Wesleyan church and a time capsule
The Baptist Church in Langley Mill - compiled by Ken Smith and Alfred Wood - 1985
The
church minutes for some 74 years are none existent, and so I am grateful to
the late Mr Alfred Wood for his notes regarding early church life, the Archives
Department of the Derbyshire County Council, and various church members, for
without their help this historical record could not have been written.
Inception and Administration
Nine people, in the year 1833, began to worship at a house in Heanor Lane (now known as Station Road, Langley Mill).The fellowship began to grow and in a short while twenty four souls were added to the membership by water baptism.
The Heanor Lane group of worshippers had by now risen to thirty
three, and it was decided
to purchase a plot of land (some 500 square yards) from a Mr John Bakewell,
for the purpose of erecting a chapel.
This was the first church building to be built in Langley Mill, and on the first
day of April 1839 the foundations were dug.
The foundation stone was laid on the seventh of May, the chapel building being
completed and opened on the twenty seventh of October 1839 by the Reverend T.
Pottinger of Swanick and the Reverend Davis of Ilkeston.
The first and only deacon at that time was a Mr Stanhope. On the thirtieth of
April 1846 the church had thirty nine members the most prominent being a Mr
John Bakewell, the owner of a coal pit near to the chapel and later to become
the first manager of Langley Mill gasworks.
In Bagshaws Directory for 1850 there is a reference to Langley Mill stating
that a General Baptist Chapel was built there in 1839 at a cost of three hundred
pounds.
A schoolroom for day students was added in 1854 at a cost of one hundred and
twenty pounds, the Reverend John Felkin of Smalley being the pastor at that
time.
On the twenty sixth of January 1909 the deeds of both the church and cottage
were put in the hands of the East Midland Baptist Association. The mention of
the provision of a schoolroom brings to my mind memories of the days before
State Education was introduced. At that time the schooling of children was a
hit and miss affair being run by churches in the parish.
Needless to say Langley Mill Baptist church was one of the forerunners in the
area as it is recorded that on the fifth of October 1869 “Miss Grainger
is to undertake the running of the school, at a fee of one shilling and sixpence
per week” further to this a minute of the sixth of December 1870 states,
“We do not approve of a Day School for Langley Mill, but we do approve
of a Parish Board and subscribe toward (it) providing the required accommodation
to make up the difference in the Parish and that R. Fletcher is empowered to
act on behalf of the church at Thursday nights meeting”
In 1872 State Education began and on the fourth of June 1872 it is recorded
in the church minutes “It has been decided to hold no more Day Schools
in this place”.
The Church Building
The external shell is of twelve inch brickwork with part
timber part plaster internal finish.
The original entrance was by a door at the side of the chapel front, this gave
way to a small porch. On the left front side of the porch a staircase led up
to a small room (this being known as the Box Class for Sunday School use) and
opened into a balcony inside the chapel.
On the ground floor, swing doors led from the porch to the chapel which was
fitted with bench type wooden seats. A dais housed a sunken baptistery (still
in use) and a raised pulpit above which (on the balcony) was a pipe organ. The
sides and ceiling of the chapel were covered with match board.
A schoolroom was added to the rear of the chapel building in 1854 and this was
used for many years as a Day School (this was administered by Miss Grainger
in 1869 but there are no records of who the the first school master/mistress
was). The schoolroom was match boarded half way up the upper part of the walls
being plaster.
Over the schoolroom to the rear of the chapel was a wall which housed the console
of the pipe organ, and at either side of this were the choir stalls.
The heating of the chapel from 1839 to 1910 was either non existent or by open
hearth as there were no iron founders in the Nottinghamshire-Derbyshire areas
until 1908.
It was decided to update the heating of the chapel about 1910 as the Beeston
Boiler Company had marketed their new, and at the time revolutionary, idea of
heating a large area by steam.
