Default Image We do not have a
Photograph at present.
Image by courtesy of
openclipart.org

Bethel Gospel Mission,
Bell Lane (now Wharf Lane),
Lowgates, Staveley, Derbyshire.

Cemeteries

We believe the Church did NOT have a graveyard.

Note: any church within an urban environment may have had its graveyard closed after the Burial Act of 1853. Any new church built after that is unlikely to have had a graveyard at all.

Church History

This Place of Worship was founded by 1899, but we understand it was closed after 1962.

The first known occurrence of a Meeting Room in Bell Lane is on Old Maps of 1898, by which time the first blocks in the terrace of houses, still in existence in the present day, were also in place. There are 8 properties, in 3 blocks. The centre block has an archway in the middle, presumably intended to provide access to the rear, with a white keystone to the arch having the letters "T.C.", followed by 2 lines I am unable to read, and a date of either 1873 or 1875.

The following notice in The London Gazette of 31st December 1947 (p.5149) recorded it apparently becoming disused:

NOTICE is hereby given that the Place of Meeting for religious worship described as BETHEL GOSPEL MISSION situated at Bell House Lane, Staveley, in the registration district of Chesterfield, in the county of Derby, which was duly certified for worship on the 27th day of March, 1899, has wholly ceased to be used as a Place of Meeting for religious worship by the congregation on whose behalf it was so certified, and that the Registrar-General has caused the record of the certification thereof to be cancelled pursuant to the Act 18 & 19 Vict., c.81, from the 28th day of October, 1947. Dated 28th October 1947.

"Bell Lane" ran in a northerly direction, parallel to the railway line, and was renamed "Wharf Lane" some time between Old Maps of 1916 and 1962, probably to avoid confusion with "Bell House Lane" which runs parallel to it on the other side of the railway. It seems probable, therefore, that the coincidence of names was a legacy from a time before the railway was built.

Note: seemingly, Bethel Gospel Mission remained open after 1947, as it is shown on Maps as late as 1971-1976. In the present day, however, the Salvation Army meet on the site, in what is probably a 20th century rebuild of the original building.

Denomination

Now or formerly Mission Hall.

If more than one congregation has worshipped here, or its congregation has united with others, in most cases this will record its original dedication.

Maps

This Church was located at OS grid reference SK4388974974. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Bethel Gospel Mission, Lowgates, Staveley shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Staveley shown on a Google Map.
• Streetmap.co.uk (arrow on map shows the Place of Worship's location) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Bing (Ordnance Survey option) (verified 2018-10-13)
• Bing Maps ('Bird's Eye' View) (verified 2018-10-15)
• Ordnance Survey "getamap" (NB some of the 'Change Map' options may require a subscription) (verified 2018-10-15)
• OpenStreetMap (Maps © OpenStreetMap contributors, CC-BY-SA) (verified 2018-10-15)
• A Vision of Britain Through Time - useful for Boundary Changes (verified 2018-10-15)
• www.magic.gov.uk (Modern Maps with various overlays) (verified 2018-10-15)

Resources

I have found many websites of use whilst compiling the information for this database. Here are some which deserve mention as being of special interest for Lowgates, Staveley, and perhaps to Local History and Places of Worship as a whole.

• Notices of Civil Registration of Places of Worship for marriages are published in the London edition of The Gazette. Hint: search for registrations from 1998 by choosing 'Church' notices, and the option 'Registration for solemnising marriage'. (verified 2018-12-11)

The above links were selected and reviewed at the time I prepared the information, but please be aware their content may vary, or disappear entirely. These factors are outside my control.