History

Methodism came to Holtwood in the early 19th Century when meetings were held in the open air on Broad Lawn in Ragged (now Lower) Rowe.  The first chapel was built on the present site in 1841 and served the local community well until the present chapel was built in 1904 at a cost of just under £1,000.   This building was opened with a dedication service on Whit Wednesday 25th May, 1904 followed by, in the best Holtwood tradition, a celebratory tea in a large tent when over 700 people enjoyed tea and cakes.  Again in best Holtwood tradition, the remaining cakes were sold later that evening when people eventually went home under the light of a full moon!  In 1973 a second-hand sectional hall was erected and this lasted until 2006 when the splended new Community Hall was completed and which today is used extensively both by the church itself and by many local community organsations and visiting groups, some of which camp in the adjacent field.