Oadby Wesleyan Methodist Association Chapel was built in 1851 and opened on 23 February. It provided 60 free and 45 other sittings. It was situated in a terrace of small houses on the south side of Leicester Road (now The Parade). By 1900 Oadby was becoming increasingly suburbanised. In response a new site was purchased in 1908 (for details of this site see page for Oadby, Leicester Road/Sandhurst Street United Methodist Chapel) with a view to rebuilding on a larger scale. However, the old chapel was not sold until 1915, by which time war restrictions prevented immediate rebuilding. Services were therefore held in the village hall until 1920.
A photograph of Leicester Road shows the chapel façade rising directly from the pavement without any kind of forecourt. The building was of ?red brick with a paler brick string course and masonry dressings. All the openings on the façade were round headed. On the ground floor there were entrance doors at each side with two pairs of narrow windows between. On the first floor there were three narrow windows in the centre, the middle one being slightly taller than the others. On each side there were two wider and lower windows, one above the other. Plans made when the former chapel was to be converted into a post office and two dwellings include an as is plan of the ground floor. It shows that most of the space was occupied by a schoolroom but there were also three classrooms. A single storey building jutting out from one side of the back wall contained another class room. We may assume the in accordance with normal practice the chapel was on the first floor but there is no evidence for its internal arrangement or whether there were galleries.
Sources
TNA HO129/411/1/4/12
Leicestershire etc. Record Office DE3972/16 (photograph of Leicester Road) and 17(photograph of village hall) and accompanying notes
Leicestershire etc. Record Office DE4206/32 Building Bye Law Plans, 5.7.2015
Site visits various times 2018
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