Whitehill Methodist Church (built 1871)
The road from Kidsgrove to Mow Cop runs close to the front of the Chapel, and at this point say the deeds, is called Brewhouse bank.
Little information remains of Whitehill Society before 1871 except that a
Wesleyan Preaching Plan of 1839 shows that services were held once a fortnight.
The only houses that were then standing were at Old Whitehill, a group of
about twenty workers' houses near to Birchenwood which were demolished in
the mid 1960's. We can only assume that this is where the services were held.
Once, there was a "preaching room" at what is now 177 Whitehill
Road, opposite the Chapel. The house was owned by Sarah Machin and and would
be open on Sundays and occasional weekdays to worshippers. At some time just
before 1871 the "Preaching Room" was moved to what is now 185 Whitehill
Road. This was a time of great Religious revival and soon the "Preaching
Room" became too overcrowded. On 26th June 1871 a trustees' meeting was
held in the same room to discuss the building of a Chapel. Present at this
first recorded meeting were :- Rev William Shaw (Superintendant Minister),
Rev William Jackson, Absalom Ball, Peter Lawton, John Hall, William Hall,
Robert Dutton, Joseph Nicklin, John Cotton and the architect, Mr Ford. Tenders
for the building were opened and it was unanimously decided to give the work
to James Broad of Willaston. Things moved swiftly in the beginning, and within
fifteen days of the first meeting on Monday 11th July, Mr C H Hardeman laid
the foundation stone and Mr G Craigley of Alsager presided at the Service.
It is noteworthy that the Conveyance of the land upon which the Chapel was
to be built was not completed until 23rd September. The Society paid £51
- 9s - 0d for 343 square yards of land owned by Mary Kinnersley of Clough
Hall, widow of a wealthy mine owner of the district, and Georgina Mary Attwood.
Whitehill Wesleyan Methodist Church was opened on Tuesday 12th Dec 1871, by
the Rev J H Beech of Burslem, Chairman of the Macclesfield Circuit. By village
standards the building was very fine and extremely expensive. A double fronted
house at that time would cost around sixty pounds, the Chapel and it's land
together cost £487 - 13s - 11d.
There seemed to be an unofficial unity between the Wesleyan and the Primitive
Methodists. There are repeated records saying "It was agreed to
lend our Chapel to the Primitives as usual this year". An entry
on 25th March 1882 says that the Primitives could hold their Sunday
School Anniversary. This lending of premises in June each year continued
until 1888.
On the other hand a similar request by the "Good Templars" was
refused because "provisions in the deeds prohibited the lending
of the Chapel". This was in 1873. However a similar application
by the "Good Templars" in 1926 was granted at a fee of twenty
five shillings per year.
Whitehill Chapel began the Twentieth Century in a state of uncertainty about
it's future. It was necessary to ask the Sunday School to increase it's grant
because the Chapel found it difficult to pay it's way. Complications had arisen
due to mining underneath the Chapel and the building was "beginning to
give way" so stated the Minutes of February 1908. In March 1909 the damage
due to subsidence was listed - "the gable and front of the Chapel are
falling out; cracks at each corner; the foundations are apparently giving
way". Nevertheless Whitehill survived this and the Great War. In 1915
an account was opened at the Post Office called the School Building Fund.
That same year gas was brought to the village and the Chapel, and later in
1919 electricity and water were also laid on.
The Jubilee Celebrations of 1921 when the Chapel was half a century old raised
a substantial sum of money towards building a Sunday School. On the 3rd of
Feb 1921 the Chapel was first solemnized for marriage but it was not until
Dec 1922 that the first wedding took place between Mr H Grundy and Miss A
Burgess, daughter of a former choirmaster of the Chapel.
In post war years Whitehill Chapel benefited considerably from the generosity
of Mr & Mrs J E Archer of Whitehill Farm.
In 1952 Mr Archer conveyed land to the Chapel so that it could build an asbestos
store shed. Conveyances were also made in 1955, 1956 and 1959 totalling over
300 square yards of land.
Ealy in 1971 Whitehill Methodist Chapel united with Rookery and Balls Bank
to form a new society. This is where the history of Whitehill ends and the
history of a new Church begins.
Officers of Whitehill Methodist Church at the time of union, July Plan 1971.
Minister - Rev R G McBain.
Stewards : Society - Mrs M Biddulph, Mrs L Edwards, Mr D Breeze.
.............. : Poor - Mr & Mrs N Goode.
Trustees' Secretary - Mr J Nicklin.
............. Treasurer - Mr D Breeze.
Choir : Conductor/Organist - Mr J H Biddulph.
Guild Secretary - Mr G Wilshaw.
Overseas Missions Secretary - Mrs N Goode.
Christian Citizenship Secretary - Mrs P Bailey.
Home Missions - Mrs D Hancock.
Founding Trustees 1871 - Rev John Hooton (Superintendant Minister), Jabez
James Hancock, John Cotton,
Stephen Knapper, Dennis Richmond, Joseph Clarke, James Smallwood, James Smith,
James Lockett, Robert Dutton,
Absalom Ball, Peter Lawton, Paul Turner, John Hall, William Hall, Joseph
Nicklin, John Goodwin, James Harding.
