Marsh Road Primitive Methodist Church Leagrave

Marsh Road Primitive chapel on a map of 1901

There have been three Primitive Methodist chapels in Marsh Road. The first of these seems to have been built in 1858 but was no longer in existence by 1879.

A new church was built in 1891. Edwin Welch researched the history of registrations in Bedfordshire for Bedfordshire Historical Records Society Volume 75 Bedfordshire Chapels and Meeting Houses [published in 1996] and found that the chapel was registered on 24th November 1890 by Joseph Harding of 74 Wenlock Street, minister; the registration was substituted on 6th April 1989. The chapel was part of the Luton I Primitive Methodist Circuit. A new church was built 1906, the old one becoming the Sunday school.

In 1932 the Primitive Methodists came together with the Wesleyan and United Methodists to form The Methodist Church of Great Britain. The following year the five Luton circuits (three Primitive and two Wesleyan) were rationalised into two – Luton and High Town Circuits. Marsh Road became part of the largely ex-Primitive High Town Circuit. In 1944 this circuit was absorbed into the Luton Circuit. In 1965 the Luton Circuit split into two – north and south with Marsh Road being in the Luton North Circuit. In 1987 the two circuits came back together as one Luton Circuit.

Irving Rumbles in his very useful booklet on Luton Methodism in the 20th century notes that by the 1980s the Marsh Road church was “in need of serious attention”. It was decided to upgrade the church hall into the church and to fund this by selling the site of the original church which was done in 1989, the new church, facing Mount Pleasant. The old church site then became housing.

Bedfordshire and Luton Archives and Records Service has the following records relating to Marsh Road:

• MB1694: Impact! The story of Methodism in Luton: 1750-1962;
• MB2417: Trustees’ minute book: 1912-1933;
• MB711: Trustees’ minute book: 1934-1950;
• MB2415: marriage register: 1936-1944;
• MB712: New Building Fund accounts: 1942-1956;
• MB713: Trust accounts: 1943-1957;
• MB2416: marriage register: 1944-1981;
• MB2418: Leaders’ and Society Meeting minute book: 1947-1958;
• MB2419: collection journal: 1949-1960;
• MB1697: Trustees’ minute book: 1950-1962;
• MB2420: collection journal: 1960-1972;
• MB1698: Trustees’ minute book: 1962-1977.