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Wesleyan Chapel


RichardB

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Extracts from an Old Account Book kept by the Steward of the Sheffield Society 1773 to 1805.

Also Extracts from Account Books kept by Mr. Thomas Holy from 1780 to 1825 (1823), and now deposited in the old iron chest in Carver Street Chapel.

1773_1805.pdf

1780_1823.pdf

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Extracts from an Old Account Book kept by the Steward of the Sheffield Society 1773 to 1805.

Also Extracts from Account Books kept by Mr. Thomas Holy from 1780 to 1825 (1823), and now deposited in the old iron chest in Carver Street Chapel.

Is Carver Street Chapel now a pub/bar?

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Guest leksand

Taken from the SRI July 27th, 1889.SH-SRI18890727.jpg.64e7ebbe8567a2bb4db2c915c2145080.jpgThe text reads:

The Wesleyan Conference. Carver Street Wesleyan Chapel as it appeared at the 1805 conference,

?[We r]eproduce above, in the belief that it will prove interesting not only to Sheffield men but to the many ministers now attending conference, a view of Carver Street Chapel as it appeared at the time of its opening in 1805 {edited}. The building itself, of course, has undergone no material change, but the surroundings and the rural aspect of the district strangely contrast with its existing associations. Our sketch is from a rare old print published in Sheffield whilst the building was still new, and at the foot it bears this inscription: "To the preachers, trustees, and the people who compose the Methodist body in the United Kingdoms, this plate of the north-east view of the Methodist Chapel in Carver street, Sheffield, is most respectfully inscribed by E, Bennett and G. Mequiner."

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Tiny little nit pick: the print says 1805, not 1803.

If anyone is interested, the President of the Conference for that year was Thomas Coke, an important figure in the spread of early Methodism.

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Guest leksand
10 minutes ago, MartinR said:

Tiny little nit pick: the print says 1805, not 1803.

If anyone is interested, the President of the Conference for that year was Thomas Coke, an important figure in the spread of early Methodism.

Cheers, autopilot was obviously on. Chanced on the above when investigating a chap named Elijah Toyne who appears to have been a lay preacher in addition to a beer seller.

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I always find it quite ironic that a Methodist ( Wesleyan) chapel, which once would have been a bastion of teetotalism should end up by being a "boozer". 

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[Edit conflict.  This is in reply to Leksand, not Lysanderix]

There's not a problem with that.  John Wesley was a proponent of beer since it was seen as a safe and moderate drink.  Water was unsafe, tea expensive and coffee both expensive and associated with disreputable coffee shops.  Milk, if fresh, might be safe but it was often not fresh and there was no effective control of tuberculosis.  In the late 18th century there had been a craze for gin, and to a lesser extent other spirits.  From the early C19 temperance movements grew in importance with slogans such as "beer is best".  It is important to remember that a lot of the beer drunk was not full strength, "small beer" could be as low as 0,5% ABV and would nearly always be under 1% ABV  It was only from the 1830s that the teetotal movement started leading to antagonism between the temperance and abstinence camps.

In passing, Wesley's menus for Kingswood School included small beer for all boys at all meals, including breakfast.  Senior boys were allowed a small amount of full beer with their evening meal.

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 I already knew of the use of ale and, latterly, beer as a "safe" drink  and I recall Jesus turning water into wine ( which was so good he was asked why the best wine had been brought out when everyone had had their fill). As a, sometime, 20th century Methodist associate I confess to  having always had  a drink ( certainly not of the "small" or even "church" beer type). 

 I remember when a representative of a none alcoholic communion wine company gave a talk to a  Methodist Ladies Meeting. He was asked to assure them that, indeed, what they consumed over very many years was non-alcoholic. He confessed that, sadly, it always contained a minute amount of alcohol.

Two or three of the ladies almost fainted as they had believed their bodies had never been "tainted" with alcohol.🙄

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On 05/03/2009 at 12:29, RichardB said:

Extracts from an Old Account Book kept by the Steward of the Sheffield Society 1773 to 1805.

 

Also Extracts from Account Books kept by Mr. Thomas Holy from 1780 to 1825 (1823), and now deposited in the old iron chest in Carver Street Chapel.

1773_1805.pdf

1780_1823.pdf

Hi Richard,

These links are no longer working - do you know where I can find copies of Thomas Holy's account books? Thanks!

EDIT: strangely, the links don't work in your original post, but I've been able to download them from my reply.

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