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History

The Poppletons

 

The Poppletons comprise two villages, Nether and Upper, lying about four miles to the Northwest of York. ‘Nether’ stands on the west bank of the River Ouse and was once referred to as Water Poppleton, whilst ‘Upper’ was referred to as Land Poppleton.

A Few historical trivia:

 

  • In the 10th century Poppleton was an Anglo-Saxon village; it is likely that the name derived from popel (pebble) and tun (hamlet, farm) and probably meant ‘farm on pebbly ground’.
  • After the Norman Conquest the land was given to Osbern de Arches who, in turn, gave a portion to St Mary’s Abbey on York. The local farmers had to donate a tithe of a tenth of their produce to the abbey.
  • Following the Dissolution of the Monasteries the land and its attached tithes became the property of the Lord of the Manor.
  • During the Civil War the Royalists rested overnight at Poppleton before their defeat at the Battle of Marston Moor. Several years later, after negotiations, the Royalists and Parliamentarians met ‘In the fields towards Poppleton’ where the Roundhead soldiers deserted and joined the Royalists in entering York and proclaiming King Charles II.

 

 

A Brief History of The Church

 

On 13th July 1757 John Wesley preached to a crowd of villagers on the village green at Upper Poppleton. They flocked to hear him that evening and although, as he said, it was “violently hot”, they listened eagerly.

That night he wrote in his diary: “Preached at Poppleton where the poor gladly received the Gospel. The rich heard it and even seemed to approve. God give them to understand and practise it”.

His prayers were answered when two farmers became trustees of a new chapel in York and a Methodist group was forms in Poppleton. Initially meeting for services in a barn eventually in 1817 they built a chapel, which looked a bit like a Doll’s house with a front door between two windows.

In 1889 a bigger chapel was built beside it and in the early 20th century the original chapel was demolished to make room for a Sunday school; this is now used for meetings. Further expansions of the buildings were introduced in the 1970’s and 1980’s.