The lighting of the church was at first by candles. There is a record on the
twelfth of November 1856 referring to “candlesticks to be purchased for
the season and that Mr Wilson be asked to get them”.
In July 1868 gas lighting was installed. Brothers Wilson and Brown were asked
to purchase gas fittings, there is also a minute in the church records for the
sixth of January 1900 stating that “Bros R.Morton, W.T.Clarke and J.Morton
arrange for the improvement of light in the chapel, with a light at the corner
of the schoolroom outside to complete the work”
It was in July 1948 that a note was sent to the Notts and Derby Power Company
asking them to connect the church to their power supply. Electric light was
used for the first time in the chapel on Christmas Day 1949.
It appears that electric heating was not in use until 1967 as there is a minute
to the effect that “due to the high cost of electric heating for the last
year we hold our evening services in the schoolroom during the winter months”
made in July 1969.
Structural alterations and improvements to the building have been carried out
throughout the life of the chapel and schoolroom.
The first alteration being in 1926 when an extension was built onto the rear
of the chapel consisting of, on the ground floor, a vestry and staircase leading
to a Ladies Parlour on the upper floor.
Major alterations were made to the chapel in 1962, when the balcony was removed,
the pipe organ disposed of and the ceiling lowered. The upper room formed had
a boarded floor which is used as additional school room space and for social
and recreational use.
Part of the old schoolroom on the ground floor was incorporated in the church
forming a recess on the same level as the baptistery dais. The stage was fronted
with an oak rail and wrought iron balustrade.
The church entrance was also altered in 1962 to extend the width of the original
chapel, with double doors facing the road , toilets and cloaks to the left and
stone staircase to the first floor.
Another major extension was made in 1982, comprising a large side meeting room
and with a separate fitted kitchen.
Items of Interest
The Memorial Scroll to the dead of the 1914-18 war was mounted on the wall inside the chapel during 1919.
A deacons meeting and choir practice were brought to an abrupt halt on the thirty first of January 1916 by a Zeppelin raid, resulting in the lights going out when gas was cut off at the mains, plunging the whole of Langley Mill into darkness.
The leaded windows in the church have been donated by relatives of past members and were fitted by Messrs Pope and Parr of Nottingham. The leaded windows in the first floor room were fitted by local joiner and church member Mr Stanley Turton in May 1951.
The electrical system in the baptistery was installed by Lee Electrical Services in 1960.
The boundary wall at the rear of the church ground was replaced by iron railings in 1976.
The floor of the church was originally timber, but due to dry rot was replaced by concrete, this work was carried out by church members in 1980. The floor in the ground floor Sunday School deteriorated in similar fashion and was replaced, in concrete, by a visiting pastor from New Zealand in September 1984.
The railings and wall at the front of the church were erected in 1951. The frontage was set back some ten feet to conform with the Urban Councils building line. The expense was met by the Notts. and Derby Tram Company who had previously taken a section of the road.
The heating of the church building was improved by fitting two quartz type electric convection heaters in April 1985.
St John’s Church Aldercar
Say a little prayer by Sue Fowler
Areas are noted for their places or worship, some large, others small, yet nevertheless representative of the need for `finding oneself and having a chat with the 'hierarchy'.
If we talk `small' then we don't need to go further than Aldercar's Church of St John’s. Built in the 19th century by the Wright family, local landowners who lived at Aldercar Hill, the church served both them and their workers. Prior to its commissioning, family and workers were obliged to travel to St Lawrence Church at Heanor in order to worship, Langley Mill and surrounds being part of Heanor Parish.
St John's was built as a daughter church and is known as the Chapel of Ease. A small, but beautifully proportioned building, stone built with a slate roof, it has many fine features.
