top of page
Sharing our memories of Heald Green
Last Updated 13thApril 2025
Heald Green Methodist Church On Brown Lane
By Helen Morgan
First Published on Facebook 15/09/2023
Last Updated 30/03/2025
This is the history of just the buildings to celebrate 90 years’ service to our community.
To read the full history of the Methodist Church presence in Heald Green click here.
Our story begins with a new age of thinking. Non-conformist religions were on the up. Prestbyterian, Congregationalist, Baptist and Methodist chapels were being built around us in nearby villages. There were Methodist chapels in Cheadle, Gatley, Handforth and Cheadle Hulme. The population of Long Lane and Heald Green combined was still very sparse and consisted mainly of weavers, farmers and agricultural labourers. Any resident wishing to hear the preachings of a Wesleyan minister would have had to travel or practice inside their own homes. From around 1783 Matthew Mayer, the brother of Henry who lived at Chamber Hall, held fortnightly services there to a congregation of a faithful few. Perhaps some were from our village.
In 1928 the Trinity (Stockport) Circuit suggested a survey of the new housing areas that stood around it. By this time Heald Green was developing rapidly. The new railway station, opened in 1909, had connected the village and people began to move out to the “countryside.” On inspection there was no religious purpose built provision. However, like minded people were worshipping together at the Long Lane Institute on Finney Lane (where the social club is now). The first scheduled Wesleyan Methodist service took place there on the 14th October 1928. The week before this, the ministerial brethren had visited houses to spread the word. It was noted by the trustees that the congregations were good for a while but had dwindled off to just a faithful few of around 18 people. The services were discontinued after about 18 months and the village was removed from the Methodist Circuit. The faithful few decided to carry on and made arrangements themselves for preachers to attend on a Sunday evening. They were so successful that after a case was put to the Circuit the village was reincluded.
This small congregation decided that it was time to move onwards and upwards. Luckily for them, Mr and Mrs Hargreaves who owned a café at 217 Finney Lane now The Brew, were part of this congregation. They kindly agreed to rent out a room for services and to provide a new Sunday School. Where exactly that room was is up for debate. Different recollections have stated it was at the back or adjoining the side of the building. The first evening service was held on Sunday July 6th 1930 at 6.30pm. During that day, eight children attended a Sunday school at 2.30pm. By March 1931 that number had grown to 25.
Fig. 1 Announcement of new premises at Hargreaves cafe
from 6.7.1930
Click On Image To View
Fig. 2 Hargreaves Cafe first Harvest Festival Sept 1930
Mr Frank Wood
Click On Image To View
The congregation continued to grow and gradually the room at the café became too small. The Stewards felt that a more permanent solution was necessary with a building of their own. The Circuit approached “the best men” in their midst and a trust was formed. Perhaps the most notable man approached was Sir Thomas Rowbotham. He pledged £100 to build somewhere (approx. £9000 today) and another £300 to furnish a chapel and Sunday School. So, who was this eager benefactor?
He was born in 1851, the son of John and Eliza in Romiley, and went to the local village school. At the age of 11 he began working in a cotton mill and by the age of 13 was apprenticed to the village blacksmith until the age of 21. He spent eight years as a commercial traveller and founded the engineering firm of Rowbotham and Co Ltd and Leah and Rowbotham Ltd an iron, steel and timber merchants. He became the Mayor of Stockport from 1916-19, and an Alderman and a Justice of the Peace for the Borough and the County of Chester. He used his wealth for the good of others and made donations to Woodbank Memorial Park and Hall along with many other causes. On top of all that he was a Wesleyan Local Preacher for 70 years before he died on 8th October 1939. At least he got to see his beloved chapel built.
%202nd%20left%201.jpg)
Fig. 3 Sir Thomas Rowbotham third left and John Connel (of Connel and Bailey ) second left 1915
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
With Sir Thomas’ pledge of money, it was then up to the Circuit to raise the rest. An appeal was sent out to the rest of the parishioners. They began looking for a suitable site.
