The History of The Cause
There are three distinct buildings that make up The Cause: the former Methodist Church, believed to date from c1853, a cottage at the front from the same date and Quakers meeting rooms at the rear dating from c1730.The main buildings are Grade Two listed and as more research is undertaken a unique social history is being uncovered.
The oldest building which is now the Hall and facilities was built as a single story Quaker meeting house in the early 1700’s when the Quaker movement was growing strongly in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. Being non-conformists and unwilling to swear the oath of allegiance to the Crown the Quakers often landed up in jail, were fined and generally intimidated which may account for the building not being at the front of the Causeway.
The deeds to the property reveal that one trustee was EA Fry chocolate maker who along with the Cadburys and Rowntrees were well known for their business success and determination to improve the working, education and living conditions of their employees.
It appears that at the start of the 1800’s the building was used as ‘an establishment for the education of women’, however more research is needed to understand how this operated and who funded it.
In about 1830 the building was acquired by the Methodists and they added in a floor which incorporated the Quaker Gallery and created seven individual prayer rooms which still exist today and in two of the rooms the original wooden seating has been preserved. As the Methodist movement grew they acquired the adjoining properties however the main church was not completed until 1898 and being Primitive Methodists the building did not contain any icons or even a crucifix. They also had a caretakers cottage which was ‘modernised’ at the time that the Church was built but probably dates from much earlier.
The church has very fine Gothic style architecture and the influences of Art Nouveau can be detected in parts of the interior design. The congregation of the church joined the Central Methodist Church in the late 1980’s and the building was sold to North Wilts Council, who left it unoccupied for a number of years before it was placed on the market in 2000.
By this time the buildings were in poor condition and the restoration took over 12 months. In 2002 The Cause opened as a community music and arts centre and the long term aim is to create a sustainable centre that preserves the buildings and ensures that they can be enjoyed by future generations.