| Home | TIBBERTON METHODIST CHURCH HISTORY |
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| The first reference to
Methodists in Tibberton was recorded in March 1821, when
William Phelps sought permission from the Bishop of
Gloucester for the dwelling house of William Parsons to
be used as a place of religious worship by
"protestant dissenters". By 1836 open-air
Methodist services were being held near the site of the
old school, the worshippers sitting on logs stacked by
the side of the road. The Chapel was built in 1839 at a cost of £213 16s 11d. on land purchased from Mr. Benjamin Palmer for £10. The Chapel as first built was very plain, comprising four walls, four windows and a door, and there were three rows of box pews on either side of a central aisle. The original schoolroom was probably added ten to fifteen years later. Later improvements to the basic structure included the addition of a front porch, replacement of the box pews with the present laterally-placed conventional pews and provision of a communion rail. It is believed that the three stained glass windows with the "BP" motif in memory of Mr. Benjamin Palmer were installed after his death (9th July 1891) and it is probable the apse was specially built to receive them. The south wall was externally tiled in 1895, no doubt for protection against the unrestricted south-westerly gales. The pulpit had originally been placed centrally but was later moved to the "schoolroom" corner. Presumably hymns were sung to harmonium music but in 1908 a second-hand Liddiatt pipe organ was installed in the north-west corner of the Church. After the effects of wear and tear for eighty years, the instrument was rebuilt in 1986 and re-sited at the rear of the Church allowing the pulpit to be moved to the organ’s original position and permitting the frontal area of the Church to be opened up and used for a range of activities. In February 1970 the toilet block was extended and in 1976 the main Church roof was felted, retiled and re-guttered. During a visit of Gorsley Male Voice of Praise Choir the floor of the schoolroom swayed alarmingly and a decision was taken to demolish and rebuild the room (albeit half its original size). In May 1984, the new room, named the "Teague Room" in honour of the Teague family, was opened, built from the original bricks and tiles and including the hand-made hook for tethering the preacher’s horse. In 1988 the three main oak-framed windows were in need of repair and were replaced with mahogany-framed double-glazed windows in a suitably matching style. The most recent repairs include the rebuilding of the frontage wall (damaged by a falling tree some years earlier) and fitting more air-bricks in the main Chapel (1993), the complete rewiring of the building (1995), pointing of west (apse) wall and retiling and re-felting of the apse roof (1995) and re-fixing the tiles on the south wall (1997). A lintel was installed above kitchen door following movement of brickwork, and the external painting of the Church was completed, in 2005. |
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THE TEAGUE FAMILY |
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| Part of the wagon fleet of Charles Palmer Teague was recreated by Robbie Burns in 2006 using Dapol models | ||
| William Teague ( 1786 - 1867) was
born in Redmarley, Gloucestershire, but spent most of his
life in Tibberton as a builder and carpenter. By 1851 he
employed six men at his workshops at New Hall - a
property that still stands on Buttermilk Lane near
today's houses in Muzzle Patch. Although surviving
records are contradictory, it seems that William Teague
married Anna Cook of Tibberton at Holy Trinity Church,
Tibberton, in May 1809. He became a father to John Teague
in 1813, the same year in which his wife died. His second
wife Hannah bore him seven children, the oldest of which
was Charles Teague (1818 - 1914) John Teague ( 1813 -1885 ) was a cordwainer or shoemaker by trade and his Tibberton homes were firstly Rose Cottage and then Woodbine Villa. He became one of the original Trustees of Tibberton Chapel. A contemporary report tells us that John's great desire " was that the feet of the people might walk in the good and right way". His zeal for the gospel was well illustrated by a village poet who wrote of him: "If you take him a boot or shoe to mend, Or if you go there to be shod, He will ask "What's the state of your mind, my friend? I hope it is right with God". Charles Teague ( 1818 - 1914 ) is much better remembered than John in Tibberton. His memorial tablet may be seen in the Chapel and his portrait, bearing the caption below, still hangs on the Chapel wall: |
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Mr Charles Teague Born October 20th 1818. Converted 1840. Total Abstainer and non-smoker from about 1846. Steward and Class Leader and Sunday School Teacher from about 1855. This Portrait was presented to be hung in this Schoolroom February 1908 as an appreciation of a saintly and gracious life. |
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As a boy he sang in the Anglican Church choir, but soon joined the Wesleyans ( the movement was, at that time, celebrating its centenary ) and remained faithful to that calling for the rest of his long life. By trade Charles Teague was a carpenter, wheelwright and builder and employed ten men and four boys at his inherited New Hall premises in 1861. By the 1880s his workforce had grown to 18 men and 3 boys and his workmanship was noted for its quality. Charles Teague was also known as a man of exceptional integrity, held many offices in the Methodist Church and posessed a fine singing voice. His funeral was attended by about 200 people but although he was buried before the First World War broke out his Sunday memorial service was disturbed by a military gathering. Charles Teague married twice, his second marriage producing Louisa Harriet Teague ( 1874 - 1969 ) and Charles Palmer Teague ( 1876 - 1971 ) Louisa Teague was the organist at Tibberton Methodist Chuch for many years and her memorial being the toilet block built behind the Chapel after her death. |
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Memorials to Charles Teague and Charles Palmer Teague in Tibberton Methodist Church |
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Charles Palmer Teague continued his father's business and in addition to being a carpenter, wheelwright, farm waggon maker and builder was a part time farmer, the village undertaker and a coal dealer - keeping wagons built by the Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Company at his yard at nearby Barber's Bridge station on the Great Western "Daffodil" line from Gloucester to Ledbury. Charles Palmer Teague also inherited the family traits of piety, friendliness and integrity and was a lifelong Methodist working not only at Tibberton Chapel but also in Kents Green Chapel until its close. Charles Palmer Teague married late in life ( aged 61 ) and chose as his bride Mary Cracknell ( 1888 - 1991 ) of Frome, Somerset. They had no children, and the death of Mrs Mary Teague on 13 February 1991 ended the Teague family chapel membership that had stretched back 151 years. |
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| Barber's Bridge was the first station west of Gloucester on the GWR line via Newent and Dymock to Ledbury opened in 1885. However, Barber's Bridge was to lose its passing loop, Down platform and signalbox as early was 1898 although its goods yard, west of the station, continued to handle coal, livestock, fruit, eggs and milk for many decades to come. Other traffics included fertiliser, elm wood for coffins, and pitch, a by product of the oil that was brought up the Severn in barges. This was brought to Barber's Bridge by lorry and as much as 1500 tons a year was taken by rail to Cardiff and Northern England | ||
| References | ||
| "The Bullocks, Palmers and
Teagues" and "A Brief History of Tibberton
Methodist Church" by William Balmforth |
