We have 1 Image Above Photograph(s)
Copyright of Janet Kirk

Oaker Chapel,
Oaker Side,
Wensley, 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 1851, but we understand it was closed by 1991.

White's Directory of Sheffield and 20 miles round for 1852 (under the heading of "Wensley and Snitterton"), records that Okerhill is said to be the site of the Roman station Occursus. Only Cross-green Church (St Mary's) is recorded as a place of worship, but the 1857 edition for Derbyshire is more forthcoming, listing (under the heading of "Wensley") that "the Methodists have a chapel, built of stone, in 1830 [and] the Wesleyan Reformers have also a neat brick chapel on Oker side, erected by subscription in 1851, at a cost of £130, [which] will seat about 90".

It would appear, therefore, that the present building, dating from 1854, may have replaced an earlier building. Perhaps this was the "Room" described in the Religious Census of 1851 (HO 129/449/2/6/15). This had been erected in Snitterton as a separate building, used exclusively as a place of worship, at an unspecified date. It had seating for 50, all free, and the estimated congregation on March 30th was 25 in the afternoon, compared with an average over the last 12 months of 25 at morning service. The return was completed by William Yeomans, a Local Preacher, who described himself as "Farmer, Snitterton, Derbyshire". [A Farmer named Wm. Yeomans was recorded in White's Directory of 1857 living at Lea Wood]

Interestingly, a second place of worship for Wesleyan Reformers was recorded on the Religious Census at Darley Bridge, in Wensley, in a dwelling house. Its return was completed by a Thomas Yeomans, of Warren Carr, also a Farmer.

The following notice in The London Gazette of 2nd March 1934 (p.1445) recorded Oker Chapel's registration for marriages:

A Separate Building, duly certified for religious worship, named METHODIST CHURCH, situated at Oker Side, in the civil parish or Wensley, in Bakewell registration district, in the county of Derby, was, on the 26th February, 1934, registered for solemnizing marriages therein, pursuant to 6 & 7 Will. IV, c.85. Dated 28th February 1934.

A corresponding notice of cancellation of the registration of "METHODIST CHURCH, Oker Side, Wensley" was published in the Gazette of 18th September 1991 (p.14207).

There may be more information available by by selecting one or more of the accompanying images on the right.

Denomination

Now or formerly Wesleyan Reform.

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 SK2751460951. You can see this on various mapping systems. Note all links open in a new window:

• Oaker Chapel, Wensley shown on a Google Map.
• Places of Worship in Wensley 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 Wensley, 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.