An Introduction

Methodism has been here in Chapel Allerton for more than 230 years. As a modern church we hope that we have the same enthusiasm that our ancestors had all those years ago.

Much is happening here at our church and as part of the Chapel Allerton community we would very much like you to be part of it.

Many people in Chapel Allerton see the Community Centre as the church, when in actual fact the church building is opposite the centre.

 

Methodism in Chapel Allerton

The story of Methodism in Chapel Allerton begins some time before 1770, when the village was a community of a few hundred people, separated from Leeds by 3 miles of bleak, lonely Chapeltown Moor. At this time services were apparently held in a house, but by the 1790's the Society had grown and prospered, and a new Wesleyan Chapel was built on a plot of land on Town Street called the Croft. The Society continued to expand, and during the next half century the church building had to be extended twice to accommodate its growing congregation. This building became what is now called the Methodist Community Centre.

In 1872 the Chapel Allerton trustees decided to find a new site and build a new church owing to the increased congregation. The site selected was on what we now know as Harrogate Road. It was a large house and gardens occupied by Major Pilsworth, but owned by the Gott family. Miss Hannah Gott, who was a life long member of the chapel, agreed to sell the estate for £1700, and signed an agreement with Edward Jackson and Jonathon Crawford in 1873. The foundation stone was laid by Mr Edward Jackson on May 26th 1874 and the church was opened on Wednesday March 15th 1876. The president of conference, the Rev'd. Gervasse Smith M.A. preached the first sermon.

In the 1960's the future of the original church on Town Street, which had become the Sunday School, gave rise for concern. Various avenues were persued and after the civic trust had fortuitously taken steps to have the building listed as one of historic interest, the whole building was refurbished with the help of many grants and £5000 raised in 3 months by church members. This newly refurbished building was opened by the Minister, Rev'd. W. Stainer-Smith, on September 28th 1968.

The centenary of the chapel on Harrogate Road was celebrated in 1976 with a number of former ministers preaching. An illustrated book was also produced telling of events and various aspects of church life during that period.

In November 1981 the last service was held in the Harrogate Road church. For the next 15 months the Methodist congregation shared St. Matthew's Parish Church with our Anglican friends, a friendship that has been maintained and strengthened ever since with joint services twice a year.

February 12th 1983 saw the opening of our current building on Town Street, ironically directly opposite the original Methodist Chapel. The church was officially opened by Mr Fred Duxbury, a life long member of the church and the longest serving property steward. The service of dedication was at 3pm when the Rev'd. David Wright preached. David grew up in Chapel Allerton and his grandfather was a local preacher and trustee of the church.

The members of the church, under the guidance of an enthusiastic committee, raised £13,400 in 6 months to cover the costs of additional items in church such as the re-building of the pipe organ from the Harrogate Road church.

The Present

In recent years our church, together with St. Matthews Anglican, have grown much closer together. Following the signing of a National Covenant between the Anglican Church and the Methodist Church in November 2003, we began our own discussions and a Covenant was signed between us on January 23^rd 2005.

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September 2005 saw the welcoming of our new minister - Rev'd. Andrew Atkins, his wife and family. We are confident that exciting times are ahead for us all at church.

At the moment the church offers a variety of forms of worship, from the fairly traditional services to family services and the occasional 'All-Age Worship'. Communion services are held twice a month and our evening service, which is generally smaller, can provide a quieter and more intimate atmosphere.

In early 2005 we started a 9am service (Second Sunday) intended for those who enjoy a more informal approach to worship. This evolved into 'The Third Day' on the third Sunday of the month until March 2007.

We then started Cafe Christos. This commences with a buffet style tea at 4.45pm on the second Sunday of the month, and again is a very informal and relaxing time of worship.

During the week we have a wide range of activities, mostly in the Community Centre - details are on this web site under 'Groups'. The centre is also used by a number of non-church organisations which include - a health clinic, a table tennis club, St. John's Ambulance, Chapel Allerton Seniors Association and the Stainbeck Arts Club.

As a church we are very committed to the Chapel Allerton Arts Festival. We provide facilities in the Methodist Centre for the festival committee for their use.

The Future

We envisage a continued commitment to the community of Chapel Allerton. There are two buildings that legally belong to the Methodist Church but are also part of the community for its use. The church would very much welcome more involvement with the community and from the community, to create an even better village of Chapel Allerton.

Exciting times are ahead, why not be part of it?