The building illustrated was built in 1881, and was built to seat 650. It replaced an iron chapel opened in 1875. Red brick and Bath stone were the building materials. The Building News noted the octagonal design of the nave, which was no doubt a reference back to the earlier preferred design of Wesleyan chapels. Built on a slope, stairs within the porch gave access to the ground floor.
The architect, Elijah Hoole (1838-1912) was the son of the Rev. Elijah Hoole, General Secretary of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society, and he was also responsible for the design of Wesleyan chapels in Newfoundland, Belize, and south London. His other main area of work was in social housing.
The chapel was built without the school rooms, a clock tower and spire illustrated, but these were added later in 1886. The addition of a gallery increased the seating to 1000.The church was demolished in 1961 to make way for council housing, but a new building was erected in 1962, and this is still very much in use as a Methodist church.
Grid ref: TQ304876
Reference:
The Building News 41, 1881 page 460
Statistical returns … as at July 1st 1940. Manchester: Methodist Church, Department of Chapel Affairs, 1947
No Comments
Add a comment about this page