When wandering around you will note its two particularly interesting stained glass windows sighted east and west. The west window depicts the biblical tale of The Good Samaritan; the west one significant in that it characterizes three Saints. By scrutinizing it carefully you will find that the middle Saint has a much younger face than that of the other two. Strange you may say, but this represents the picture, in glass, of a former Vicar of the Parish who, at the beginning of the life of the church was on duty at the neighbouring village of Brinsley when he caught pneumonia and subsequently died. The window was installed in his honour, admirably capturing his likeness, a fitting tribute to someone obviously held in high regard by the parishioners.
Beneath this window stands a carved wooden panel done by a local man, Mr Buttery. It is known as a reredos, the Latin translation simply meaning 'an ornamental screen covering the wall at the back of an altar'.
St John's Church now forms part of the Langley Mill and Aldercar parish and is affiliated to St Andrew's Church, built at a much later date.
Some say small is best, but that comes down to choice. Any place for prayer is just that, and so acceptable in the nicest sense of the word.
St Andrew’s Church - Langley Mill (circa 1920)
In 1847 Langley Mill found its recognised place on the map when the Midland Railway arrived. Naturally the village soon started to expand and people sought a place to worship.
For the Baptists there was the chapel on Heanor Lane (now Station Road ) which had been in existence for some 15 years, but those of the Anglican faith were given three choices – Eastwood, Aldercar, or Heanor – all villages within walking distance. But we must remember that in the mid-nineteenth century roads would be little more than dirt tracks which meant that after rain, heavy or not, or in winter, one’s Sunday best could get very dirty.
Many, if not all, were relieved when Tarmacadam was patented in 1901 by Edgar Pumell Hooley.
With village growth expanding the place for worship grew more urgent.
Elnor Street was being built the deeds stated that a builder's yard and workshop had to be included – today known Slater’s – then a two storey building its upstairs room offered by the builders for religious services. The services gained so much popularity the preacher was obliged had to stand on the stairs since the upper floor was crammed to capacity causing the attendees to either sit on (if they were lucky to gain a seat) or stand around the joiner's benches.
Obviously action was required to solve this problem and wisdom decided to build a a temporary iron church on land on the corner of Elnor Street.
Mr John Durow from Marlpool began building in 1895, and in the course of a few months the church was opened on the 6th October that year.
By 1901 similar problems arose in respect of enthusiasm causing more crowding thus causing an extension and a north wing to be added at a cost of £230, this again was built by Mr Durow. The refurbished building was reopened by the bishop on 8th October 1901.
Langley Mill naturally expanded to such a degree as to nurture similar setbacks meaning that 1911 saw the foundation stone for St Andrew's church being laid, said church dedicated in 1912.
The iron church in Elnor Street was used as a church hall until it was sadly destroyed by fire in 1955 .
Five years later, in 1958, another foundation stone was laid behind the present church of St Andrew's by Mr Frank Sisson, this time for the new church hall.
Wesleyan Church, Station Road by Brian Gration
The picture on the left shows the facade of the Wesleyan chapel in 1994.The final service was held on Easter Day 1987.
To the right is a photograph of a time capsule placed in the tower of the Wesley Chapel on Station Road when the building was extended 1911. The capsule was found when the tower was demolished in the late 20th century. It contained a number of news papers. The Heanor Observer 23rd March 1911, The Heanor Observer Thursday 15th JUNE 1911, The Daily News 17th June 1911, The Methodist Recorder and General Christian Chronicle 15th June 1911 and the The Nottingham Guardian Thursday 15th June 1911. It also contained two Pennies dated 1901 and 1910 and 1 Half Penny dated 1908.
The papers were examined on the 16th December 2008 but are in poor condition and tend to crumble when you try to open them also the coins are beginning to corrode so I do not know how long they will last.
Cromford Road Churches
United Free Church site
The Congregational Church originated on this site (at the junction of Argyle Street and Cromford Road) in 1886. It subsequently became the United Methodist Free Church and closed in 1951
Primitive Methodists
The church still stands at the junction of Gladstone Street and Cromford Road and is now used by a joinery business. There are a number of foundation stones indicating building started on 28th August 1886