The Rotunda was a

Primitive Methodist The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teaching ...

church in

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alder ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

in the UK that was completed in 1876 and demolished in the 1980s. While the building took its name from the architectural form rotunda, it was in fact

octagonal In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t ...

, and was notable as one of only 14 octagonal chapels built by the Methodists.

Methodism in Aldershot

The Rev Dr

William Harris Rule William Harris Rule (born 15 November 1802 – 1890) was a British Methodist missionary and writer. Rule and his wife started schools building to 400 pupils in Gibraltar. He tried to establish missions in Spain. Life Rule was born in Penryn in ...

came to Aldershot in 1856 to open Methodist work among the troops, remaining until 1865 and working in the town as a contemporary of missioner Mrs Louisa Daniell. The Wesleyan Connexion provided funding for the construction of an iron chapel on a site located in Church Street off Queens Road which was dedicated on 10 July 1857. Subsequently, a chaplain’s house and a Soldiers' Home were added.

Methodism Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

was not a recognised "religious denomination" in Army returns and there was great opposition from the local Anglican chaplains who found him an irritant but Dr Rule was supported by Lieut-General William Knollys and by 1862 Methodism was accepted under "Other Protestants" and so the work could continue unhindered. The

Primitive Methodists The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primit ...

at that time were served by chapels in Victoria Road (the now demolished Rotunda building) and the Ebenezer Primitive Methodist chapel on Ash Road, built in 1885;The Wesleyan Methodist Church, Aldershot
- the

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked w ...

Listed Buildings database while the Wesleyan Methodists were served by the

Wesleyan church The Wesleyan Church, also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church and Wesleyan Holiness Church depending on the region, is a Methodist Christian denomination in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Namibia, Sierra Leone, L ...

on Grosvenor Road completed in 1877.

The Rotunda

Built with red brick and slate roof on the corner of Victoria Road and Albert Road for the Primitive Methodists in

, construction began in 1874 and completed in 1876. Built on land obtained from benefactor Richard Allden, a local contractor who supplied hay for army horses, the £16,500 for its construction was raised by voluntary subscription and donations. The architect was Farnham-based Thomas Wonnacott, who chose an octagonal design familiar to Methodists. The construction was undertaken by local builder George Kemp. A report in the Primitive Methodist ''1875-76 Yearly Report'' said:

"At Aldershot, the great military depot, we have built a schoolroom and house for the minister; the chapel is in course of erection. Several soldiers have been converted, among them, three young men, sons of ministers. Early in 1875 we opened our school room, which is now used as a temporary church."

The original church was named as 'The Primitive Methodist Church'Tim Childerhouse, ''Aldershot in Old Picture Postcards''
European Library (1983) and following the unification of

Wesleyan Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan– Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charle ...

and

Primitive Methodism The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primit ...

in the

Methodist Union Methodist Union was the joining together of several of the larger British Methodist denominations. These were the Wesleyan Methodists, the Primitive Methodists, and the United Methodists. In 1932 a Uniting Conference met on 20 September in the R ...

of 1932 it was sold to the Reformed Episcopal Church of England when it was renamed Christ Church. The building was unique in its octagonal construction and in the number of commemorative plaques on its interior walls. Adjacent to the church was once the Christ Church Hall (originally the school room for the Methodist church) which had four foundation stones laid on 15 December 1874: one dedicated by William Terry; one by Mary Allden; a third by the scholars of the Methodist Sabbath School, while the fourth stone was defaced and the inscription illegible. The church building also had four foundation stones on its Victoria Road frontage which bore the date 22 March 1876. Inside the church were seven segments of seats while the eighth segment contained the dais or pulpit. This type of seating eliminated any precedence among the congregation.

Demolition

The building was resold in 1962 and became flats, a driving centre and warehouse losing its Certificate as a Place of Worship in 1971 and was demolished in the 1980s despite efforts by local people to save it who pointed out its unique position in Methodist church design and Aldershot's social history.The Rotunda Church, Aldershot- Sense of Place (South East)
/ref>Collier and Sherwood, pg 237 The church was demolished by George Kemp Stroud & Co Ltd, the successors to George Kemp who had built the church. Today on the site stands the small Rotunda Industrial Estate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotunda, Aldershot Aldershot 1876 establishments Buildings and structures in Aldershot Churches in Aldershot Methodist churches in Hampshire Churches completed in 1876 Rotundas in the United Kingdom Octagonal churches in the United Kingdom

Methodism in Aldershot

The Rotunda

Demolition

See also

References