Gunnerside Methodist Church
Gunnerside Methodist Church is a historic building in Gunnerside, a village in North Yorkshire, in England.
The first Wesleyan Methodist Church in Gunnerside was built in 1789. It was rebuilt in 1866.[1] Hall and Zaman describe it as the "most prominent structure" in the village, and its "critical physical marker", but that "unfortunately, its architecture offers no merit beyond the gable's rose window and the stone finial at its apex".[2] The building was grade II listed in 1986.[3] On completion, it could seat a congregation of 700 worshippers, but by 2016 it was hosting fortnightly services with fewer than ten attendees.[4] It was threatened with closure in 2015, but a friends group was set up to fund running costs and repairs, and it survives as the last Methodist chapel in Swaledale.[5]
The chapel is built of stone on a plinth, with rusticated quoins, sill bands, and a band forming a pediment, the tympanum containing an plaque inscribed "WESLEYAN METHODIST CHAPEL ERECTED 1866" and a circular opening above. The roof is in stone slate with stone copings, and on the front gable is a ball with obelisk finial on a pedestal. There are two storeys and fronts of three bays. The central doorway has a round-arched head, imposts, voussoirs and a keystone. The windows are also round-headed with imposts and keystones, those above the doorway paired.[3]
At the entrance to the churchyard are double gates and a wicket gate in wrought iron. The main gates are flanked by stone gate piers, each on a plinth, with a cornice and capping. Outside these are low stone walls with saddleback coping and cast iron railings. The wall, railings, gates and gate piers are contemporary with the church and are collectively grade II listed.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Page, William (1914). A History of the County of York North Riding: Volume 1. London: Victoria County History. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ Hall, Greg G.; Zaman, Quazi Mahtab (2023). Border Urbanism: Transdisciplinary Perspectives. Springer. ISBN 9783031066047.
- ^ a b Historic England. "Methodist Chapel, Melbecks (1130790)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
- ^ Amos, Mike (30 August 2016). "The old order changes: eleven Dales chapels have closed in the last five years". Northern Echo. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ "Gunnerside Methodist Church". North Yorkshire Dales Circuit. Retrieved 17 June 2025.
- ^ Historic England. "Wall, railings, gates and gate-piers to Methodist Chapel, Melbecks (1301790)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 June 2025.
External links
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