Bradley Hall, Leeds Rd Wesleyan Methodist, Nelson

The church does not have a graveyard.

It was founded in 1894 and closed in 1960.

It appears that the Wesleyans initially leased part of the former Bradley Hall from c.1895, before (presumably demolishing it and) building a new structure in 1899. This new building seems to have been mainly classrooms surrounding a chapel, and is sometimes refered to as 'the school chapel'. Some funding was obtained from central funds, and from the profits of the local business run by William Tunstill. The site is shown clearly on OS 1:2,500 maps of 1912 and 1932 - sheet Lancashire 56.07. By the mid 20th century the site appears to have become run down, and a hand-written note in a bundle of related documents held at the Lancashire Record Office (ref. MNe 7/2) and dated 1958 notes that 'the site has been condemmed' and 'has been damaged by children and by seepage from inadequate drainage'. The latter was presumably from the rainwater goods, as it is also noted that 'the school chapel was built in the hope that a chapel would be built above' in the future. The building must have been demolished shortly afterwards, and by 1963 a 'temporary' youth and community centre was erected on the site. This temporary structure is still present (September 2007) but is scheduled for replacement in the near future.

The Wesleyan Methodist church was formed in the 18th century from religous societies founded by John Wesley and his preachers. It suffered many secessions, but was the largest Nonconformist denomination in the 19th century. In 1932 the Wesleyan Methodists joined with the Primitive Methodists and the United Methodists to form the Methodist Church of Great Britain.

This site provides historical information about churches, other places of worship and cemeteries. It has no connection with the churches etc. themselves.

Whilst every effort has been made to record exact details of record office and library holdings you are recommended to check with them before visiting to ensure that they do hold the records and years you wish to examine. Similarly check with transcript publishers to ensure they cover the records and years you require before making a purchase.

Original Registers

It was located at SD8658838311 (Lat/Lon 53.840871, -2.205309). You can see this on maps provided by:

• OpenStreetMap
• Google Maps
• StreetMap (Current Ordnance Survey maps)
• Bing (was Multimap)
• Old Maps Online
• National Library of Scotland (Old Ordnance Survey maps)
• Vision of Britain (Click "Historical units & statistics" for administrative areas.)
• English Jurisdictions in 1851 (Unfortunately the LDS have removed the facility to enable us to specify a starting location, you will need to search yourself on their map.)
• Magic (Geographic information) (Click + on map if it doesn't show)
• GeoHack (Links to on-line maps and location specific services.)