There are two references to the opening of a Primitive Methodist chapel in Wakefield in the early 1820s. The first reference is in the magazine of 1821. It reports the opening of a chapel on Sunday 22nd of October 1820 when the preacher was Joseph Brook, who reported the event in the magazine.
The second reference to the opening of a chapel in Wakefield, this time with a Sunday school, is in the Primitive Methodist magazine of 1824. No date is given by the author, J Brown; it was probably 1823, given the time it took for information to be gathered and published at the time. It could even be the same chapel.
The forerunner of the chapel in the picture was opened in 1838 and Joseph Featherstone tells us about it in the 1840 Primitive Methodist magazine. The move for a new chapel had been growing for some time, for example at a camp meeting on September 18th 1836 between Wakefield and Alverthorpe, and despite legal opposition and financial problems, the foundation stone was laid on Good Friday 1838.
The chapel opened on December 16th 1838 (the magazine article gives the date as December 16th 1837). Preachers included Revs JD Lorrain, J Kelly, Bros J Garner, J Bywater, J Featherstone. “Since the opening our congregations have been great beyond our most sanguine expectations”
The chapel measured 14 yards x 15 yards, and underneath was a schoolroom which was also let for a day school and temperance meetings for £13 a year.
The 1838 chapel was rebuilt in 1880. It held 200 people but closed in the 1960s. After closure it may have been a theatre and a health club. In 2005 a planning application was submitted for demolition and the erection of high rise flats.
The steps to the first floor doors have been removed since the photograph was taken. The Sunday School was at ground level. On Google Street View in September 2014 it looks semi derelict and in need of love and attention. It is in similar condition in 2023 – unlike the well restored former United Methodist chapel on the opposite side of the street.
Reference
Primitive Methodist magazine 1821 page 120
Primitive Methodist magazine 1824 page 116
Primitive Methodist magazine 1840 pages 330-332.
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