The Moravian church in Pertenhall

[linmey]

My great grandparents and their parents were members of the Moravian church and attended the Pertenhall Moravian chapel. When I visited a few weeks ago I was disappointed to find the chapel is now a house and the grave stones are flattened with horses grazing over them.
         Does anyone know anything about this chapel and when it closed? Also I would like to know if there were many other Moravian chapels in the surrounding area. 
      Many thanks for your help.   Linda.

[nettle]

This should help. Its a link to a British Moravian Newsletter. It happens to mention a minister that served in Pertenhall in the 1950's so still going then.

Also gives a telephone contact for the editor so I'm sure you can get some more history from the horses mouth so to speak.

http://www.moravian.org.uk/pdf/messenger_05_04.pdf

Nettle.

[linmey]

Thanks for that nettle. I will follow that up.
          I have read about the founding of the chapel and was fully expecting it to be there, but I guess a lot of former chapels have gone the same way. I know there was one in Swineshead that is now a house but I don't know if that was also a Moravian chapel at one time.
          Many thanks,
                                   Linda.

[bedfordshire boy]

Bedfordshire Historical Record Society has published a couple of books: The Bedford Moravian Church in the 18th century, which makes no mention of Pertenhall, perhaps unsurprising as according to their other book Bedfordshire Chapels and Meeting Houses Pertenhall Moravian chapel wasn't licensed until 1823 and the church was built in 1827. It was a Moravian community with houses forming a courtyard around the chapel. Don't know when it closed though.

Regards

David

[linmey]

Hi David
                 Thanks very much for that. I am surprised that it was built as late as that because I understood it to have been founded by a vicar of Pertenhall Parish church which I was sure was sometime in the previous century but I will have to double check on that. Perhaps at that time they had a temporary building.
     Its interesting what you say about a Moravian community because that may explain why there is still a little group of houses very close to what was the chapel and they give the impression that they were part of the same complex.
          My family were obviously very keen church members because in the 1881 census my great great aunt aged 15 was living in Somerset and working as a servant to former minister of the Pertenhall chapel. I am guessing they took her with them when they left the village. Quite a distance from home for a young girl.
              Thanks once again David.   Linda.

[cathymcc]

Linda

I had a look on the Beds Archives search site http://blars.adlibsoft.com/form.html
for Pertenhall Moravian Church - and these came up.

  Z50 Prints made by the Photographic Unitz50/88 Two small children in front of Moravian Chapel....
 
  Z50 Prints made by the Photographic UnitZ50/88/1 Disused Moravian Church: interior views.... 1967
 
  Z50 Prints made by the Photographic UnitZ50/88/7-8 Disused Moravian Church: exterior views.... 1967
 
  Z912/20 Moravian Church Photographs (1)Black and white photograph of Moravian Church Players in a stage se... 1930 - 1992
 
The gravestones should have been recorded [hopefully!] so please check out publications at Bedfordshire Historical Records Society.

cathy

[molepatrol]

Hi.


Not been on here for a while but picked up on your link to Pertenhall and noted the link to the Reynolds.

What is your relationship- my Grandad was a Reynolds.

Ali

[K Hurrey]

Just picked up this thread. My grandfather, Harry Pyne, Bought The Manse and the Chapel (both derelict) in 1962. Being a retired architect, he renovated the Manse and tended the grave Yard. He retained the Chapel. As a child I enjoyed many and hour playing the organ in there, which worked by bellows! He moved back to Bedford in 1977, when he gave up driving. He sold to a couple to continuned the renovations and tuned the chapel into a garage to house Vintage Cars, I believe.

[linmey]

Thank you for your post. I would have loved to have seen the chapel as so many of my family had worshiped there. I knew it had all been re developed and I did try to get in to see it from the outside a few years back but it looked very privately owned so I didn't go any further.

I am not sure if the chapel is still standing or if it is, what it is used for now.

Best wishes,

Linda