The African Methodist Episcopal Church (also known as the Colored Methodist Church, or CME) has deep roots in Winchester, Kentucky. Prior to the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, worship was celebrated in the basement of the local Methodist Church, but by 1866, the congregation purchased their first parcel for building. Allen Chapel CME Church was built on East Broadway Street in Winchester a few decades later.
Allen Chapel CME Church.
The brick church reflects all of the fashionable trends for late 19th century architecture. Built solidly on a stone foundation, the facade of the church features a side entry tower, with two double doors, and two Gothic-arched windows contained within a front gable. The windows are ringed in squares of stained glass.
Virginia Creeper clambers up the walls of the church, and the doors show no sign of having been opened in welcome for some time.
A detail of the tower.
Honeysuckle wrestles with the ivy for control of the masonry walls, and where faded plywood doesn’t cover openings in the tower, yawning holes only reflect interior darkness.
The building’s tale of woe is evident on the east elevation.
It appears that a portion of the east elevation collapsed at some point, as diagonal sheathing lies exposed. Two windows still bravely hold their place in the weakened wall.
One of the original windows.
It appears that services at Allen Chapel continued into the 21st century. I don’t know exactly when the church ceased being an active worship site, and though it provides an arresting sight on East Broadway, lack of maintenance and love cannot hold sway over the century of memories contained within its walls.
There’s some great adaptive reuse happening in downtown Winchester – just down the street Wildcat Willy’s Distillery is providing a farm to table experience in an another CME Church.* There’s no reason Allen Chapel couldn’t be repurposed and continue to serve the community for another 100 years.
*This earlier building was constructed as wool carding factory and turned into a church around 1870.
