These villages were formerly within Leicestershire, but were transferred to Derbyshire in 1897. This page traces the history of these chapels only while they were part of Leicestershire.
Woodville
Wesleyan Methodists
The Wesleyan chapel in Woodville (a village which was formerly known as Wooden Box) was built in 1816, and in 1851 it was said to provide 114 free and 86 other sittings. On Sunday 30 March 1851 there were two services, attended by 64 worshippers in the afternoon and 106 in the evening. There was also an evening Sunday school that day, which 40 attended.
The chapel was rebuilt on the same High Street site in 1862, at a cost of £700, and was said to be able to accommodate 400 worshippers.
Primitive Methodists
A Primitive Methodist chapel was recorded in Woodville in 1881, to the south of the village, set back from the Moira Road.
Netherseal
General Baptists
A congregation of 59 General Baptists were said to be meeting in Netherseal in 1829, an unusually precise figure for this return, and therefore perhaps an accurate one. Twelve of their number were said to live in the village, with the remainder coming from outside. A General Baptist chapel was built in 1840, with 250 sittings and standing room for 30 more people, although there are also records of this congregation uniting with that of Measham at this time. On census Sunday in March 1851, there was said to be an attendance of 61 at Netherseal in the afternoon and 34 in the evening, with 100 attending Sunday school that morning.
Wesleyan Methodists
No Wesleyan Methodists are recorded in this village in 1851. Their chapel is not mentioned in directories until the 1890s.
Overseal
General Baptists
There may be some confusion between the two Seal villages in the records, as 12 General Baptists are also recorded at Overseal in 1829, and there are also records of a chapel being built there in 1840, of a similar size to that recorded in Netherseal. Attendance figures on 30 March 1851 do differ, however, with 20 at morning worship and 75 present in the evening in this village, together with a morning Sunday school of 24. Further investigation is required.
Primitive Methodists
The 1829 return records 16 Primitive Methodists meeting in this village. No return was made in 1851. A Primitive Methodist chapel was built in the village in 1860.
Return to Protestant Nonconformity: A-Z
Sources
- Trade Directories
- 1829 Meeting House Return
- 1851 Ecclesiastical census
- Ordnance Survey maps