Chapel

The Old Meeting House was built and opened in 1702, following the passing of the Act of Toleration in 1689.

 

For the first 168 years of its life it remained a Meeting House  in the full sense of a Meeting House -  the people  meeting together as a family around a central Lord’s Table. Then from 1870 to 1908 a number of changes, re-arrangements and extensions, were carried out,  externally but very much internally, to replace its  Meeting House layout to a layout that very much resembles what you would find in a  Church of  England. Much of the costs was paid for by a leading member of the OMH, the industrialist William Hollins who gave to the world the new material named Viyella.

There have also been adornments. In the early 1740s a  wall clock was put up. This became known as an Act of Parliament Clock.  It’s name stemming from the times when William Pitt was raising taxes to pay for the war with the French. That tax only lasted just over a year  -  people claimed not to have any watches or clocks!!  -  but the name then given to wall clocks in public buildings remained after the tax had been abandonded .

 

Stained glass windows also came to be installed  -  three by the William Morris Co, from drawings by Burne Jones. (to be identified by the background of green foliage).

As part of the  1890  “improvements”  oak panelling  was put in, which  came from the centre post of the then old and disused Skerry Hill Windmill dated 1587.  In this oak panelling surrounding the doorways you will find the Meeting House’s own Green Man.

 

Find out more about the history of the chapel here.