« St Philip Neri Roman Catholic Church, Dunston | Main | Dunston Wesleyan Methodist Church »
Dunston Primitive Methodist Church
The first Primitive Methodist chapel in Dunston was located in the "Great Square". Towards the end of the 19th century the congregation moved into new premises on Ravensworth Road, but these were too small to accommodate the growing congregation, so rooms were rented above a shop to house the Sunday School. In 1906, Wood Street Chapel which had been built six years earlier by the Independent Methodists, was purchased. It was of stone and seated 300. The old PM premises off Ravensworth Road were sold to the Salvation Army and later became the Dunston Training Workshops of Gateshead Church Enterprises.
Wood Street Chapel was enlarged in 1922 with the addition of a kitchen and two extra classrooms for the Sunday School. On 6th October 1963 Wood Street merged with the Hexham Road chapel to form Dunston Hill Methodist Church. Services were held at Hexham Road with Wood Street being used as a Youth Centre. This arrangement lasted until the Hexham Road chapel was replaced by a new all-purpose building on the same site in September 1980. Wood Street chapel was then demolished.
Comments
Wood Street Methodist Chapel as a buiding had few redeeming features but despite that it was certainly the spiritual hub of methodism in Dunston but also in the extended circuit.During the 1950's it produced at least several candidates to the Methodist ministry including the Wakefield twins George and Robert, Tom Teesdale.In that time many young people in Dunston were drawn to this chapel which boasted a Musical Society, a Choir which performed at each Sunday Service right up to the beginning of the turn of the century, Boys Brigade, Girls Brigade, Life Boys, at least two Womens meetings during the week and the Regnal League for men. When it closed it was by far the chapel with the largest congregation in the circuit, and activities which occurred on almost every night of the week.There will be many who have happy memories of this very special place, and many more who will mourn its passing.
Posted by: Derek Pattison at October 9, 2011 4:20 PM