Bethesda Methodist Chapel, Hanley

Bethesda Methodist Chapel, Hanley
Bethesda Methodist Chapel, Hanley Location in Staffordshire
Coordinates: 53°01′24″N 2°10′37″W / 53.0233°N 2.1769°W / 53.0233; -2.1769
OS grid reference	SJ 882 473
Location	Albion Street, Hanley, Staffordshire
Country	England
Denomination	Methodist
Website	Bethesda Methodist Chapel
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	19 April 1972
Architect(s)	J. H. Perkins Robert Scrivener
Architectural type	Chapel
Groundbreaking	1819
Completed	1887
Closed	29 December 1985
Specifications
Materials	Brick with stuccoed facade and slate roof

Bethesda Methodist Chapel is a disused Methodist chapel, in Hanley, Staffordshire, England. Once one of the largest Nonconformist chapels outside London, the building has been known as the "Cathedral of the Potteries", being "one of the largest and most ornate Methodist town chapels surviving in the UK".

The first Methodist chapel on the site was built by the Methodist New Connexion in the late 18th century. Finding the building too small for their growing membership, the congregation replaced it with the current building in 1819, to the designs of a local amateur architect. The chapel is built over two stories and is in the Italianate style, with further work to expand the building completed in 1859 and 1887. It became a Grade II* listed building in 1972. By the end of the 20th century, the building had deteriorated and the congregation had decreased considerably; it was closed for active worship in 1985. After passing through a number of owners, it was acquired by the Historic Chapels Trust in 2002 and is undergoing an extensive restoration scheme.

In 1779, the congregation of Hanley Wesleyan Chapel were expelled from the chapel for supporting Alexander Kilham. Kilham denounced the Methodist conference for giving too much power to church ministers, at the expensive of the laity; his disagreements led to a schism in the Methodist church and his founding of the Methodist New Connexion. In Hanley, the New Connexion congregation, foremost led by William Smith, Job Meigh and George and John Ridgway, initially met in the house of one of its prominent members, and then acquired a coach-house at the corner of Albion Street that was converted into a meeting house. During the following year the first chapel was built on the site with seating for 600 people. It was formally opened by Wiliam Thom, the first president of the New Connexion, and Alexander Kilham, its secretary. This chapel was the head of the Hanley Circuit, and by 1812 this Circuit was the strongest in the New Connexion. During the previous year the chapel had been expanded to seat 1,000. It was still too small for the size of the congregation and was demolished and replaced by the present chapel in 1819.