Fig. 4 Appeal for £200 to build chapel
by Stockport Trinity Circuit 1933
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
The site committee were empowered to purchase half an acre of land from the Manchester Corporation at a cost of £264, that was part of the Wythenshawe estate. The land was to be bought outright and Stockport Trinity pledged to help with the cost along with personal donations from their congregation. Back in 1839, prior to being owned by Manchester Corporation, the field numbered 372 was called Long Flatt and was used as a meadow of 3 acres and 3 roods that extended all the way to the land that the telephone exchange now stands on. Flatt being a very old English name for areas of very fertile land before the Land Enclosures Act came into effect around our area in the 1800s. The landowner was Thomas William Tatton and the occupier was Sarah Pickford. The deal was done on 24th July 1934.
At this time the church underwent a fundamental change, as different branches of the religion were brought together to form a unified Methodist Church with the term Wesleyan disappearing.
Fig. 5 Plan of land bought July 1934
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
The architects were Messrs Halliday and Agate of Manchester. Messrs L Brown & Sons would build the Chapel at a cost of £2276 7s 6d (7 shillings and 6 old pence) after revising their plans that had been over budget. “As a result of reductions in the size of the proposed building and economies in various details as instructed”, the tender was approved and contracts signed.
The stone laying service for the chapel took place on the 6th April 1935 with a service conducted by the Reverend C F Hunter, who was the Superintendent of the Circuit, along with other circuit ministers. Special memorial stones were laid at the same time. Mr H P Clyma, who had been instrumental in bringing Methodism to the village, and now a resident in Birmingham, laid one. Along with him others also laid stones including a representative of the Mill Brow trustees who had given a substantial amount to the project. A tea table conference was laid on at the Institute afterwards with Sir Thomas presiding, 140 were catered for. Stirring speeches were given and the Superintendent announced that with the tremendous support that had been received through promises, grants and gifts, it was expected that when the chapel opened it would be without any encumbering debt. A wonderful achievement by all concerned. Sir Thomas called it “a happy day for Heald Green.”
Fig. 6 Stone Laying Ceremony 1935
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
This sketch is looking at the building from Brown Lane. To the left was the vestry with the chapel in the middle. To the right a figure can be seen at the entrance door and then there was a building incorporating a Sunday school, the kitchen and toilets.
Sir Thomas’ daughter Florence, also a JP, opened the chapel on 28th September 1935. The dedicatory service was performed again by the Reverend C F Hunter before it was time for a cup of tea for 150 people. An evening service then followed at 6.30pm presided over by Sir Thomas. Trustees, Mr Meggitt and Mr Phillips again outlined the fact that due to the generous grants from the Chapel Committee’s Special Fund, their committee’s own grant and the pledged promises and gifts, there was every hope that by next April the scheme would be clear of debt.
This door was known as the blue door.
Fig. 7 Chapel opening day
The Advertiser 4.10.1935
Click On Image To View
In December 2023 the church coffee lounge suffered a catastrophic hot water pipe burst and the rooms were like a sauna until the leak was discovered. This led to restoration work that uncovered old brick work and floors. This enabled me to document what was there in 1935. An historian’s dream!!
The blue door is now red and never used. Through a small porch you step up into a L shaped corridor.
Fig. 8 Original blue door (now red)
© H Morgan 28.4.2023
Click On Image To View
Now this corridor has the gent’s toilets on the right and the coffee lounge on the left. Straight ahead is the kitchen.
In 1935 the toilet was there. The coffee lounge was two separate rooms for the Sunday school beginners and seniors. The older children had a fireplace in their room.
The door to the senior’s room was further along than the kitchen door now. Past that was the ladies’ toilet and a small kitchen area.
Fig. 9 Corridor to kitchen
© H Morgan March 2023
Click On Image To View
Behind the kitchen door, part of the old bricked up door into the Senior’s Sunday school could be seen.
Fig. 10 Kitchen area showing old doorway to corridor
© H Morgan April 2023
Click On Image To View
Inside the kitchen area the old ladies’ toilet room area was there and the floor covering pattern was still visible.
Fig. 11 Kitchen floor showing original room
© H Morgan April 2023
Click On Image To View
The toilet windows could be seen and some of the old plumbing was still there.
