A date stone on this property is shown as AA-1833 and it was built in 1833 as a Weslyan/Methodist Chapel. In 1873, following a decline in its congregation, it was bought and converted into two homes by Abraham Ambler. However, the congregation increased sufficiently for a new Methodist Chapel to be built in Duke Street in 1890 (Trail point 22). The chapel associations remained: in the 1918 Electoral Roll it is named as Chapel House. In the 1950s, the Hornsby family moved in, and the house was restored to one dwelling. The late Dennis Hornsby (click here to read about the Hornsby family) built a large workshop at the rear of the garden, and carried on much of his trade from there, and the property was often referred to locally as "Hornsby's". After his death, his widow continued to live there until her own death in 2009. The property was then sold to a new owner.
The house is now more prominent than it has been for much of its life. Originally, it had a large farmhouse on its southern side, and the rear garden wall to the High Street was immediately adjacent to the pavement. This, along with the trees to the rear of the garden and next to 149 High Street, obscured the view of the former chapel, which is set back from the road. The farm was sold and converted to a garage repair premises in the 1940s, and the site saw further development as a filling station. When the old farmhouse was demolished in about 1970, a new larger filling station took its place. The forecourt of that old filling station (which is now the car park for the supermarket which occupies the site) gives a much greater view of the former chapel building than was the case for much of its history.
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Left - Aerial view from 1950, showing how the house was once partially obscured by the old Band Club buildings and the
old farmhouse. The effect at road level was even more marked, as seen in a 1950s Remembrance Day photo on the right
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Click here to read more about the farm site and its later developments.
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1971 aerial view, showing Dennis Hornsby's workshop and two farm barns
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Front view showing neighbouring Band Club
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