Bethel Chapel, Burslem
| Bethel Chapel, Burslem | |
|---|---|
 The building in 2025 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Location | Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England |
| Coordinates | 53°2′35.837″N 2°11′39.340″W / 53.04328806°N 2.19426111°W |
| Completed | 1824 |
| Closed | 1955 |
| Designations | |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
| Designated | 19 April 1972 |
| Reference no. | 1365725 |
The Bethel Chapel in Burslem is a former Methodist church in Waterloo Road, in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. It was built in 1824 as a church of the Methodist New Connexion, and the church closed in 1955. It is a Grade II listed building.[1]
History
[edit]Soon after the formation of the Methodist New Connexion, the first meetings of the movement in Burslem were held by 1797 in the house of a Mr Rowley in Hot Lane. Job Ridgway (1759–1814), a potter and a founder member of the Methodist New Connexion in Hanley, where he had a factory, built in 1797 a church in Princes Row, Nile Street in Burslem, called Zoar Chapel. It was a brick building seating 500. It remained the property of the Ridgway family, and was later sold to the Congregational Church. Job's sons John and William Ridgway bought a site on Waterloo Road, which had recently been built, and erected the Bethel Chapel. It opened in 1824.[2][3]
Projecting blocks were added in 1835 to the north (left) side, containing three school rooms, and south (right) side, containing the minister's accommodation. In 1851 it was governed by a new trust, making it independent of Bethesda Chapel in Hanley. The building was renovated in 1883 and 1904.[2]
In 1940 it seated 650, and was head of the Burslem Bethel circuit. In 1955, because of a movement of population away from the town centre, the church closed; the Hill Top Chapel became head of the Burslem circuit.[2]
Description
[edit]It is built of brick with stucco dressing. The original building has five bays, the upper windows having semicircular heads. Above is a pediment with a tablet inscribed "Bethel Chapel 1824". Additional blocks to left and right were added later: these have stuccoed pilasters, and central windows in a tall arched recess.[1]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Historic England. "Former Bethel Chapel (1365725)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ a b c 'The city of Stoke-on-Trent: Protestant Nonconformity', in A History of the County of Stafford: Volume 8, ed. J G Jenkins (London, 1963) British History Online. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ "The Ridgway Family" thepotteries.org. Retrieved 29 June 2025.