laying below the level of the street, could not easily be kept clean the entrance to it was by a passage through a dwellinghouse. The surrounding houses likewise communicated very inconveniently with the Chapel, and some of the windows overlooking it were at times a means of annoyance during the Public Service. The Chapel would not contain more than 800 persons; but there were two considerations which reconciled the Society to these inconveniencies,-the place was their own, and they looked forward in hope of a better as the Chapel was very old, and the income of the pews was such as must, in a few years, extinguish the debt, when they hoped to rebuild it on a more convenient plan. In general the Services were very fully attended, the number of faithful Ministers in London, at that time, being but small. The first year's seat-rent was £305, and in September 1812, the debt had been reduced to £700. At that time the demand for seats had become so great, that the Trustees felt it to be their duty to consider what could be done to meet it, and they applied to the owners of various adjoining premises. The proprietor of the property on the western side of the old Chapel, laying between it and Middle Yard, expressed himself willing to dispose of his estate to them, and the Trustees purchased part of it, containing about 100 feet in depth from north to south, and about 40 feet from east to west; he was very unwilling to divide his property, but finding a purchaser for the remainder the bargain was concluded. The present Chapel includes the whole of this site, and nearly all on which the old Chapel stood. The Trustees paid £1350 for it. At this time the Trustees, as a provision for the ultimate discharge of the very heavy debts they were now obliged to contract, purchased an absolute reversion to a sum of £4200 3 per Cent. Stock, receivable on the demise of the last of three ladies, provided they should die without issue; one only of them remains, and is upwards of 80 years of age. This act of justice to their successors entitles them to the grateful remembrance of the present Trustees. The anticipation of relief at some future period, by this reversion, has encouraged them to renewed exertions, when their confidence would otherwise have failed. At this time also they borrowed £600 on the joint lives of a gentleman and lady, who are now both above 70 years of age, to whom, or the survivor, the sum of £50 per annum is payable. These arrangements having been made, they next employed Mr. W. Jenkins, Architect and Surveyor, to prepare plans, &c. for a Chapel, on a scale suited to the position it was to occupy as the Central Wesleyan Chapel of the Metropolis; these, with the estimates, were submitted to the Quarterly Meeting of the London Circuit, and to the other authorities, according to the usages of that period, and having been approved of, the Trustees received tenders for the building, and finally entered into a contract with Messrs. Scarlett and Reddall, of Bunhill Row, for the sum of £8100. In proceeding with the work several opportunities occurred of improving upon the original design, and some difficulties arose in the execution, not contemplated by either party, in consequence of which the extras amounted to £1594. 3s. 10d. The Rev. Joseph Entwisle was Superintendent of the London Circuit at this time, and the Minute Books of the Trust prove that he took a very active part in the whole of the proceedings. It appears by the Treasurer's accounts that the old materials produced £617, and that a legacy of £200 was received from the executors of the late venerable George Cussons, Esq., who had subscribed £100 towards the Building Fund. Mr. John Matheson, the Treasurer for the works, has left very minute records of all his transactions: he received the thanks of his brother Trustees at the audit of the accounts, for his great fidelity and prudence. The amount obtained throughout London, by subscription, toward this great undertaking was £2031. 15s. ld.: the Trustees must have had great confidence in the goodness of their cause, as the amount of debt at the opening, including the old debt, was £12,515. There was not at that period any fund for the relief of distressed Chapels; and the only resource for embarrassed Trustees was the compassion of a few of the more affluent members of the Society, the incessant applications to whom, through the want of such excellent regulations as have since been introduced, rendered it anything but a pleasant task to solicit help. The following will give an idea of the entrance to the Chapel at the time it was opened; the whole of the new buildings were behind the houses in Great Queen Street. The new Chapel was opened on September 25th, 1817, by the Rev. Joseph Benson, the Rev. Robert Newton, and the Rev. Richard Watson. The Rev. Jabez Bunting, and the Rev. Joseph Entwisle, preached on the following Sabbath. The collections amounted to £331. 16s. 7d. The Trustees had now obtained the great object of their desire, a Chapel which they could truly call a Wesleyan Chapel, held in perpetuity, on a scale, and of a character, worthy the cause they had at heart, and in a situation not inferior to any in the Metropolis; and although their responsibilities were very great, and some of their calculating friends blamed them for their boldness, yet they felt a holy joy at seeing the Society at last provided with a convenient Chapel, and every requisite for the worship of God, and the purposes of the Society. Their feelings on this occasion were, doubtless, like those of Solomon when he exclaimed, "Blessed be the Lord that hath I given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised; there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. "The Lord our God be with us, as he was with our Fathers; "let him not leave us nor forsake us." 1 Kings viii. 56, 57. At this time the Trustees were advised to redeem the Land-Tax on the Trust Estate, which they did, so that it is now as free as possible from incumbrance; they also directed their Solicitor to prepare a new Trust Deed, in which the property committed to them was set forth, and which Deed was duly enrolled in the Court of Chancery. They now thought their work completed; but a few years afterwards, the lease of the premises in which the Sunday Schools had been carried on in George Yard, Drury Lane, expired, and the Committees of the Day and Sunday Schools applied to the Trustees for permission to erect School-rooms over the Vestries, and on part of the ground behind the Chapel, adjoining to Chapel Place; in preparing which, making drains, &c., the Trustees expended £118, and this, with £500 advanced to enable the School Committees to accomplish the work, occasioned an increase of £618 to their debt. The total cost of the Schools was above £1000; they are on the Chapel Freehold. The Trustees have only to regret that there is not by any means sufficient accommodation for the numerous applicants now seeking admission; and, in particular, the Day Schools are so crowded, as scarcely to be wholesome during the summer months. The Day and Sunday Schools are both at present in such good repute, that the number of children might be doubled, and then they would become self-supporting schools. The Trustees receive a rental of £50 per annum as a ground rent and for the advance of the above sums. The following summary of what has been stated, will shew that the Trust Premises and Property, previous to the repairs of 1840, had cost above £20,000. The books and accounts of the Trust have been accurately kept from the beginning, and a statement is annually laid before the Quarterly Meeting of the Circuit. The Lease of Premises No. 66, and buying in other Leases.. 1715 16 7 427 10 0 £8100 0 0 1594 3 10 9694 3 10 444 13 6 104 0 9 683 8 7 154 14 8 .... 112 0 0 67 0 0 For the use of other Chapels, Incidental Expenses, &c.... Making Catacombs..... 179 15 7 88 12 8 69 0 0 118 4 7 500 0 0 £20,181 0 9 The above sums do not include various repairs and beautifyings, nor any other items than those which constitute the Trust Property, and are kept in repair, replaced, or improved, as need requires, by the Trustees. The Chapel within the walls measures 100 feet by 60 feet, and contains 1200 seats, let at prices varying from 1s. to 7s. each per quarter; there are 300 free seats with backs. The upper gallery accommodates 500 children, and is open to the public in the evening, in addition to the other seats, as the children do not attend. About 200 persons can sit on forms placed in the side aisles, and as many more frequently stand on particular occasions. The Cemetery, being under the Chapel, is of the same dimensions, and is one of the most complete burial-places in London. The coffins are lowered by machinery during the service: the Cemetery can only be entered through the Chapel |