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Monks Chapel, United Reform Church.

URC Minister: Rev. Gary Gotham Tel 01380 724264

 

You are welcome to join us on Sunday’s for our afternoon service, which starts at 2:45pm until 3:45pm. Sunday Service Calendar Dates & Times Click Here.

Address:   Monk’s Lane, Corsham  SN13 9PH

Directions: You will find us between Corsham and Gastard off the B3353, approaching from Corsham turn right onto Monks Lane.  Ample car parking is available just 75 yards down the hill from Monks Chapel in Stephens Industries car park. New content is added regularly, including details of up and coming services and the names of the visiting Preachers, most of whom have already taken a morning service at other Churches within Wiltshire and bordering Gloucestershire, and who very kindly pay us a visit for our weekly Sunday afternoon service.

 

Monks Chapel has remained a dedicated place of Christian Worship since it was built by the Quakers in 1662. Situated just over five miles from the Town of Chippenham, it was built in response to the Five Mile Act passed by Parliament.

At that time King Charles II was on the throne, and his Parliament took it upon themselves to revise the English Prayer Book.  As a consequence Ministers were required to use “fixed forms of service” and give their agreement and consent to the New Book of Common Prayer.

As a result thousands of Ministers across the Country left the established Church, or were evicted from their posts for rejecting the new rulings on their beliefs and freedom to worship.

Later that year Parliament passed the Five Mile Act.  This meant Ministers had to take an oath and promise that they would not interfere or try to change the Government of the Church.  Any Ministers refusing to take the oath were barred from entering any Town or Borough, and had to stay a minimum of five miles outside of the Towns boundary.

The Vicar of nearby Castle Combe had a Son called Benjamin Flowers, who refused to accept the revised English Prayer Book, and so was turfed out of his post in Cardiff, South Wales. He came home and made Corsham a center for Independent Worship and Preaching. The Act of Toleration was passed in 1689 and later on in 1690 the Independents came to own Monks Chapel.

We are proud to be the successors of this long line of brave independent men and women, and still value cherish and uphold the principles of Independent Christian Worship today Hundreds of years ago, worshipers would walk up to 15 miles to get to Monks Chapel and would bring food and drink with them, using the Chapels fireplace to cook their food. Monks Chapel has a very tall pulpit which you can see in  monks chapel video #01.  The purpose behind building the pulpit high up was to give the Preacher a chance to spot any troublemakers making their way to the Chapel across the open countryside, Chapels like this were frequently raided.  There is a door under the Pulpit that leads to a possible secret exit for escape.

 

 

Thank you for visiting, please feel free to leave a comment or ask a question in the comments box below.

17 thoughts on “Home

  1. I have just come across this site about Monks Chapel. As a child I attended the congregational church and we walked up to Monks Chapel once a month for an afternoon service. I remember Ivor and Phyllis Tilley and knew Sandra when we both attended the school at the top of Pound Pill. We also went to Sunday school together. Such lovely memories Thank you

  2. I have dedicated a whole chapter to Monks Chapel in my new book ‘Corsham Revealed’ which you can by at the Corsham Books Shop, the Arnold House Tourist Centre in Corsham High Street, Amazon and on eBay. I love this old chapel and often stop there by on my walks around Corsham.

  3. Have been browsing your website and watching the videos after sharing with a cousin May Perriman, who I met for the first time in 2005 along with my late mother. Last week I asked May where she attended Church and she recommended a look at the website. I must say what a beautiful chapel you have and with such fascinating history.
    So lovely too to see the photo of May Perriman being made an Elder, how wonderful.
    I thought I would leave you a message to say Hello from Eastwood in Nottinghamshire and to show May that I kept my promise to browse your site. I have now saved you to my favourites folder to come back to the site and sent a link to my brother too. Wishing you God’s richest blessings.

  4. I left a comment yesterday but haven’t seen it show up here, so thought it might not have gone through, and so I’m trying again in case it didn’t. We are having lunch in Corsham and would love to take a look around the chapel if possible. My family had some association with the Monks in the late 1700s and early 1800s. If not today, then we may be able to come by next Monday as we will be traveling near by. I look forward to your response. Thank you. Amy

  5. Dear Church Secretary
    You are likely to receive a letter from me via synod very soon. However as I am aware the Monks Chapel is of very special interest and I am aware that you do already welcome visitors I did want to send a personal message to say that I do hope that Monks Chapel will be interested in joining the NCT Explore churches team.