Fig. 12 Kitchen
© H Morgan March 2023
Click On Image To View
In the coffee lounge the dividing wall could be seen, where the fireplace had been, along with the bricked up doorway back to the corridor, toilets and kitchen. The hatch was 1986.
Fig. 13 Coffee Lounge
© H Morgan March 2023
Click On Image To View
This much later photo is from the church Archives, once the Sunday School room became one room, with archways and the fireplace still there.
Fig. 14 Sunday School Room
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
To the left of the vestibule was this corridor. Now on the left is the entrance to Heald Green Methodist Pre-school and this is the link corridor to the extension and toilets.
Back in 1935 this was a much darker space than today, as a brick wall stood at the end of the corridor with no window in it and there was a small store cupboard down there.
Fig. 15 from blue door to chapel internal doors
© H Morgan April 2023
Click On Image To View
The room below is now one of the Pre-School rooms.
Back in 1935 this was the chapel. The floor is original. The windows have been replaced and obviously the lights are different. The door to the right was the way into the Minister’s and choir’s vestry with its own toilet. The one on the left led to another outside door.
Just imagine it.......
Rows of heavy wooden chairs on either side, with a prayer book slot in the back, leaving a middle aisle. Looking forward to a single oak pulpit on the left alongside a communion table and rail. A platform for these was added later.
After more fundraising an organ would stand on the right, played by Mr Massey the organist from 1939 – 1964.
The architects had designed the main hall to hold from 160 to 180 people rather than originally 250. The hall was well lit with natural light pouring in, due to large windows on both sides. Lights hung down from the ceiling. A suitable “hair” carpet was purchased for the central aisle.
The different wood shows the raised platform area added later.
Fig. 16 Old church
© H Morgan July 2021
Click On Image To View
Fig. 17 Inside the old church
© H Morgan July 2021
Click On Image To View
Outside, the simple building had its roof and walls in a soft red colour with painted white windows and blue doors. A small fence separated the area from Brown Lane and soon turf would be laid and hedges and shrubs would follow. There were a pair of oak trees where the church land met Brown Lane. They are on maps going back to 1875. Sadly, only one remains. In May 2023 a Tree Preservation Order was placed on this glorious oak.
Fig. 18 Oak tree
© H Morgan April 2021
Click On Image To View
There was no carpark around the back, just fields as far as the eye could see to Finney Lane and Daisy Bank Farm.
Fig. 19 Celebration outside the chapel 1959
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
Fig. 20 Car park that was once grass
© H Morgan April 2021
Click On Image To View
With the outbreak of WW11 in September 1939, schedules were amended. Sunday School was moved to 2.15pm until further notice and evening services would be 3.30pm in view of National Emergency measures and blackout protocols. Cheshire County Council asked permission to use the building for daytime elementary school purposes and the Trustees voted for this “it became a duty which we could hardly ignore to sanction its use for this serious purpose.”
The Guilds continued to meet at church, along with the choir who sometimes practiced at 26 The Oval. The retiring collection on 21st January 1940 was for blackout curtains. In June 1940 it was announced that Sister Lois would be bringing 30-40 children from the Manchester Mission on July 13th and that all ladies from the congregation were asked to stay, as “volunteers were needed for important war needs”. The question of air raid protection for Sunday School was discussed and Alcock’s in Cheadle were instructed to build an anti-blast wall outside the corridor leading to the Minister’s vestry and have the ceiling of the corridor strengthened too. Sunday School paid half of the cost of the baffle wall built for their protection. Later in 1940 stirrup pump buckets and sand were on order for firefighting. Our village had an Area Warden so there was no need for Church members to be involved on a rota and they were already involved in Civil Defence Work.
Sunday School outings only went to Styal but parties and pantos were still put on, although they had to bring their own food due to rationing. Church members and teachers were asked to give a minimum of two small slabs of chocolate, from their own rations, so that each child could be presented with one.
I’m sure there would have been real excitement when Winston Churchill and King George VI and Queen Elizabeth used Heald Green station during 1942 just across the fields from there en route to Ringway.
In 1942 the Ministry of Works and Buildings sent a letter to Church that it had been earmarked as an Emergency Rest Centre, should the need arise, and donations of five shillings a week were granted for that purpose. It must be remembered that in these dark times, although our village was ten miles south of Manchester, it was only a mile away from Ringway Airport where paratroopers trained.
