The chapel was built at the same time as the cottages to serve as the village's first Primitive Methodist Chapel. Framework knitters made up most of the congregation and provided most of its govenors, whilst its Sunday School was often the only source of education for their children, who were soon put to work to contribute to the family economy. When the Primitive Methodists moved to larger premises in the 1870s, the Chapel became a Church meeting room, and when the railway came to Ruddington in the 1890s, it served as a navvies' hostel. After several more changes, it was purchased by the Museum Trust in 1990 with the intention of developing it to provide an interpretive centre for the Museum.