Salem Chapel Wangford Suffolk

The foundation of this Chapel was laid by Mr William Gooch of Wangford on Friday 26th April 1844 – in the presence of a Layer and respectable assembly to whom the Rev. William Wainwright of Gt. Yarmouth had just preached an energetic and practical discourse from the latter clause of the 13th verse of the 6th Chapter of the 2nd Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians* - immediately after the deposition of the stone in the south eastern corner an address was delivered by the Rev. W. Brining Jnr. Late of the North of England explanatory of the grandeur and the design and the erection of an earthly temple in which to worship God – of the facts, doctrines, precepts and ordinances of the Christian Religion, to be declared, enforced and obeyed in it – showing the necessity of the undertaking and the solemn and absolute obligation devolving upon the people freely and devoutly to engage in it for its final accomplishment and exhorting to faithfulness in their honourable and blessed vocation that Christ might be glorified in the Holy and devout life and soul be saved by implicit reliance on the just atonement, the divine foundation, the sinners hope, desire, refuge and home.

The very interesting ceremony then concluded as it commenced with praise and prayer.

Hallelujah – God was there and good was done

Page 2

The Primitive Methodists are a denomination of Christians raised up by divine providence in the beginning of the present century they succeeded in establishing an interest in this village in 1823 and in 1827 a Chapel was built for their use though not belonging to them a Connexional property, in which the glorious Gospel has been regularly and powerfully preached up to the present time. But by the blessing of the Lord accompanying the labours of his servants the place has long been too strait for the worshippers that have attended it which is the joyful reason why we raise a larger sanctuary. This edifice is erected at but a very short distance from the other – it is now being settled by law on the Primitive Methodist Connexion and we hope, nay we are fully confident the Great Head of the Church will prosper us and all his people more abundantly –

Jah Jehovah, fill the house with thy glory.

The number of the Church Members at this time connected in society at Wangford is 53 in the whole circuit 630. The increase in the circuit for the last is 60. The Rev. W. Rudd is the present superintendent the Rev. Messrs. Yeadon and Wilkinson are his colleagues.

Page 3

Statistics of the P. M. Connexion taken at the last annual conference held at Nottingham June 10th – 18th 1843 are as follows –

Members of Society including 905 in British North America are	85,565
Itinerant Ministers	488
Local Preachers	7,438
Connexional Chapels	1,278
Sabbath Scholars	74,450
Sabbath School Teachers	14,892
The deaths for the year preceeding	934
The increase for the year including 242 in British North America was	6,042

These societies are scattered through nearly all the counties of England – several parts of Wales, Scotland, Ireland the Isle of Man, the Isle of Wight, the Norman Isles and British North America and three Missionaries are on the point of departing or have already departed for Australia and New Zealand.

‘Ebenezer’

It is but 34 years since the first Chapel was established in the County of Staffordshire under the auspices of the Lord of Hosts who has called His grace to multiply exceedingly –

To God be all the Glory

Page 4

Mr Thos. Denny of Kelsale is the builder of this Chapel.

Trustees - Wm. Gooch Wangford	Wm. Bardwell Wangford
Charles Hales Wangford	Wm. Driver Sotterley
Peter Piper Westall	John Davey Stoven
Peter Roe Reydon	James Bloomfield Wangford
Wm. Edwards Frostenden	Henry Brown Uggeshall

Written May 2nd 1844 being the 7th year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Victoria sovereign of the British Empire the largest Empire in the World and being one year after the signal defeat of Sir James Graham and his co-adjuter Bill called the Factory Education Bill but which was in reality a most infamous attempt to deprive dissenters of their own children according to their own desires and principles –

‘He must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet’

*2 Cor. Chap. 6 verse 13 - Now for a recompense in the sane, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged.