Local History

After more than 20 years, a failed bid at winning funding through the BBC's Restoration programme, and many a historian's broken heart - restoration work is finally starting on Hanley's Bethesda Chapel.

Work began in June 2006, and since then the chapel has been surrounded by scaffolding and builders banging away, looking as though the restoration work is well under way!

Organisers tell us that almost £800,000 will be spent on it over the next year. Their plan is to tackle essential repairs in a series of phases, instead of waiting to raise all the funds required to carry out a full repair and upgrading of the building. This means that they can stop any further decay straight away.

Phase 1 is to be completed by the end of 2006, at a cost of £488,000, which have been funded with the aid of a £265,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund, £200,000 from English Heritage and over £20,000 that has been raised by the Historic Chapels Trust and the Bethesda Friends. But the team still needs to raise funds to help start Phase 2.

What will be fixed in Phase 1?

Phase 1 will deal with the most urgent repairs, to fix the roof and to make the chapel watertight. This will also enable visitors to go into the building, on a limited basis, to appreciate its scale and grandeur.

This will include:

Complete renewal of all the roof slates
Repair to the main timber roof trusses, as required
Elimination of dry rot
All necessary repairs of high-level masonry
Renewal of all rainwater pipes
Clearance of all internal debris and making the building safe for public access
Removal of timber boards over windows and replacement with clear covers to allow natural light into the building
Repair of underground drainage.

But what will the Bethesda be used for?

Back in 2004 consultants, local bodies and user groups met to explore possibilities for future use of the Bethesda Chapel. They decided that Stoke-on-Trent needed a medium-sized venue to hold audiences of between 100 and 1000 people for a variety of events.

Some of the suggestions were - a concert hall for events such as brass band concerts and choral music performances, a music school with a workshop space for performing arts, a space for public meetings, lectures and ceremonies such as degree ceremonies,
A distinctive and unusual venue for business AGMs/meetings/conferences, a Methodist Conference, it was also suggested that some of the smaller spaces in the building could be adapted for use as a Citizens Advice Bureau, Methodist bookshop, coffee shop or information shop.

Photos of the Bethesda Chapel

Find out more about the progress of the Bethesda Chapel restoration, and how to donate for Phase 2 by visiting their website.