A Short History of Independent Methodism

At our meeting of the Friends of George Street on Thursday evening we covered a range of topics whilst sorting out how the group could help Take 27 with content to go into a short video being incorporated into our interpretation material.
We talked through the time periods we needed to include, the characters required, age groups etc.
Locations were discussed, particularly for the opening shots, where Julian Baum wanted to have a view over Oldham town centre from the surrounding countryside.
As we talked about the chapel itself the idea of trying to show a congregation inside the chapel threw up interesting problems, particularly about clothing, hair styles and hats (or no hats) and the colour scheme within the chapel at different periods. We were interested to see if other chapels had also had a blue colour scheme at some time - like we have seen at George Street and at our visit to Goodshaw Chapel.
The difference between Independent Methodism and other forms of Methodism came up. If you want to read up about this, a pamphlet published in 1905 is now available to download from the internet. Click on the link below and choose the option suitable for you.




A Short History of Independent Methodism : a Souvenir of the Hundredth Annual Meeting of the Independent Methodist Churches.

The General Committee of the Independent Methodist Churches "decided upon the issue of the present volume and entrusted its preparation to George Hunter, James Vickers, and Arthur Mounfield.

The Oldham District is covered in pages 95 to 103.

A more recent book about Independent Methodism has been written by John Dolan.
Retail price is £25

Visit to Goodshaw Chapel, Lancashire

A field trip was taken to Goodshaw Chapel today, to look at how English Heritage have restored, maintain and display the only non-conformist chapel in their guardianship.
Goodshaw Chapel was originally built by its congregation in 1760 when Baptists united with Wesleyan Methodists. In 1864 a new chapel was built on the main road at the bottom of the hill in Goodshaw and this one gradually fell into disrepair. In 1975 it was recognised as a unique survival of an early nonconformist chapel retaining mainly of its internal features.
It was taken into the guardianship of the Department of the Environment and a full restoration scheme was completed in 1984.
Goodshaw is between Rawtenstall and Burnley, Lancashire.
Admission is free, but you must make an appointment with the English Heritage key holder.

Front entrance to the chapel.

Looking towards the pulpit from the back of the gallery.

The candelabra.
The pews in the gallery were left unpainted.

The gallery front with clock.

Research by English Heritage showed that the gallery fronts had once been painted blue.
Just like at George Street Chapel.

'Bats' provided for visitors to aid self-guided tours around the chapel.

The external stone walls have 'tipped' stones to help shed the rainwater and prevent water draining collecting and drawing damp into the fabric of the chapel. The walls have a strange 'saw-tooth' appearance. 

At least Age UK Oldham does not have to maintain a churchyard at George Street Chapel!

Paint Investigations

During the investigations to the cellar, gallery and roof samples were taken from various parts of the chapel to look at the history of its paintwork, by scrapping down sections.

Photographs of the chapel show it with a heavy wood-grained effect paintwork. The paint scrapes show that the golden/yellow graining covered a brown tone stain or paint, which was used over the original wood surface. The last owner had covered the graining effect with grey and black paint.

In the 1960's the chapel was given a brighter feel with the front of the gallery being painted a bright blue. The blue paint was then covered recently by the same grey and black paint used by the previous owner in the 1990's.

Newly inserted wood can be clearly differentiated from the original wood of the gallery front,.
The original wood at the bottom of the picture is covered by the woodgrain effect,
and then the blue paint scheme.
All is overpainted by the grey and black paint of the 1990's. 

We have also been looking at the organ pipes. The recent grey paint seems to be covering over earlier pipe work decorative features. The conservation of such paintwork requires specialist investigations and will need to be given further attention.

Close inspection of the organ pipes.

Careful removal of the recent grey paint uncovers purple stripes and gothic lettering, some with bright gold and red highlights, which will be looked at in greater detail by an expert conservator.

This great photograph of the chapel shows it after the blue paint had been used to brighten up the interior. However, the refurbished chapel will be given a fresh paint scheme that will suite the new use by Age UK, but reflect its Independent Methodist heritage. Over the coming months we will be visiting some heritage chapel sites to help decide what kind of scheme will suit the new new use for the 21st century.

 

Roof Investigations

Most of the roof structure is hidden from view behind a ceiling of lath and plaster.

There is a small inspection hatch in the north end of the chapel, which allowed access for a camera and lighting so that an inspection could be made of the upper part of the roof truss.

The construction is described as a King Post, or Crown Post structure, where a post rises vertically from a crossbeam to the apex of the roof.

A diagram of the roof will be posted later, and it will be exposed briefly during refurbishment as the slates are removed during conservation works.

Roof structure looking south (George St side).

Roof structure looking south (Jackson Pit side).

Gallery Investigations

Small opening up operations took place below the Gallery Floor to check on the connection between the support beams and the external wall. We needed to see if there was any evidence of rot where the beams were attached to the wall, and if there was any evidence for how the pews were arranged.

Lifting the floorboards of the Gallery

The supporting beams below the Gallery floor.

Cellar Investigations

In July two holes were dug in the cellar to investigate what was beneath the stone slabs.
we knew that the previous owner had lifted the slabs and relaid them, but we did not know if they had been  relaid  on concrete, with a damp-proof membrane, or just on the original materials. Damp rising between eth slabs suggested that there was not a good damp-proof system in place, and that if there had been one it probably needed some attention.

Ash fill below the stone slabs in the cellar.

The investigation has shown that the stone slabs were not replaced on a concrete base, and that there was no damp-proof membrane. The cleanliness of the fill suggested that it might be the original material from when the chapel was first constructed. Structural engineers from the Morton Partnership were also happy with the foundations that they could see below the gable wall.

Indications were also showed that the material was deep enough to allow for the insertion of an underfloor heating system.

More studies - paint and roof space

Over the last two weeks more investigations have been carried out in preparation for going out to tender for our Capital Works, and to help us make decisions about  aspects of our design.

Photographs of these aspects will be uploaded separately and labelled - paintwork, roof and cellar floor so that readers can go back through our archive and see how each part of our project progresses.

1. Small sections of paint were removed to look for evidence about how the chapel would have looked before all the surfaces were given a wood grain effect.

2. A study was made of the roof cavity between the lath and plaster ceiling and the slates.

3. Two of the stone flags in the cellar were lifted so that our Structural Engineers would have confidence in  the structural support of the chapel and to help design the proposed under-floor heating system