Bramley Moriah Primitive Methodist chapel

The Crescent, off Upper Town Street, Bramley LS13 2EP

Bramley Moriah Primitive Methodist chapel was one of three Methodist chapels within a stone’s throw of each other in the centre of Town Street, the others being Wesley Place and Brunswick. In 1956 these three congregations came together under the one roof to form the current Trinity Methodist society.

Moriah and its Sunday School building was sited up a narrow alley called The Crescent, which lay off Upper Town Street, just to the west of Wesley Terrace. It is approximately where Wesley Close is.  West Yorkshire Archive Service, Leeds holds records between 1869-1956.

The Primitive Methodist magazine for 1835 contains an account by W Taylor of the opening of an earlier Primitive Methodist chapel in Bramley. The opening services on January 25th and 29th 1835 were addressed by Rev Ely (Independent minister)  and Messrs Barker, King, Sanderson & Watson.

The 1835 chapel was large, seating 500 and with a “commodious” room under the chapel for Sunday school.

Additional information (April 2023

Many thanks to Richard Collier for photographs and information revealing life at Moriah: chapels were far more than Sunday services.  Richard says:

My wife’s parents were regular worshippers there, and there a photo attached of their wedding outside. There were famous stone quarries in and around Bramley, and you can see how good the stonework is.

There were some terrible things done to Bramley in the sixties. The map shows Moriah at the top, Brunswick in the middle, and Wesley Place at the bottom. After 1956 the only one of these three left is Brunswick, now called Trinity.

My Father-in-Law Joe Cooper is named on the chapel cricket team. The group outside has Joe’s father on the right, and the famous Yorkshire cricketer Hedley Verity is third from the right. He was killed in the war.

There are two pages of photographs showing the Thespians. Some of the people could be named.

Reference

Primitive Methodist magazine 1835 p.311

 

Comments about this page

  • I’ve added contributions from Richard Collier, showing the richness of life at Moriah. Thanks Richard!

    By Christopher Hill (21/04/2023)
  • The first chapel was opened on Friday, 23 January 1835 and school premises were opened in August 1866 having since 1859 met in a cottage.  All was replaced by the building illustrated, opened on 26 August 1874, architect Joseph Wright.

    By Colin Dews (02/03/2018)
  • Does anyone know where this earlier chapel in Bramley was and what happened to it?

    By Christopher Hill (15/05/2017)

Add a comment about this page

Your email address will not be published.