I have recently acquired a booklet produced by the church in 1995 and written by Bill Sanders, describing it's history, and this is extracted from the booklet.
Preachers began their efforts in Castle Bromwich sometime in early 1843, the meetings being held in the open air. Thomas Mould was a senior in the church. On 31st March 1845 a meeting decided that it would, understandably, be desirable to build a proper chapel. Thomas Mould apparently had access to a suitable piece of land, which had originally been purchased by his father, William Mould, from the Coach and Horses pub as a garden. William died in 1844. The land was conveyed to the church in 1845 and the chapel built. The bill for the conveyance is shown below
.
Not much seems to be known about the chapel. It was brick-built with a tiled roof. There were 100 free seats plus 24 others, and there was a solid fuel stove in the centre, with oil lamps for lighting, and two candles either side of the preacher. Attendance in 1851 was around 20 persons. Initially the stewards for the meetings were given the instruction that their first duty was to feed the preacher's horse. In the preachers' meeting in September 1855 the question was asked "Is there any way to be found to stop local preachers using the railway on the Lord's Day".This was before the railway reached the area, and when it did, things changed, and on the 9th June 1864 it was agreed that preachers should recieve second class rail fare. The position of th eold chapel is shown in red on the 1886 map below
This chapel was one of the few that did not have a war memorial for those fallen in WW1.
Attendance varied, and at one time, closure of the chapel was considered. But in the early years of the 19th century a Sunday school was formed, with the first Sunday school outing occurring in 1923. This seems to have given rise to an increase in worshippers, For this reason it was determined in 1928 that a new chapel on a new site should be built. This was opened on 4th October 1930, with demolition of the old church in August 1930. The land on which the old church was built was purchased by Ansells , which later used it for part of a rebuilt Coach & Horses. So this land was originally part of the Coach and Horses, was sold, used for a chapel by those who, at that time, demonised drink, and then sold back to the same pub (under different management).
The booklet contains much information on events in the old church, and the later new one. Below are some photographs from this early time, including the first Sunday school outing and the harmonium removed from the original church
Preachers began their efforts in Castle Bromwich sometime in early 1843, the meetings being held in the open air. Thomas Mould was a senior in the church. On 31st March 1845 a meeting decided that it would, understandably, be desirable to build a proper chapel. Thomas Mould apparently had access to a suitable piece of land, which had originally been purchased by his father, William Mould, from the Coach and Horses pub as a garden. William died in 1844. The land was conveyed to the church in 1845 and the chapel built. The bill for the conveyance is shown below
.
Not much seems to be known about the chapel. It was brick-built with a tiled roof. There were 100 free seats plus 24 others, and there was a solid fuel stove in the centre, with oil lamps for lighting, and two candles either side of the preacher. Attendance in 1851 was around 20 persons. Initially the stewards for the meetings were given the instruction that their first duty was to feed the preacher's horse. In the preachers' meeting in September 1855 the question was asked "Is there any way to be found to stop local preachers using the railway on the Lord's Day".This was before the railway reached the area, and when it did, things changed, and on the 9th June 1864 it was agreed that preachers should recieve second class rail fare. The position of th eold chapel is shown in red on the 1886 map below
This chapel was one of the few that did not have a war memorial for those fallen in WW1.
Attendance varied, and at one time, closure of the chapel was considered. But in the early years of the 19th century a Sunday school was formed, with the first Sunday school outing occurring in 1923. This seems to have given rise to an increase in worshippers, For this reason it was determined in 1928 that a new chapel on a new site should be built. This was opened on 4th October 1930, with demolition of the old church in August 1930. The land on which the old church was built was purchased by Ansells , which later used it for part of a rebuilt Coach & Horses. So this land was originally part of the Coach and Horses, was sold, used for a chapel by those who, at that time, demonised drink, and then sold back to the same pub (under different management).
The booklet contains much information on events in the old church, and the later new one. Below are some photographs from this early time, including the first Sunday school outing and the harmonium removed from the original church