Pole Lane Independent, Darwen

Church picture

Independent church,
Pole Lane,
Darwen
Lancashire

Cemeteries

The graveyard still contains 7 gravestones, the MI's have been transcribed, copy in Darwen Library.

Church History

The chapel was build by several families who broke away from Lower Chapel and it opened on 6th May 1793 with Rev. Townsend as its minister. In 1806 he was ejected from the pulpit and left with the registers and several of the congregation to built Townsend Chapel (or the Refuge) which opened in 1808. Both chapels continued to be used until 1822 when the two congregations amalgamated and as a result the Townsend Chapel was enlarged and renamed Ebenezer Chapel. It opened in 1822 and consequently Pole Lane Chapel was abandoned. The graveyard that surrounds that chapel continued to be used until the mid 1850s. It is unclear as to when the building was demolished but this must have taken place before the OS map of 1849 was published.

The Independent churches were ones in which each congregation was autonomous, upholding the principles of independence. In the 19th century they became known as Congregational.

Church Records

Original registers
The National Archives hold:

Lancashire Record Office hold copies of:

Register Transcripts
Published by the Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society, (microfiche D6 - New Dissenting: Bap & Bur):
Indexes
The IGI contains:

 

1323

Maps

The church was located at OS grid reference SD7027921439. You can see this on maps provided by:

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