Primitive Methodist Chapel At Witcha House

Primitive Methodist Chapel at Witcha House

A Primitive Methodist Chapel dating from 1859, located in the small hamlet of Witcha a few miles outside Ramsbury. The single-storey building is constructed from flint rubble and brick on a brick plinth, under a Welsh slate roof, with a simple rectangular plan oriented north-east to south-west.

The main elevation is built entirely of brick laid in Flemish bond. It features a central entrance door with a fanlight above, flanked by two round-headed sash windows. All three openings have slightly projecting brick surrounds, with the windows fitted with dressed stone cills. A plaque sits above the doorway, and a fixed diamond-shaped gable light with plain timber frame tops the entrance. The gables have raised verges with brick copings set above moulded stone kneelers.

The side elevations each contain a pair of four-over-twelve-pane timber sashes set within segmental-headed openings. These windows have brick quoins, lacing courses and dressings set into the flint wall, with dressed stone cills featuring chamfered central sections matching those on the main elevation. The rear wall is similar in construction but is entirely blind.

The interior fittings have largely been removed, though high wainscot of tongue-and-groove panelling runs around the whole room beneath the windows. The windows retain their moulded architraves. The roof structure consists of two trusses formed from common rafters with a collar and arched braces, with a single vertical iron bar running from the centre of the collar to the ridge piece. Single purlins and common rafters complete the structure. There is no ceiling, and the underside of the roof is clad in hardwood.

The chapel is reached by a short flight of stone steps from the south-west, set into the rising ground.

Ramsbury had a long history of dissenting religion. Clandestine Presbyterian meetings were held in the years before toleration in 1689, led by the local curate Henry Dent. A Presbyterian chapel was established in the village during the 18th century. Later, a Wesleyan group based itself at Ramsbury Park Farm, where Wesley himself preached. Despite vigorous Anglican opposition, the Wesleyans became an established and influential force in the area. Following the Primitive Methodist secession from the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1811, the Primitive Methodists were able to establish themselves in the region after the sect's foundation in the early 19th century.

The chapel stands in the garden of Witcha House, a 19th-century house now much altered. The building became redundant in the mid-20th century and its interior fittings were largely removed. It was subsequently used as a summerhouse and home office by the occupants of the house, and was maintained by the trust which owned it until recently.

Primitive Methodist chapels were characteristically small and simple buildings providing for small local congregations led by lay preachers. The sect was most popular among poorer rural populations, and this is reflected in the modesty of their buildings. The chapel at Witcha exemplifies this tradition of 19th-century Non-Conformist architecture. The simplicity of the small-scale building is enhanced by the quality of its craftsmanship and materials, and the few carefully-chosen details that provide subtle adornment. Although its interior fittings have been removed, the building otherwise remains completely intact and unaltered, with its form and function immediately comprehensible.