an open-air service in Greens Norton. This is what happened:
"one man in particular persisted in ringing a loud bell so as to drown the preacher's voice. When the people were gathered into the house, men, armed with pistols, assembled outside to frighten those who attended"
Despite this intimidation, by 1801 there was a Methodist Society in GREENS NORTON of twelve members and by 1802 they had built their first chapel on ground behind the Butcher's Arms. This chapel became a Primitive Methodist church and remained in use until well into this century, before being demolished. The house at No 6 High Street was built on the cleared land.

A second chapel was built for the Wesleyan Methodists in 1837. This building is now the Post Office. The congregation of the Post Office chapel outgrew the premises and built in Bradden Road a new chapel that opened for worship in 1866. This is the building that in 2001 is still in active use as a Methodist Church.

The original Trustees of that new chapel built in 1866 were:

1866 Church Trustees
Hender Geach Foster, Shoemaker // Thos Foster, Shoemaker // Ebenezer Ellis, Shoemaker // John Foster, Shoemaker
Josiah Savage, Shoemaker // Charles Cave, Shoemaker // Thomas Finge, Shoemaker // Joseph Sharpe, Shoemaker
Samuel Howes, Labourer // Joseph Foster, Labourer // William Checkley, Sawyer // George Sharman, Collector of Tolls
Interesting Links:
Northamptonshire Record Office holds the collection of historic documentation from all the local non-conformist chapels as well as newspapers from that period.
Northamptonshire Central Library holds a collection of local history documents
The Methodist Church of Great Britain - Introduction to Methodism, history, explanation of church structure and beliefs
The John Rylands University Library of Manchester is the home of the Methodist Archive and Research Centre
Many Thanks to Jeanette Clark for the providing this history and the information provided herein.
For site enquires contact: webmaster@greensnortonvillage.co.uk