Shore Primitive Methodist society and chapel
Shore Road, Littleborough OL15 8EY
Shore lies about 3 miles NE of Rochdale and just under a mile WNW of Littleborough.
1851: The 1851 Census Return for a ‘Preaching Room’ in Shore can be seen here, The date the Preaching Room was erected, consecrated or licensed was given as 23 March 1851.
1867: The Rochdale Observer of 25 May 1867 reports on the opening of a new PM chapel in Shore. It can be seen on the 1890/91 25” OS map, scaling at 53’ x 43’.
A chapel and a preaching room appear on the 1867 List of Places for Public Religious Worship, Lancashire No. 109.
A further 46 newspaper articles relating to the chapel appeared between May 1867 and October 1886.
1869: The 1869 Slater’s Trade Directory for Rochdale lists thirteen PM Places of Worship including Shore (see ‘Rochdale and Area PM Societies and Chapels’ on this website).
1870: Report in the Rochdale Observer, 6 August 1870:
‘LITTLEBOROUGH BAND OF HOPE FESTIVAL.- Last Saturday, the 2nd annual demonstration of the Littleborough United Bands of Hope was held … Upwards of 700 persons joined in the procession (principally youths), representing various bands of hope in the neighbourhood. The procession was headed by the Darwen Temperance Band’.
The Band was followed by eight non-conformist schools including four Primitive Methodist: Featherstall, Summit, Shore and Greenshill (sic). A full transcript of the report can be seen on the ‘Rochdale and Area PM Societies and Chapels’ page on this website.
1880: Report in the Rochdale Observer, 10 January: ‘An interesting presentation was made to Mr Jobs Taylor, who may justly be termed the founder of the Primitive Methodist Chapel at Shore.’
1882: On 16 October the chapel was re-opened ‘after undergoing extensive alterations.’
1903: After a break in reporting of 16 years, a further 36 articles appeared in the Rochdale Observer between March 1903 and December 1926.
1940: The chapel was listed in the 1940 Methodist Church Buildings Report Districts ‘B’, Circuit 223 Littleborough. The following information was provided:
Shore: made of stone; seating 400; pews; no hall and eight other rooms.
The source ‘Closed chapels of the Methodist Connexion, Bolton and Rochdale District’ lists Shore chapel but provides no information so presumably nothing relevant is held in the National Archives.
1955-61: The 7th series 1” OS map shows the chapel marked with a plus sign.
The chapel has since been demolished and 1 Shore Lea OL15 8EY now occupies the site; the adjoining school building still exists, now converted into private residences.
Comments about this page
I’ve added further pictures from Karen Peters, this time of the chapel itself, from the 1911 Jubilee Souvenir Handbook. Thanks Karen.
The photo of the Sunday School play from c. 1900 was taken behind Shore Chapel, on the tennis court. In the front row, the 3rd boy in from the right is my great uncle, Abraham Hoyle. My Gran, Mary Howe née Hoyle, is in the 3rd row, 2nd from left, in the white bonnet. This looks like a “Little Bo-Peep” type play?
I have added two further pictures from Alice Peters regarding the Shore Chapel Sunday School and an obituary of Annie Marland, nee Hoyle.
Annie Marland was buried on 16 February 1928 at St Barnabas Church, Shore.
The Shore Sunday School book plate is signed by J. T. Mitchell, the church secretary. James Thomas Mitchell was the uncle of Mary Hoyle, and worked as a cotton cloth looker at Shore Mill. He was known familiarly as “Jim Tom”. (Perhaps this is too much in the way of trivia!)
In the Shore Whitsuntide photo, the gentleman standing inside the right hand side of the doorway is Sunday School Superintendent, Herbert Mitchell.
I’ve added pictures contributed by Alice Peters nee Howe of crockery with the chapel’s name stamp and some of the people who feature in its story.
Add a comment about this page