By 1943 the church membership was 50. In 1944 the idea of a new future church was discussed and at that time it was deemed sufficient to just put one box in the Church entrance marked “Building and Improvement Fund.” In 1944 the Trustees held a meeting with Manchester Corporation who indicated that they had “nothing against the Church acquiring land adjoining, provided Cheadle and Gatley UDC agreed”. £600 per acre was suggested, or they could lease 1.18 acres for a yearly rent of £10. A 25 year lease was agreed on, although “technical arrangements between Manchester Corporation and Airport Authorities had not yet been completed.” In 1945 repairs to the brick entrance pillars of the chapel had not gone ahead, due to the fact that the builders Messrs W.R.Tracy had been engaged on bomb repair work in the South of England! On V.E.Day in May 1945 and all of the following week, the chapel was open for private prayer.
With the formation of the Youth Club in 1945 with just six members initially and the stipulation that you had to attend church on a Sunday too, it soon became very clear that more space was needed. In 1946, the first sketch for an extension went ahead. It would clearly show how it would be possible to add to the existing structure a permanent building suitable for use as extra accommodation for the Sunday School, providing well-proportioned rooms to be used for recreation. At present the heavy chapel chairs had to be moved out of the way and then put back. Edwards Adams Architect plans would cost £900. Fundraising began in earnest along with a covenant plan for the congregation to pay personally.
Fig. 21 Covenant programme for members page 2 & 3 to build the 1950 extension
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
The lease for the playing field was competed in 1947 and the Church had to arrange suitable fencing to stop Mr Grundy’s cows from Daisy Bank Farm entering!
At long last, in 1948, Cheadle and Gatley UDC approved the architect‘s plans of 1946 for a new building extension. Tenders were sought for the work. On November 19th the Chapel Committee granted permission for work to go ahead but wanted to know how money was to be raised and how long it would take to raise approximately £1200. By May 1949 the New Extension Trust and Society pledged to raise £1000 within three years and hoped it would be completed by June 1952. A cycle shed and path were constructed for around the back of the kitchen area.
Estimates were received ranging from £1672 to £1374. L Brown and Sons of Wilmslow were the cheapest. The Architect thought that they had gone low to be able to get the work on a building originally constructed by them. With a few tweaks it was hoped that £1200 could be achieved as the final bill.
The planned new build is coloured in in black.
Even on this plan the need for a future church was being thought about.
Fig. 22 Plans for new extension by 1950 with Future Church on plan
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
The building work for the new extension can be seen on the wedding photo.
Fig. 23 Alan and Betty Lawton’s wedding on July 8th 1950
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
Fig. 24 Side of church August 2021
© H Morgan
Click On Image To View
The extension opened in November 1950 and Miss Rowbotham did the honours again.
Fig. 25 Opening of the New Hall
order of service front page 11.11.1950
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
Fig. 26 Opening of new extension 11 Nov 1950
L-R Ernie Dicken Tony West Florence Rowbotham..Fred Atkin
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
The new extension did not alleviate the problem of overcrowding and so the old chapel still had to have its furniture moved to accommodate Sunday school attendees. Discussions began in 1954 about building a new church and by 1958 a plan was established.
Once again, the congregation were asked to dig deep into their own pockets, as money could not be borrowed until set amounts had already been reached. There was fundraising throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s with every conceivable way to raise money from bring and buy sales, coffee mornings, bread and cheese suppers, soirees and even a Mad Hatter’s tea party! What even is a coffee shower?
Fig. 27 Fundraising Mad Hatter_s tea party c1950s
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
Fig. 28 Fundraising for new church
Alderley and Wilmslow Advertiser ​16.3.1961
Click On Image To View
The Sunday School had 210 children in 1963. Even though new plans were drawn up for a new church and a classroom behind it, there were still many concerns that this would still not accommodate everyone, even considering the old chapel and the two rooms already used. It must be remembered that at this time our village was expanding rapidly as more and more new housing estates were built, this meant more and more children.
