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Newhouse Hill Chapel,
Moor End Road / Church Road,
Mellor, 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 1850, but we understand it was closed by 1991.

This former Methodist Chapel is situated next to the Devonshire Arms public house, on the north east corner of the junction of Moor End Road with Church Road. It is a rectangular building of two stories, sides of 4 bays, and a 3-bay front, with central doorway, all windows and the door set in round-arched stonework. There was probably a rose window above the doorway, as its circular stonework survives, but if there was glass in it originally, it has been removed, and the space filled in.

It is labelled on the first available Maps of the area (1880-1886) as "Methodist Chapel (Free United)". Bulmer's Directory of 1895 tells us that the United Methodist Free Church in Mellor was erected in 1846, describing it as "a neat, substantial stone building with gabled front... well lighted with semicircular-headed windows, and comfortably furnished with pews of painted wood". It adds that "the chapel, with the gallery, affords accomodation for 250".

A return to the Religious Census of 1851 (HO 129/457/2/6/12) indicates a Chapel in Mellor for the Wesleyan Methodist Association, named "Newhouse Hill Chappel". This was a separate building, erected in 1844 and used exclusively as a place of worship. It had free seating for 90, and 232 "other" sittings (no standing room); and its estimated congregation on March 30th was 40 in the morning, with 89 Sunday Scholars, and 45 in the evening, with 20 Sunday Scholars. There was no afternoon service, as was reflected more generally in the average figures for the previous 12 months. The return was completed by Thomas Sayer, "Chappel Steward", who gave his address as "Mellor Nr. Stockport, Derbyshire".

The United Methodist Free Church (also known as "Free United") was formed in 1857 from an amalgamation of the Wesleyan Methodist Association, Wesleyan Reformers, and the Wesleyan Protestant Methodist Church, so it seems likely this was the same building as described in Bulmer's Directory, and that we see today. In addition, although Newhouse Hill is no longer marked on present-day Maps it was marked on the 1880-1886 series, adjacent to (south of) the Chapel.

The name was nevertheless retained until more recent times, as the following notice in The London Gazette of 12th October 1991 (p.17266), cancelling its registration for marriages indicates:

The Registrar General, being satisfied that NEWHOUSE HILL CHAPEL, Mellor, in the registration district of Stockport, in the Metropolitan District of Stockport is no longer used as a place of worship by the congregation on whose behalf it was on 20th February 1863, registered for marriages in accordance with the Marriage Act 1836, (as amended) has cancelled the registration. Dated 24th October 1991.

The original notice, published in the Gazette of 27th February 1863 (p.1236) recorded it as New House-hill Chapel, situated at Mellor, in the parish of Glossop, in the county of Derby, in the district of Hayfield. The change of district would have taken place in 1936, when Mellor was annexed to Marple (a chapelry of Stockport), and thus [for civil purposes] transferred to Cheshire.

Denomination

Now or formerly Free/United 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 at OS grid reference SJ9852188522. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Newhouse Hill Chapel, Mellor shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Mellor 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 Mellor, 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.