    I am sorry to use the web site – but as I have no means of otherwise contacting you directly I trust that this will reach you. Yours sincerely,
    Valerie Jenkins

    THIS IS THE LETTER

    I sent the following request to all United Reformed Church Secretaries via Synod Offices at the end of July. If you didn’t receive it huge apologies. However since then there has been a small change which I hope will encourage all churches however new their church building may to be involved. See Paragraphs 5 and 6

    I represent The United Reformed Church on the Board of Trustees of the Churches Visitors’ and Tourism Association (CVTA) – which was established by the Church of England some years ago. Apart from the Methodist Heritage Officer and me, the Trustees are predominantly Anglican- though we have hopes to make the group more ecumenical. You may have received (or been troubled by!) e-mails from me in the past, encouraging your church to join CVTA, send representatives to our annual October Conference (this year in York) and to register your church in the National Churches Trust (NCT) ExploreChurches website.

    Some time ago the Methodist Church published a Guide to Heritage Churches in their denomination – in the style of the guides published by the National Trust and English Heritage and now with the support of Rev. Michael Hopkins of the URC History Society and the Listed Buildings Advisory Committee, I am hopeful that we might publish a similar Guide for the Heritage Churches of the United Reformed Church and an on – line reference site.

    Sarah Crossland, a fellow trustee of CVTA and an officer of NCT, has agreed that we might collect information using the format which she has devised for the ExploreChurches website so that the completed questionnaire may also be used to add United Reformed Churches to their website whilst providing the information we need to produce a printed and on line guide to Heritage Churches in the URC.

    I attach a copy of an explanatory letter from Sarah and the questionnaire with the request that you will complete it and send it to me preferably with photographs of your church – either by e-mail or by hard copy if you prefer. I shall then send copies of this material to Sarah for the ExploreChurches website.In the interests of getting this work begun I will be grateful to receive responses by September 30th (2017!)

    A number of churches have already responded and their details will be published on the NCT website around Monday September 18th – near the centenary of the ordination of Constance Coltman. In August the Churches of the Congregational Federation have also chosen to be involved. Many churches have very small, modern or quite undistinguished buildings, but every church congregation has a history to link it back to the 17th Century. So many people from other denominations or from none seem to think that the United Reformed Church merely dates back to 1972 apparently unaware of the roots of our fellowship in the great upheavals of the Reformation. I would like to set up a chronological list for each Synod website listing each church with a brief account of its history, with the website address if appropriate, to create a family tree of our history. Maybe your church was a church plant? Maybe it arose because of local concerns? Maybe some benefactor concerned for local; welfare set the church up/ All these stories are fascinating.

    If you would like to be involved in this without committing your church to be listed on the NCT website please will you still complete the NCT questionnaire which is attached and mark it at the top FOR URC USE ONLY and return it to me. It is easier to access material if it is all in a standardised form. I would be grateful if you are able to send it by e-mail but have added my address should that not be possible for you.

    If you have any questions, suggestions or advice to help with this project I should love to hear from you – indeed any sort of response will be delightful so that I know that this missive has not been dissolved in the ether!

    I do hope that this is just a beginning. It would be wonderful to have a complete list of all our churches with rather more details than our Year Book is able to provide, for every church, however new, has a history and local historians and genealogists may well want to visit. To encourage visitors is part of the task of evangelism and by welcoming visitors we may be part of the first stage to transform those visitors into pilgrims. And of course, we are exhorted by St. Paul to welcome strangers – remembering that “for thereby some have entertained angels unawares”.

    Sincerely

    Valerie Jenkins

  6. I am Australian and a descendant of George Slade who I believe was the independent minister of Corsham Chapel (now Monks Chapel) for about 40 years. The 1851 Census reveals that he was the minister at that time. We think that George may be buried in the Chapel grounds and are keen to have that verified. My cousin Veronica is travelling from Australia and intends to visit Monks Chapel sometime in the next 6 weeks or so and hopes to trace/verify some missing links in our family tree. I would love to hear from you especially if you have any information relating to George.

    I left a comment on this website on 23 July. According to your website the comment was awaiting moderation. It no longer appears on your website. Is that a problem on my end or yours?

    Regards

    Keith Slade

  7. Looking at my family tree I have discovered that George Slade (my great great great grandfather) was in 1851 the independent minister of Corsham Chapel (now Monks Chapel)

    I notice on your website you are looking for a George Gay. Interestingly George Slade’s son Morell Slade married Leah Gay in 1842. Her father was George Gay born abt. 1790. Obviously not the same person but maybe related. FYI. I am Australian.

