Listed Building record MDR658 - Charlesworth Independent Church, Chapel Brow, Charlesworth

The independent church at Charlesworth with a date stone c.1797. It contains no trace of the 14th century chapel of St Mary Magdalen (SMR 3608), whose site it is thought to occupy. (1) A chapel that was built in 1797 on the site of St Mary Magdalen's Chapel (SMR 3608). It is built of coursed rubble gritstone with gritstone dressings. It has a stone slate roof with a gritstone bellcote on the north gable and gritstone stack on the south gable. It is of two storeys, with chamfered angle quoins and a square sectioned string course at first floor level. The north elevation has a central Venetian window on the ground floor, which is flanked on each side by doorways with plain dressed stone jambs and lintels. It has 20th century double doors. The first floor has a central Venetian window flanked by large window openings with plain dressed stone surrounds and wooden cross windows. Above the Venetian window a small tablet is inscribed CC/1797. The side walls have regular rectangular window openings, five bays to the west and four bays to the east. Those on the east side are without dressed stone jambs. All the openings have 19th century wooden cross windows, except two on the west side which have stained glass. (3) The first Non-conformist minister at Charlesworth was John Holland 1716-49, followed by Samuel Mercer 1756-59. In 1760 came the Reverend Richard Phimbe, who was followed by Rev. John Whitehead. He attracted large congregations and it was during his ministry that it was 'resolved that the old chapel (SMR 3608) being in a ruinous situation, the congregation, at a public meeting, duly convened, being unanimously agreed, enter into a public subscription to build the said chapel a more enlarged plan'. In March 1798 the new building was well under way. On 18th July 1798 the opening ceremony took place. Apart from an extension at the rear, the Chapel remains the same today as built in 1798. In 1845 the routine of the village of Charlesworth was disrupted by the arrival of the Rev. Goodwin Purcell, a member of the Established Church. His two main purposes in coming to the village were firstly to build a church (see SMR 3677), and secondly to 'root out dissent'. The chapel-goers took little notice, but ill feeling from these early days lead to rivalry between the Church and Chapel in later years. Thankfully, the two establishments survive side by side today. The Chapel in modern times serves the community not only as a place for divine worship but also, as in the past, as a meeting house. (4)