This cache is located in Tillingham, Essex.
The Peculiar Peoples' Chapel in Tillingham stands as a reminder of a religious phenomenon which swept rural Essex in the 1850s.
The founder of the Peculiar Peoples was a farm workers son called James Banyard who was born at Rochford in 1800. He was prone to drunken behaviour, until at the request of his wife, he attended a service in the local Wesleyan Methodist chapel. The words of the preacher had such an effect that James become teetotal and regularly attended church. He quickly became a reputable preacher on the Wesleyan circuit. In 1837 he and Mr William Bridges were able to take over the lease to an old workhouse at Rochford which became the first Chapel of the new order which they named Peculiar People, taken from a line in the book of Deuteronomy.
In the mid 1850s, much of Essex was agricultural land occupied by naturally conservative people. Activity by evangelists such as John Wesley had provided an appetite for non conformists religions. The peculiar people preached a puritanical form of evangelism which proved so popular that chapels sprang up throughout rural Essex. Over the next 100 years, the attendance at chapels waned to the extent that many chapels closed or merged with other non conformist churches until 1956, when the Peculiar People merged with other evangelical groups to become the Union of Evangelical churches. The movement still continues with regular worship at the 19 chapels that remain throughout Essex.
The Peculiar People established followers in the Dengie and then built their chapel at Tillingham in 1867. The building is a timber framed single storey rendered building on the main road to the south of the village. The chapel attracted many local people who lived on the marshes or worked the fertile agricultural land. A split saw the establishment of a second Chapel in the village that was called the Original Peculiar Peoples Chapel. The second chapel was built by local man, Mr B Rodda in South Street opened on Sunday 30th October 1892. The rift was healed in 1913 at which point the second church was closed.
Now in 2016, the church is closed and is in great disrepair. Due to proximity issues, the cache is located away from the chapel. You can park in the tarmac area at GZ if you make it a quick cache and dash. A very muggly spot, so stealth needed!
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