St John's Wesleyan Methodist Church, Almondbury

The following source list was originally available only on paper in one of the West Yorkshire Archive Service offices. It may have been compiled many years ago and could be out of date. It was designed to act as a signpost to records of interest on a particular historical subject, but may relate only to one West Yorkshire district, or be an incomplete list of sources available. Please feel free to add or update with any additional information.

The first Methodist preaching service in Almondbury was held at Edmund Mellor's house at Town End in 1766.

Abraham Moss, an Almondbury shoemaker (1750-1840) was converted to Methodism at a service in a house at the top of Almondbury Old Bank (possibly Edmund Mellor's) c1869; he became a well known preacher.

In 1770 there was an anti-Methodist riot in Almondbury. The house of Squire Studderth in Westgate was licensed for Methodist worship in 1770.

In c1770 Methodist services were held in Almondbury at the houses of John Dobson, Abraham Moss and Matthew Mellor. Abraham Moss also held a class meeting at Matthew Lodge's house at Bank End; classes were also established at Fenay Bridge, Ashes Common and Newsome. Almondbury was a preaching centre in the Birstall Circuit 1776.

Many Methodists from Almondbury attended Old Bank chapel in Huddersfield after it opened in 1766. When Old Bank went over to New Connexion in 1797, the Almondbury Methodists who remained Wesleyan left the chapel and held services in houses in Almondbury again for some years; one house used was that of Charles Whittell.

The Sunday School was run jointly by the Church of England and Wesleyans established in 1808 using a room next to the Rose and Crown.

The chapel was built in Westgate 1814-16 and opened in 1816.

The Sunday School moved to the National School premises in Westgate when it was built in 1818.

The Church of England and Wesleyans fell out over the running of the Sunday School with the Wesleyans establishing their own Sunday School in a warehouse c1820.

In 1824 a Sunday School was built behind the chapel and subsequently enlarged in 1842.

The Sunday School was re-built in 1900-1901 and the chapel was demolished in 1968. A new chapel was built and opened in 1969 and is still in existence in 2000.

The records for this chapel can be found at WYAS:Kirklees at KC295/7, KC307/3, KC392, KC392.2, KC512 and KC896