Washford Methodist Church
Meeting at St
Mary's, Main Road,
Washford
Sundays 10.30 a.m. Morning Worship
Mondays 10.30 a.m.
Coffee Morning at St. Mary’s
Tuesdays 7.30 p.m.
Christian Endeavour in the winter months
Wednesdays 3.00 p.m.
The monthly women’s Bright Hour is hoping to
re-start, jointly with St. Mary’s
The beginnings of Washford Methodism started in the adjoining village of Bilbrook. There, stood a famous inn, 'The Green Dragon', built in 1714 by two smugglers and now called 'The Dragon House'. It came into the possession of a young man from Cornwall named James Symons, who was born in 1759. When John Wesley's preachers visited Carhampton in 1791, Mr. Symons attended a service there and was converted. He became an ardent Methodist and. opened 'The Green Dragon' for preaching and fellowship in 1794 and, for the next fifty years, 'The Green Dragon', first under James and then under his son William, was a power-house of Methodist activity. Famous preachers visited and enjoyed the hospitality there.
At first there was much opposition but, undaunted, Mr. Symons, in 1795 - to avoid trouble from those who thought it great sport to break up Methodist meetings - had the place licensed again, not this time as an inn but as a place of worship. The first of many Quarterly Meetings was held there. As the cause developed it was transferred to the nearby village of Washford. It was here that James Symons' influence was felt most, where in 1800 William Wrentmore of Washford Farm persuaded the Taunton Preachers to start regular services in the home of James Lewis, a typical Christian villager.
The work at Washford prospered and, in 1811, the year in which the new Minehead and Dunster Circuit was formed, the first Chapel was built in Lower Washford. It stood opposite the Parish Day School but was later turned into two cottages. By 1814 Washford had the largest membership in the New Circuit. A Sunday School was begun in 1821. The last Church built was in l824; the initial cost was £400 and over the next 25 years there were various additions costing £185.
Opened in 1826, for a long time Washford was the largest Chapel in the Circuit. It was a vigorous and influential cause, attracting worshippers from a wide area to its three Sunday services, Band of Hope, Adult Bible Classes and Mission Meetings. One of the highlights, which attracted much attention, was the Love-Feast held every year on the afternoon of Christmas Day, when whole family parties would file into the Chapel to give thanks for the spiritual blessings of the year. The big Methodist Centenary Celebrations were held at Washford in 1839 and in 1852 it was the centre for the first Exeter and District Synod to be held in the Circuit. The Minehead and Dunster Circuit was divided in 1869 and Williton became the head of the New Circuit. In 1969, one hundred years later, Washford became part of the West Somerset Circuit. To mark the 150th Anniversary in 1961, an open-air service was held on the site of the first Chapel and a special rally was conducted in the Church by Mr. David Foot-Nash.
Names honourably associated with the past are Symons, Stoate, Hosegood, Hill, Slade, Burnett, Shepherd, and many others whose names may be forgotten but whose work was nonetheless worthy. There are others, too, of more recent years to whom we have owed so much: Nora Stevens who, in 1930, formed a branch of the Christian Endeavour Movement and the Young Worshippers League; Fred Tapp, Adult Bible Class leader, Circuit and Chapel Steward and local preacher; and Colin Chilcott, organist for 50 years, to name but a few.
The Church building, situated on the busy A39, proved too costly for our members to maintain. We therefore arranged for the sale of the building, and have begun to share the use of the nearby St. Mary’s Anglican building. We see this as God’s guidance in leading us forward to a future in which we work much more closely with our Anglican friends in witness and service to our village.
Please contact the minister on 01643 703791
