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History of Walkington Methodist Church
A hundred years of Methodism in Walkington
Methodism was established in Walkington in 1822. Methodists registered a building for worship, this was probably the old Wesleyan chapel which stood on the south east corner of Townend Pit. By the early 1820s the Primitive Methodists had their chapel at 38 Northgate. You can see a latin inscription Locus Sacelli (the place of the chapel) on one of the upper windows.
Primitive Methodists were mainly farm labourers. By the middle of the 19th century their membership had increased so much that they needed to build a new chapel. The site for the new chapel was on the northern side of the main road almost directly opposite to All Hallows Road. It was opened on 27th August 1879.
By 1869 the Wesleyan Chapel had been enlarged. But it too, had such a large congregation that its members were looking to build a new place to worship. The Walkington Wesleyans were financially wealthier than the Primitive Methodists, even so the membership were not prepared to spend more than £300 on a new chapel. The final bill for the Wesleyan Jubilee Chapel (named in honour of the anniversary of the accession of Queen Victoria) was £450. The opening service was on 14th September 1887.
In 1932 the Primitive and Wesleyan Methodist churches were united to form the Methodist Church. Despite the fact that both now owed allegiance to the same Methodist conference the two churches in Walkington continued to enjoy a separate existence until they came under the same Ministry in October 1950. After this time the Primitive Chapel became known as the 'Bethel' Chapel.
In 1949 the old Wesleyan Chapel at Townend was sold for £100. By 1952 membership of the Wesleyan Church had declined and services at Jubilee Chapel were discontinued. United services were held at Bethel with Jubilee Chapel's use available to the Primitive Methodists if they so wished. 1955 came and the Bethel Chapel was in a bad state of repair while the Jubilee Chapel stood empty. There were suggestions that The Jubilee Chapel might be sold for use as a petrol station, but lack of forecourt space put an end to this idea. In 1956 the Primitives agreed to use the Jubilee Chapel for worship during the summer and it was agreed that the Chapel should be refurbished for use by all Walkington Methodists.
In 1960 the budget for the refurbishment was set at £150, but soon the project grew in scope to a more complex redesign of its interior, diciding the Chapel into two part with the lower level for worship and the higher level as a meeting place separated by a removable screen. Electrical heating was installed and an altar rail was tasken from the old Methodist Church at Hunmanby. All Hallows' Church donated the font. The two 'Hayton' windows and the War Memorial talet were taken from Bethel. The total bill for the refurbishment was £1516. Many local people donated money including Gracie Fields who had family connections in Walkington. The CHapel was re-dedicated on 14th July 1962.
In 1984 the old kitchen was converted into a meeting room and a new kitchen was built.
Taken from '100 years of Methodism in Walkington' by R M Scrowston.