The Wesleyan Chapel

The Wesleyan Chapel
Chapel Road


As it once looked (picture from SWOP website)	As it looks today

Hannah Ball, of Wycombe fame,
Had helped John Wesley spread the name
Of Methodism through these parts,
A faith they'd taken to their hearts.
She felt that knowing how to read
Would help the locals learn their creed
And instigated Sunday Schools
So local folk could learn the rules.
No doubt the Frackle folk succumbed
And, needing help to do their sums,
Were keen to follow Chapel ways
To help them through their working day.
So Wesley had a helping hand
In spreading hope throughout this land
And made these Heathens caring souls
Who followed in old Hannah's mould.

This Wesleyan Chapel, still a place of worship today, was built a number of years after the old Methodist meeting hall and school in Swains Market and the Primitive Methodist Chapel in Chopstick Alley. Although both chapels served the needs of the Methodist faith the Pimitive Methodists (or Prims) were a stricter sect. The old Methodist school at Swains Market served its purpose for quite some time but reading classes were later given in the Wesleyan Chapel itself.
Hannah Ball, a Wycombe lady and keen supporter of John Wesley (whom she met whilst he was preaching in High Wycombe) believed that all children should be given the opportunity of a basic education and was an early pioneer of the Sunday School. It may be due to her long-term influence that the Methodist meeting hall and old school near Swains Market was established in the first place.

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