Wesleyan Methodists

There was a Wesleyan presence in Hasting from around 1797. Around 1809 local people and soldiers were meeting for worship and fellowship in a hall in Waterloo Place, supported by the Lewes Circuit. When Henry Beck (1783-1868) a Local Preacher, baker and grocer moved from Eastbourne to Hastings in 1817 the Society began to grow. In 1821 Henry Beck started to hold services in his house in 3 Russell Street. When the congregation became too large, a room was hired in Winding Place; later the Waterloo Chapel was built in Waterloo Place.

In the summer of 1834 the Wesleyans bought Hastings Theatre for £780 and it was opened as Wesley Chapel on 13 September. The chapel was replaced in 1939-40 by Wesley Methodist Church, now closed.

During the jubilee celebrations of Wesley Chapel in 1867, plans were laid for a new building. On 25 May 1875 the memorial stone for the Central Wesleyan chapel was laid by Mrs Anna Brassey (1839-1887) the wife of Mr Thomas Brassey (1836-1918), the M.P. for Hastings. The chapel was built on Cambridge Road and was designed by W.W. Pocock (1813-1899). The church closed in May 1974 and was demolished in 1980.

Calvert Memorial: Around 1871 Mr John Surman (1843-1934), a gardener, moved to Bohemia, Hastings, and held Wesleyan services and opened a Sunday school in his house. On Wednesday 6 July 1881 the Wesleyans opened an iron chapel on the corner of Park Road and Shornden-terrace, Bohemia, Hastings. On 16 July 1890 a memorial stone for a building to replace the iron chapel was laid in St John’s Road, Mount Pleasant, and the chapel, seating 750 people, was opened on Sunday 24 May 1891 by Rev. James Calvert. Shortly after the death of Rev James Calvert in 1892 the chapel was renamed Calvert Memorial Chapel (later renamed Calvert Methodist Church). On 7 and 8 October 1953 a major and successful fundraising event was held to clear the debt on the Central Methodist Church and to raise money to restore the Calvert Memorial Church. The money raised allowed a major restoration to take place, including the creation of a large hall. Further improvements were undertaken to celebrate the centenary in 1981.

Primitive Methodists

The first PM Quarterly Meeting in Hastings was held on 6 June 1859. The Society hired a room over a laundry at 39 High Street and worshipped there until 1874, when a former Baptist chapel near the Albert Memorial clock tower was purchased for £3000 and the Memorial Primitive Methodist chapel was opened. In 1882 the Society left the Memorial Hall and eventually bought the Beach Terrace Mission Hall, whch opened on Monday 7 April 1890 as the Hastings Primitive Methodist Chapel. The chapel closed when Beach Terrace was demolished in the early 1930s.

Entry written by: DHR
Category: Place
Comment on this entry