Wesley Chapel Forces Canteen Visitors' Book

Visitors' book of the Forces Canteen established at the Methodist Wesley Chapel, Priory Street, York, between 1942 and 1946, comprising names, addresses, arrival and departure dates, and personal messages left by servicemen and women stationed in York.
The visitors' book has been fully digitised and the images have been reproduced here at file level with full transcriptions available for each page. These were created as part of a crowdsourced transcription project to support wider access to our archives.
Please note that some entries contain offensive language and negative stereotypes reflecting the culture and the period in which they were written. These do not reflect the views of the Borthwick Institute.

Wesley Chapel opened on Priory Street in 1856. Day schools, Sunday schools and a preachers' house were added the following year. Designed by James Simpson of Leeds, the chapel could accommodate 1,500 people and replaced the chapel in Albion Street as the only Nonconformist place of worship in the rapidly developing area around the railway station and workshops.
A new organ was installed in 1892 and the chapel and schools were enlarged in 1907, 1910 and 1914. In 1867 members of the chapel began mission work in Skeldergate, leading to the creation of the Skeldergate Mission Hall in 1900.
The chapel was part of the York Circuit of the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion until 1867 when it became the head of its own circuit covering the area of the city to the west of the River Ouse, known as the York, Wesley Circuit. Following the unification of the Primitive, Wesleyan and United Methodist churches in 1932 it became part of a new Wesley Circuit of the Methodist Connexion, which now included the former Victoria Bar Circuit. In 1981 it became part of York, South Circuit.
The chapel was closed in 1982 and its congregation transferred to the Centenery Chapel in St Saviourgate, now called Central Chapel.

A Forces Canteen was established in the Wesley Methodist Chapel on Priory Street, York, in 1940. It was run by a committee made up of representatives from the city's Presbyterian, Baptist and Anglican congregations, as well as the Methodist congregation of Wesley Chapel.
The canteen offered refreshment and recreational facilities to servicemen and women throughout the duration of the Second World War. Such facilities included table tennis, billiards, snooker, darts and piano, in addition to a 'quiet room' stocked with newspapers, periodicals and books and access to a kitchen, bathroom, and, from 1942, the use of an electric iron.
The committee also organised regular social events, such as dances, film showings, and tours of York, as well as an annual Christmas party. Funds were raised through donation and by charging civilians for admittance to social events.
The canteen closed in 1945.

The visitors' book has been catalogued to item and line level to allow for the indexing of each person's name and information.

Records are open to the public, subject to the overriding provisions of relevant legislation, including data protection laws.

Wesley Chapel opened on Priory Street in 1856. Day schools, Sunday schools and a preachers' house were added the following year. Designed by James Simpson of Leeds, the chapel could accommodate 1,500 people and replaced the chapel in Albion Street as the only Nonconformist place of worship in the rapidly developing area around the railway station and workshops.
A new organ was installed in 1892 and the chapel and schools were enlarged in 1907, 1910 and 1914. In 1867 members of the chapel began mission work in Skeldergate, leading to the creation of the Skeldergate Mission Hall in 1900.
The chapel was part of the York Circuit of the Wesleyan Methodist Connexion until 1867 when it became the head of its own circuit covering the area of the city to the west of the River Ouse, known as the York, Wesley Circuit. Following the unification of the Primitive, Wesleyan and United Methodist churches in 1932 it became part of a new Wesley Circuit of the Methodist Connexion, which now included the former Victoria Bar Circuit. In 1981 it became part of York, South Circuit.
The chapel was closed in 1982 and its congregation transferred to the Centenery Chapel in St Saviourgate, now called Central Chapel.

A Forces Canteen was established in the Wesley Methodist Chapel on Priory Street, York, in 1940. It was run by a committee made up of representatives from the city's Presbyterian, Baptist and Anglican congregations, as well as the Methodist congregation of Wesley Chapel.
The canteen offered refreshment and recreational facilities to servicemen and women throughout the duration of the Second World War. Such facilities included table tennis, billiards, snooker, darts and piano, in addition to a 'quiet room' stocked with newspapers, periodicals and books and access to a kitchen, bathroom, and, from 1942, the use of an electric iron.
The committee also organised regular social events, such as dances, film showings, and tours of York, as well as an annual Christmas party. Funds were raised through donation and by charging civilians for admittance to social events.
The canteen closed in 1945.

All of the images and data are made available under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 Licence

The full catalogue of the York, Wesley Chapel, can be viewed at the following link: https://borthcat.york.ac.uk/index.php/mr-y-wc

Published

Full

Final

GB 193