mxmar0
Paul's Meeting House was the name of the church - the street was formerly known as Pole Street, possibly because this was an area where tanners stretched their products to dry, also in nearby 'Tenter Fields'. It has corrupted to Paul Street. The chapel was never dedicted to St Paul, independent chapels are non-conformist and don't dedicate in this way. The chapel simply took the name from its location. The parish in which Paul Street lies is Taunton St. Mary's. The chapel itself was founded by Joseph Alleine in 1662. The current building, which is now named the United Reformed Church, dates from 1797, and is the building your Richard Pearsall Allen would have known. I will get to work looking for details of these individuals, give me a few days.
The given name 'Pearsall' is interesting - the Pearsalls were silk manufacturers in Taunton, and the company still exists in their premises, built as a lace factory in 1825 but making silk by 1835 and now medical suture material. Their web page is
www.pearsalls.co.uk . My mother has shanks of embroidery silks with the Pearsalls label. Do you know of any family connection? If so, I can find out lots more about them.
