Primitive Methodist Chapel, Nantwich

Early visits from Nonconformist preachers were not welcomed in Nantwich. In 1753, John Wesley was "saluted with curses and hard names", while that same year, George Whitefield was met by angry crowds who tried to drive a bull into his audience, but were foiled when the animal fell into a pit. William Clowes, one of the founders of Primitive Methodism, came to Nantwich with John Wedgewood and preached at The Barony in 1817. A building on Marsh Lane was purchased in 1826 for £100 and was used as a chapel until 1840, when the chapel on Welsh Row was built by Thomas Bateman. The Welsh Row site, donated by George Wilbraham, was a former cloth merchants' hall. Opening on 21 October 1840, the…

The Primitive Methodist Chapel is a two-storey building in red brick with stone dressings, which is set back from the street behind a walled forecourt. The front façade has three bays with a pediment bearing a stone tablet with the inscription "Primitive Methodist Chapel. A.D. 1840." This face also has a stone string course and cornice. The wide central entrance is reached by a flight of steps; it has decorative stone inserts, a semi-circular brick arch above and a fanlight. The windows have undecorated stone lintels and sills.