Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

This project intends to transcribe all the surviving documents pertaining to the Primitive Methodist congregations in Colchester and the surrounding villages in north-east Essex for the period approximately 1844 to 1956. These have been deposited in the Essex and Suffolk Record Offices and are currently [February 2007] held at their branches at Colchester, Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds. The Colchester branch is expected to close at the end of March 2007 and the documents are likely to be transferred to Chelmsford.

As far as is known, no previous transcription of these records has been undertaken in machine-readable form. In addition to depositing a copy with the UK Data Archive it is intended that copies will be deposited with the respective Record Offices, with the present Colchester Methodist Circuit and with the Essex Society for Family History, thus making these data more easily available to academic, local, religious and family historians.

This digital resource aims to reflect the subject content of the traditional archival deposit of records created by the Primitive Methodist circuit and congregations. It is hoped than once complete it will comprise transcriptions of property schedules, registers of baptisms and burials, minutes of meetings, financial accounts, reports, correspondence and preaching plans.
Main Topics:

This deposit is a transcription of a bundle of property schedules covering the period 1859 to 1864, representing 10 different chapels. They are concerned the original construction of the chapel, the current structural and financial situation, the population, membership, capacity and attendance, the potential for development in terms of land, rents, registration, insurance and enrolment and a balance sheet of annual income and expenditure.