Old Chapel

Old Chapel is the church with the longest continuous worship record in Dukinfield. During the 1600s, Samuel Angier was the first Minister to establish permanent non-corformity in Dukinfield. In 1667, Angier assisted his uncle preaching both at Old Chapel and at Hyde Hall, Denton. He took over from his uncle as Minister in 1677.

The land on which the first Old Chapel, the White Chapel, was built on land which was given by Colonel Dukinfield's son, Sir Robert, in the early eighteenth century. It was leased for the three lives of Charles Dukinfield of Macclesfield, Esquire, John Dukinfield of Bristol, and Robert Dukinfield , under the annual rent of sixpence.

When it all started

The first service in the building was held on Thursday August 19th 1708, and it took the form of a Thanksgiving Service for Marlborough's victory over the French at Oudenarde. The first baptism was held the following month on the 12th and the first burial was held in February 1709.

The building of the church began in 1707 and lasted twelve months. It was while, being built of grey stone, and was known as 't'owd chapil'. By 1718 the congregation was the third biggest in the country, boasting 793 adherants. In 1799, the minister was William Tate, the son of Sir Henry, founder of the Tate Art Gallery.

The nineteenth century saw the church owned by the Lords of the Manor, the Astleys, as the lease had not been renewed following the deaths of the three Dukinfields, and in 1826 Francis Dukinfield Astley bequethed the building to thirteen trustees. The Astley Memorial is behind the church, fenced off by railings.

Fall and rise

By the 1830's Old Chapel was in a state of dilapidation. During 1823 it had been enlarged to allow a semicircle vestry and organ gallery behind the pulpit, and this, together with storms, helped to weaken the fundamental structure of the building. Although plans to build a new chapel were begun in 1838, nothing was actually done until 1839, when on the 26th of June, the cornerstone was laid, plus a time capsule containing coins , an oak box made from the former chapels timbers and an inscribed glass medal. The new chapel was designed by Richard Tattersall of Manchester in a fourteenth century style, using yorkshire stone, to a capacity of 977.

As it is now

The present Chapel had it's burial ground extended in 1840, and it is the only private one in Dukinfield. The first service was held on August 26th 1840 and the Minister was Robert Brook Aspland MA, a school fellow of Benjamin Disraeli. The interior was completed in 1845 and officially reopened. The exterior frontage was intended to be temporary, but it lasted for fifty years, only completed in 1893. The original crypt from the first Chapel still exists beneath the current building and it is claimed that the tunnel leading to Old Hall, is still in existance.