Eventually £9000 was raised. The newer 1950s extension was knocked down to make way for the church we know today. The Reverend at this time from 1961-64 was David Bridge. He rented a house on Brown Lane, directly opposite the church, and we are so lucky as he took photos of everything that happened. Messrs Halliday and Agate were the architects chosen again, with an £18000 budget, and J and J Parish Ltd. were the builders.
Fig. 29 Building work 1963
© David Bridge
Click On Image To View
Fig. 30 Laying of the Foundation stone order of service 9.11.1963
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
Fig. 31 Stone laying ceremony Nov 1963
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
Fig. 32 Foundation stone 9.11.1963
© H Morgan
Click On Image To View
Figs. 33, 34 & 35 Building the new church 1964
© David Bridge
Click On Images To View
Fig. 36 Order of service Dedication of the church 1st Aug 1964
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
The first wedding was Reverend Bridge’s to Linda Skerratt, the daughter of the butcher on Finney Lane whose family were staunch Methodists.
Fig. 37 Bridge Skerratt wedding photo
Click On Image To View
​By January 1967 the plight of the Sunday School was coming to a head. There were now 300 children and 43 teachers. There was a huge waiting list and children were being turned away. Urgent action was now needed. The beginners were squashed in the Sunday School rooms, forcing the Seniors into the kitchen, other rooms and even into their own homes. Fundraising began again. By 1968 the problems had been overcome and by June the erection of a prefab structure was nearing completion, ready for its grand opening. It served as the Sunday School and Youth Club.
That was this extension as seen from the carpark. It has plastic windows now.
Fig. 38 Sunday School Extension July 2021
© H Morgan
Click On Image To View
A refurbishment plan in 1983 was not approved, as the cost for a possible rebuilding of the 1968 extension gave no extra accommodation. The organ in church was to be moved slightly to make a vestry behind it though, as well as being refurbished.
In March 1985 a new plan was put forward. This was to remove the chimney from the old Sunday School rooms and make one large room; the ladies’ toilets were to be moved and put where there were storerooms near the 1968 extension, along with a new disabled toilet. This would then mean the kitchen could be made bigger and a hatch could go in. The back entrance area was to be extended. A door ramp, handrail and an overhead canopy were added to the plans, specifically to aid the day centre visitors plus their wheelchairs.
The cost was estimated at £35,000 and the Church and its members would need to raise half of this before other funds could be released. This was done yet again. On July 5th, 1986, Reverend Malcolm Lorimer welcomed the congregation in for a social afternoon.
Fig. 39 Opening extension alterations by Dr Warwick Clegg 5 July 1986
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
From 1994, during Reverend Mark Wakelin’s tenure serious proposals were discussed, plans formulated and drawn up to deal with the Church building as a whole moving forward into the next century. The problems were becoming obvious. There was no flow to the working life of the building with bits having been added on over time. The main church was too far away from the kitchen for use after services, toilets, fixtures and fittings were dated, flat roofs were becoming a problem along with old guttering and wiring. Creche facilities and nappy changing areas were now needed to move with the times.
Different options were discussed, costed and put forward to the members. Byron Architects drew up plans. The costs were enormous and the first port of call as always would be the congregation and the amount they were willing to contribute. This would inevitably lead to what could be done and when.
Some plans were absolutely necessary, other ideas would have been very nice to have, but would take the Church well into the 21st Century before becoming achievable. Many meetings were held with options of plans going back and forth to the church members for ideas and agreement.
Fig. 40 Church development Architects plan 1994
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
By 1996 the plan was not only to add onto the existing building, but to improve other entrances and toilets and more importantly to reinvent the church space by moving the altar to the other end of the Sanctuary, where the large glass windows overlook Brown Lane. These were certainly very ambitious plans with astronomical costs. To make matters even harder, new money would have to be raised first before assistance from any other funds could be requested. It was decided that on a cost of around £200,000, £145,000 would have to be raised by church members through fundraising, income tax refunds and personal contributions. Then £7,000 could be sought from the Methodist General Property Fund and £48,000 from the Rank Trust. It was perhaps thought that Manchester Airport could be approached, due to the flightpath going right overhead. Looking to development over 8 years, it was deemed necessary that member’s personal contributions would have to steadily increase too.