  8. Dear Revd Arscott

    CMJ Visitation by Mrs Rosa Blandford to Wiltshire- Saturday 30 Sept 2017 to Sunday 15 October 2017

    Hello & good evening. My name is Mrs PohLeng Spalding and I am the deputation officer working with Mrs Rosa Blandford our fieldworker representing The Church’s Ministry among Jewish People (CMJ) based in Nottinghamshire. CMJ was established in 1809 taking the ministry from East London to the heart of Jerusalem. The three fold ministry is based on Education, Evangelism and Encouragement http://www.cmj.org.uk

    Currently Rosa and I are busy planning our CMJ speaking tours for 2017. Our tour to this part of the country will be from Saturday 30 Sept 2017 to Sunday 15 October 2017. We would like to enquire if the church will be interested to have Rosa speak at the church during this period when we are in the area. We are happy to speak in small groups meetings, Sunday Services or a special meeting with a focus subject from the Bible. If there is sufficient interest in the church we will be happy to do a presentation on Jewish Festivals like the Passover Meal Demonstration. I look forward to receiving your response and hope we can be of service to your church.
    Thank you.

    Every blessing

    Mrs PohLeng Spalding
    Deputation officer

    mobile: 07849469323
    home office: 020 84646826
    email: spaldip4@aol.com

    CMJ UK
    Eagle Lodge
    Hexgreave Hall Business Park
    Farnsfield
    Nottinghamshire
    NG22 8LS
    http://www.cmj.org.uk

  9. Dear Richard

    Just to say that I really enjoyed watching ‘A Bible for Mary’ again via your web site – lovely to see Mum and Dad again in their younger days, and lots of other familiar faces too. We are hoping to visit the Mary Jones Visitors Centre at Bala when we go to North Wales in the summer.

    Hope you and Jan are well
    Love to you both
    Christine

  10. Thank you Joan. I don’t think Janet “surfs the web” so I will make sure I will let her know you dropped by. We look forward to seeing you again at Monks.

  11. I lived briefly for about 9 months 1999-2000, and Monks Chapel will always hold a lasting place in my heart. Your website totally incaptures the ambiance of the place and the closeness of the congration. I hope I can visit soon. Many blessings to you all.

    Joan x ( Janet Clarke, will remind you who I am)

  12. Thanks nick I will look forward to the info, we are in Lacock tomorrow Sunday But if we are unable to make it would really love a look around another time as we live in Dorset. Once again many thanks for your help. Kind regards Lynn

  13. Hi Lynn, the Chapel is always open for Sunday service 2:45 to 3:45. Visits outside those hours can be made by appointment, and Geoff will let you in to have a leisurely look around. I will email you the contact details.
    Nick.
    Website Moderator

  14. I lived in one of the cottages at the top of monks lane opposite the pond.my grandparents lived there for many years A neighbour Mrs McCance attended the Chapel.Sadly my grandparents have been gone for almost 40 years but I have many happy memories of my childhood there. If we are in the area is there a time that the chapel is open to view.Its such a shame that so many of our churches and chapels have to be locked up these days, just a sign of progress I guess. All best wishes.

  15. Picture of gentleman in pulpit (top right) is a farmer from bath. Who wrote poems and books about country life as a christian farmer.
    His name is john osbourne and he took several services here, he has this week passed to glory and his funeral is 1 pm Wednesday 7th November at Weston all Saints Church, Bath. We give thanks for his ministry with us over the years.

  16. Hi Susan,

    Thank you for your kind comment, our first as the website has only been live for a week. Last Sunday Richard gave me quite a few photos he has accrued over the years, and I will be putting these on the website over the coming weeks.
    Thank you again.
    Nick
    Website Moderator

  17. Warm congratulations on your new website for Monks Chapel. My husband and I were delighted to attend a Sunday Service in the Chapel in 2004 on our first visit to England. We were visiting with the wonderful Richard and Jan Smith and they very kindly invited us to join them in the very historic and picturesque Chapel. As you can imagine Australia does not have historic buildings going back to the 1600’s so we were charmed by both the building itself and the rural surroundings of Monks Chapel. I will keep watching for updates on your site. Best wishes for a successful venture in bringing such an interesting bit of history online. Sue

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