How Does One Know? (General)

by JaneyH , Tunbridge Wells, Kent, Monday, June 23, 2014, 21:42 (3807 days ago) @ Jefff

I offer these comments as someone with knowledge of the Church of England set-up, rather than knowledge local to the Forest of Dean.

I think the confusion occurs over the use of the word 'chapel'. Yes, it can mean a non-conformist place of worship (Baptist, Methodist etc) but crucially it can also mean the second (lesser) church WITHIN a Church of England parish. The full title is 'chapel of ease'.

The following is a summary from Wikipedia, which is as good as anything I've read.

A chapel of ease is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often such a chapel of ease is deliberately built as such, being more accessible to some parishioners than the main church. Such a chapel may exist, for example, when a parish covers several dispersed villages, or a central village together with its satellite hamlet or hamlets. In such a case the parish church will be in the main settlement, with one or more chapels of ease in the subordinate village(s) and/or hamlet(s).

Some chapels of ease are buildings which used to be the main parish church until a larger building was constructed for that purpose. Chapels of ease are sometimes associated with large manor houses, where they provide a convenient place of worship for the family of the manor, and for the domestic and rural staff of the house and the estate. Sometimes an ancient parish church is reduced in status to a chapel of ease due to a shift of population. When two or more existing parishes are combined into a single parish, one or more of the old church buildings may be kept as a chapel of ease.

So ... in this case, would it be that Awre is the 'main' parish church and Blakeney the chapel of ease? A marriage (or baptism or burial) could still take place at a chapel of ease; it was still part of the parish and of the parish.

Janey