Three options were put to all church members:
-
To continue to contribute to Church funds at the present rate and therefore abandon all development for several years.
-
To increase member’s contributions just enough to cover the proposals that were absolutely essential to improve the premises but keep everything as it was.
-
​To significantly go about fundraising for around three years, see how much had been raised and then rethink the plans.
Option two was agreed on and the building was tweaked with essential upkeep rather than any new buildings.
The Church was still a hive of activity but had been suffering from falling congregation numbers, with fewer attending social events and falling numbers at the Sunday School and Youth Club since the late 1980s. There was of course the faithful group of members, but society was moving on and away from religion, not just within Methodism but religions across the board. Whereas before every generation of a family would move through the church over the years, now parents and children were balancing home and work life differently. There was still a Sunday Club, however.
​
​The church interior moved away from pews to chairs.
Fig. 41 Inside new church
© Methodist Church Archives
Click On Image To View
Fig. 42 Interior from the door at the back 3.5.2023
© H Morgan
Click On Image To View
The building continued as a community hub as rooms were used for lace makers, an art club, physiotherapy mornings, toddler group, Sunday club, table tennis, yoga, slimming world, self-defence classes, the Light Orchestra and the uniformed organisations. Of course, all that changed during Reverend Dave Warnock’s tenure when COVID 19 arrived in March 2020. The Church and all its buildings closed.
The only sign of life was when a lady started to decorate the cross at the front with the most beautiful flowers. A sign of hope in what was becoming a long drawn out affair for all. It is still decorated to this day.
Fig. 43 Decorated cross outside the Church 14.4.2023
© H Morgan
Click On Image To View
The Church reopened but sadly things were never the same. Slowly but surely the rooms began to be used again for activities, but nothing on the pre Covid scale.
Then to add more misery there was the devastating hot water leak in December 2022, in the ceiling above the coffee lounge, creating almost a sauna down at that end of the building. Restoration of the kitchen and coffee lounge started in June 2023. Once finished, mums and tots group on a Tuesday returned and the coffee lounge is used for amongst other things, the warm initiative scheme for residents to come for a chat and some free lunch.
Many residents will know Reverend Charles Nevin and I thought it was fitting that he had the final word.
Fig. 44 Charles Nevin
Click On Image To View
I am delighted that Heald Green Methodist Church (known locally as Brown Lane Church) has been included in this Heritage site. I have been fortunate to be the Minister on two separate occasions, 2000 to 2010 and now from 2023 until August 2024. But what makes a church is not the bricks and mortar but the many individuals who chose to make this church their place of worship. In my time in ministry, I have been enriched by their friendship and their faith, and they have all contributed to the development of our Heald Green community. But history is not static, it is a dynamic and every changing tapestry that links present and past but more importantly lays the foundation for our future. We are and will always be partly the product of our past.
I am reminded of the words of a modern worship song called “Find us faithful”:
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.
May the fire of our devotion light their way.
May the footprints that we leave,
Lead them to believe,
And the lives we live inspire them to obey.
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.
The Church meets every Sunday at 10.30 and everyone is welcome. We offer a warm and friendly welcome. Why not give us a try?
Every blessing Charles Nevin.
Charles has now retired and the new man in charge is Reverend Alistair Jones.
I was given the absolute privilege of preserving a very large box of archive material to the best of my ability. This article is an abridged version of a far more comprehensive article, that covers all the clubs, societies, church groups and holidays over the years, that can be found in the heritage library by clicking here.
On 12th July 2025 there will be a huge double celebration held at the Church. This will celebrate 90 years for the church and 60 years for the preschool that over the years has become the OFSTED rated good. From 1pm until 4pm there will be a fun day and there will be stalls, a BBQ, a bouncy castle, old photos to look at, and the preschool rooms will be open for a look around.
Search Our Museum Library (Google Drive account users only)
Timeline
Can You Help Us Improve The Museum?
-
Do you have any related personal memories, photos or documents that you can share with us on this topic?
-
Are any of our facts incorrect?
-
Contact us at healdgreenheritage@gmail.com, or via our Heald Green Heritage Facebook Page.
bottom of page