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HARBY METHODIST CHAPEL 

The month of May 1929 saw a red-letter day in Harby, for it marked the centenary of the Methodist Chapel. The original chapel was a coachhouse, given for the purpose by Mr William Orson in April 1828. It was made into a comfortable place of worship, and services took place there for nearly twenty years. Mr Orson preached the first sermon. 

On the formation of the Methodist society, Mrs Orson was appointed to the office of class leader. Prior to 1828 Wesleyan Methodism had no existence in the village. A short time previously the Primitive Methodists had visited Harby and formed a small society. When Mr & Mrs Orson came to live here they began a cause connected with the Wesleyans, not in opposition to the Primitives, but one which they deemed to be more in harmony with their own religious views and feelings. This arrangement was followed by the Primitive Methodists discontinuing their services and amalgamating with the Methodists. 

The first mention of Harby in the circuit books was in December 1829, when the sum of 18/- was recorded as the quarterage. In 1830 the first record of names was given: Ann Orson (leader), William Orson, Sarah Rose, George Hall, John Richards, Sarah Wesson, Richard Knapp, Mary Starbuck, Sarah Knapp, Mary Harriman, Milley Rose, John Orson, Ann Stafford, and Elizabeth Brian. The leader was a most devoted Christian, and an active and intelligent woman. In her younger days she stood firm and faithful to Methodism amidst persecution and reproach and in her will she left £1 for every local preacher whose name was on the Melton Mowbray plan. 

The congregation having outgrown the coachhouse, a new place of worship was needed, so in 1847 the village chapel was built on Mr Orson's land. The foundation stone was laid by Mr C. H. Clarke, a Nottingham solicitor, and the opening sermons were preached by the Rev. John Rattenbury, the Rev. Dr Newton, and the Rev. James Everett.

In 1874 the chapel underwent a thorough painting and renovation, the expenses being defrayed by means of a bazaar held under the supervision of Mrs Lever, Miss Glover, Mrs Whittle, and Mrs Furmidge. (We mention all these names, as they will be of interest to people born in Harby. 

The centenary in 1829 was held first in the afternoon, with a good congregation to welcome the preacher, the Rev. Benson Perkins of Birmingham. Three of the oldest members - Mrs Fairbrother, Mrs Furmidge, and Mrs G. Mabbott - helped with the tea which followed. In the evening, Mr Perkins gave an excellent lecture on "The Message of Modern Methodism". The collectors of the offertory were members of the fourth generation of Methodist families : Miss Barbara Stead, Miss Freda Fairbrother, and Miss Ena Kemp, while Miss Eva Mabbott, the other collector, represented the fifth generation. 

In 1926 a new organ was installed, most of the necessary money having been raised during the previous two years. A two-manual pipe organ, it cost, with installation, £210, and was built by Messrs. E. Wragg & Son of Nottingham. At the afternoon service, following a dedicatory prayer, the organ was unlocked by Mrs Furnival, wife of the Rector, who also attended the opening ceremony. The organist for the occasion was Mr C. Doncaster of Bingham, to whom the Committee had entrusted the choosing of the instrument. 

The public tea which followed was generously provided by friends, and the ladies presiding were Mesdames Fairbrother, Stead, T. Stokes, W. Kemp, R. Stokes, G. Mabbott, J. W. Bilby, W. Oxbrough, Watson, and H. Moulds; and Misses R. Oxbrough and E. Kemp. In the evening the chapel was again crowded to hear Mr Doncaster give a recital on the new organ. The Rev. Warwick Armstrong gave a very interesting and amusing lecture entitled "The Lighter Side of a Parson's Life".

On the following Sunday afternoon a musical service was held, with solos by Mrs Stead and Mr Hemstock, the latter singing "O Rest in the Lord" in remembrance of the late Queen Alexandra. The anthems "The Lord is my Light" and "Lift up your Heads" were well rendered by the choir. Mr White of Cotgrave played the organ at both afternoon and evening services. They were well attended, and this event is still remembered in Harby. 

A churchman once asked Dr. Ford, the 18th/19th century Vicar of Melton Mowbray Parish Church, whether he was doing right, as he had pangs of conscience about his desire to leave the Anglican Church and join the Methodists. The Doctor replied in his characteristic forthright manner, "The Church, what do you call the Church ? It is a number of faithful people met together to worship God, whether on a mountain, by the seaside, or wherever congregated together." 

NORA BLAZE

From material kindly lent by Miss B. Stead

To see photographs of the chapel go to Harby in Old Photographs


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Revised: June 09, 2008 .