Default Image Place of Worship has been
Demolished.
Image by courtesy of
openclipart.org

Wesley Chapel (Demolished),
Abney, Hathersage, Derbyshire.

Cemeteries

We believe the Chapel 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 in 1812, but we understand it was closed after 1851.

Samuel Bagshaw's Directory of 1846 records that Abney and Abney Grange form a joint township, consisting of two small hamlets and a few scattered farms, 4 miles north-east from Tideswell, and 3 miles south-west from Hathersage, in which there were 102 inhabitants. Humphrey Bowles esq. was lord of the manor, and owned four-fifths of the land, with the Earl of Newburgh owning the remainder, "besides which there are about 500 acres of commons not rated". "There are no mines worked here now, and some of the oldest inhabitants remember 20 houses more than at present in the township".

By the time Harrod's Directory of 1870 was compiled, the population was reduced even more, with only 80 inhabitants, and at the 1891 Census, 53.

Thus it is not surprising that the "Chappel Built by subscription" recorded in the return to the Religious Census of 1851 (HO 129/449/3/18/19) no longer exists. It was described as "Wesley Chapel", erected in 1812 as a separate building, used exclusively as a Place of Worship Exempt [except?] for Sundy School". There was no statement of how many sittings were available, but they were all said to be free. The average congregation over the previous 12 months had been 21 worshippers in the afternoon, and 22 Sunday Scholars, compared with 17 who attended an afternoon service on March 30th. The return was completed by Thomas Bagshaw, "Chappel Stewart", who gave his address as "Abney, Derbyshire".

The Chapel was still in existence by the time White's Directory of Sheffield and 20 miles round of 1862 was compiled - "the Wesleyans have a small Chapel here". A Thomas Bagshaw was then listed as one of the farmers. It is not, however mentioned by Harrod in 1870, nor by any later Directories in my possession; and it is not shown on the earliest detailed Maps (1880-1881). It is not known, therefore where it was, and there is no evidence of a former chapel in the present-day settlement, so it is assumed now to have been demolished.

Denomination

Now or formerly Wesleyan Methodist.

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 Chapel was located in the town/village nearest OS grid reference SK1979079809. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Wesley Chapel (Demolished), Abney, Hathersage shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Hathersage 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)