Brief History of the Buildings

A Brief History of the Buildings
Having met and worshipped in several locations in the town since 1781, the Methodists resolved to build a chapel on Park Road. This was opened in 1890 and now forms the Church Hall.
Such was the growth of the town as the number of boot and shoe factories increased and people flocked in for work that after only 13 years it was proposed to build the present church.
The foundation stones were laid at Easter 1904, and the church was opened on Easter Monday 1905 under the aegis of The Wesleyan Methodist Church.
In 1932 The Wesleyan Methodist Church joined with The Primitive Methodist Church and The United Methodist Church to form The Methodist Church of Great Britain.
The War Memorial on the pulpit was dedicated in 1948 to those who fell in the 1939-1945 War.
The extension linking both buildings was erected in 1985.
In 1986 the original wooden spire was removed from the top of the tower as it was leaning and the timbers were rotting. On top of the 24ft spire had been a 6ft weathervane.
In 2004 the Rushden and Higham Ferrers congregations joined together at Park Road to form one Church with plans to redevelop the site of the chapel at Higham in due course.
Having failed to find a buyer for Park Road by 2013, the buildings were auctioned and bought by a group of members of the congregation.
The final service held by the Methodists was on Sunday, 25th August 2013.
The buildings were re-opened as The Heritage Chapel and Halls on Sunday, 1st September 2013, and a Charity was formed in September 2017 to secure in Trust these wonderful buildings for future generations.