In the early days of the Tabor Free Methodist Church, small groups of committed Christians used to meet for prayer and worship in their cottage homes. Then as numbers grew, the meetings were held in the Temperance Hall (now St. John’s).
The present building was opened for worship in 1865 and records show that the stained glass windows, the pews and, later, the entrance screens were designed and made within the village. Thomas Smith (windows) and Valentine Keeling (pews and screens) were both trading side by side in The Square.
In 1930, the trustees decided against amalgamation with the Methodist Union Circuit and so remains a Free Church as we know it today. Wilf Bridges wrote The History of Tabor Free Methodist Church 1861-2000 which provides a detailed account of the church and its community.
Reproduced from The Timsbury Book by kind permission of Timsbury Parish Council.