Cardigan Street Primitive Methodist Church Luton

Cardigan Street Primitive Methodist chapel on a map of 1926

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 Primitive Methodist church in Cardigan Street was registered on 4th June 1881 by Murray Wilson of Park Villa, Wenlock Street, Luton, the superintendent minister, and cancelled 8th January 1951. The chapel was registered for marriages on 12th August 1897 and this was cancelled at the same time as the main registration.

The chapel formed part of the Primitive Methodists’ Luton Circuit I. The chapel underwent alterations in 1896 at the same time as Sunday school classrooms were built. 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 two Wesleyan and three Primitive circuits in Luton were reorganised into two Methodist Circuits – Cardigan Street became part of the High Town Circuit. This was absorbed into one Luton Circuit in 1944.

The final service in the chapel was held on 31st December 1950. When the chapel closed many of the congregation transferred to Beech Hill. Negotiations then took place with the Luton Welsh Congregational Church and the chapel was sold in 1951 for £4,000 of which £1,000 was used to build a Sunday school at the former Primitive Methodist chapel in Marsh Road, Leagrave.

Irving Rumbles wrote a very useful booklet charting Methodism in Luton in the 20th century. He noted that as of 2000 the former chapel in Cardigan Street was a Sikh religious centre. At the time of writing [2012] the former chapel remains a Sikh temple – the Shri Guru Ravidass Bhawan.

Cardigan Street Primitive Methodist church [MB1694]

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

• MB631: Treasurer’s accounts: 1880-1924;
• MB632: contract for building school classrooms and alterations to the chapel: 1896;
• MB633: letter regarding the hot water heating system: 1896;
• MB634: plan showing position of hot water pipes: c. 1896;
• MB635: Building Committee balance sheet: 1897;
• MB637: Trustees’ accounts: 1900-1922;
• MB636: appointment of new trustees: 1901;
• MB637: promises regarding the organ renovation and alteration fund: 1908;
• MB637: Trustees’ minutes: 1918-1945;
• MB638: Church Council minutes: 1925-1929;
• MB639: Church Council minutes: 1930-1950;
• MB414: Society Steward’s account book: 1941-1951;
• MB2280: Trustees’ minute book: 1945-1951;
• MB2281: sale of the chapel to the Luton Welsh Congregational Church: 1951-1952.