The United Church, Bradford on Avon

In 1739 a group of Independents seceded from The Grove Meeting House and in 1741 they were granted a licence for a new meeting house on Morgan's Hill (now St Margaret's Hill). This house had been built in 1740 and was the same width as the present building, but shorter, being about half the size of the present one. The congregation were few in numbers, but were very respectable and quite well off. There was never a large congregation in the 18th century and it was not until the 19th century that it increased substantially in size. The meeting house was enlarged in 1798, being lengthened by 12 feet. In the early 19th century there were several weavers among the congregation. A dispute, in 1815, arose over whether the Trustees could appoint and dismiss the Minister and as a result part of the meeting seceded and took over The Grove Meeting House. In 1835 the chapel was futher enlarged to its present size, as can be seen from the quoins of the earlier building in the side wall, and the roof was raised by four feet and the tiles replaced by slates. The church became Congregational in the late 1850s and on 5th October 1972 it became the United Reformed Church at the national union of the Congregationalists and Presbyterians. On 26th February 1976 the Methodist and United Reformed Church joined together as the United Church.