Whitfield revived!

Introduction

The photograph on this page of Whitfield revived! by Neil Owen as part of the Geograph project.

The Geograph project started in 2005 with the aim of publishing, organising and preserving representative images for every square kilometre of Great Britain, Ireland and the Isle of Man.

There are currently over 7.5m images from over 14,400 individuals and you can help contribute to the project by visiting https://www.geograph.org.uk

Whitfield revived!

Image: © Neil Owen Taken: 29 May 2024

The historic Whitfield Tabernacle is one of the most important churches in Britain and is Grade I listed. It was founded in 1741 as the new church for the emerging Methodist movement. George Whitfield was the noted preacher along with John Cennick; the site was used for worship and school education. Many people were concerned at the state of Anglican worship and formed different opinions as to how the church should reach the masses. These Non-Conformists started to hold open air services, featuring theatrical sermons and much hymn singing; most of the gathered crowds were of poor status and often in hard-working jobs, such as the coal mining that Kingswood became noted for. As it was, the Whitfield Tabernacle is considered one of the most significant churches in Britain - as well as being the most at risk. Following its closure, there was a terrible fire (an arson attack) that almost completely destroyed it. Now, having been bought by the Whitfield Tabernacle Trust, a charitable trust set up in 2017 by local people with the aim of saving the building to conserve its historical significance and offering a community space.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0

Image Location

coordinates on a map icon
Latitude
51.463069
Longitude
-2.506064