Halifax, St John's Wesleyan Methodist Church

St John’s Wesleyan Chapel was opened on October 1st 1880, in the presence of the Mayor (Alderman Bairstow) and Corporation. The building was financed with money resulting from a hard-won agreement with the local railway company. The company wanted to extend their goods station onto land occupied by the graveyard of the existing Methodist Chapel at South Parade, a building which dated from 1767. Accepting the reality of what was likely to happen, the trustees of South Parade, however, went through the courts to insist that the company must buy the whole of the property, including church, school and cottages, if they wanted to have the graveyard. It was ultimately determined that the company would pay £15,000, enabling land to be bought at the top of Prescott Street for the new church. The last service there was held on 21st March 1965 and the building was demolished in September of the same year.