| Description | Former Bolton Brow Methodist Church and Canal Warehouse built 1831, Sowerby Bridge (SE 06511 23763).
'SOWERBY BRIDGE BOLTON BROW SE 0623 0723 (south side) 13/7 Former Bolton Brow Methodist Church and Canal Warehouse II Methodist church, now motorcycle store, and canal warehouse. 1831, extended 1868. Coursed squared watershot stone with ashlar facade; slate roof. 2 storey, 5 x 6 bay church facing on to Bolton Brow, the ground falling away steeply to rear to give 6 storeys, the lower 4 providing warehouse accommodation. Bolton Brow front: symmetrical facade with rusticated ground floor, let floor band, cornice and blocking course. Central bay is recessed and has: on ground floor a Venetian window with fluted pilasters, console keystone and sash window; on first floor a tripartite window with apron and central 16 pane sash under fanlight with glazing bars ringed by an outer light divided into circles, the whole in a rusticated surround with leafy keystone. Outer bays have: on ground floor, flanking central bay, a 6 panel door under overlight with glazing bars in architrave with rosettes to frieze and cornice; to each outer bay a 16 pane sash (right one removed); on first floor a round arched window with fixed window with glazing bars, keystone and projecting cill to each bay. Hipped roof. Rear: ground and first floors each have a wide central doorway with monolithic lintel and 2 windows each side; 2nd and 3rd floors each have 5 sashes with glazing bars; 4th floor (Chapel) has a central Venetian window flanked by sashes with glazing bars; 5th floor has 3 round arched windows. Returns: round headed windows to top floor and paired gutter brackets at eaves; right return has a straight joint between bays 4 and 5 indicating extension. Interior of church: horseshoe gallery on fluted columns, the former panelled front removed from all but the west end where some panelling also survives upstairs. Panelled dado round body of church, removed from west end; remains of platform at each end; ceiling divided into 3 panels, the central section having 3 elaborate light roses; blue glazed margins to windows. In 1840 the Trustees agreed that the Rochdale Canal Company should be provided with accommodation under the Chapel (Sowerby Bridge Chamber of Trade and Commerce Official Tourist Guide, p24).'
(English Heritage listed building description. Date listed 19/07/1988. http://list.english heritage.org.uk/resultsingle.aspx?uid=1366168. Web site accessed 21/03/2013).
The church was the subject of an assessement by the Calderdale Family History Society between 1991 1999 who produced a pamphlet describing the memorial inscriptions within the church and graveyard. The introduction of the pamphlet provides a background history of the chapel which is summarised below:
The church was opened in June 1832. This was an important historic event because the deed for the conveyance of land on which it was build was used as a model deed for all future Methodist land acquirements.
A gallery went all around the interior. There was no central heating and no organ. A hand bellows organ was installed at a later date. Outside the chapel was a gate which served as an exit to the old toilets which were located at the bottom of the graveyard. In 1868 the chapel was extended at the back to provide more rooms and vestries under the chapel. The land was dug out for this purpose. There were stables for member's horses and those of the canal company.
A new organ was installed in the chapel 1897. It had a hydraulic engine which was unique in Great Britain. The bellows were powered by water piped from the mains. When the chapel was closed in 1979 the organ was moved to Christ Church, Sowerby Bridge. The pump and blower were moved to a museum in Coulsden, Surrey.
The report carries on to provide considerable information about the memorial inscription |