Text for circuit newsletter Oct ’23

Woodlands Chapel

We would like to share the story of Woodlands Chapel with readers of this newsletter.  Many, I am sure will already know something about us, and many more will have noticed the building set in a field above the A57 on the Snake Pass.

We celebrated 150 years in 2018 and during that year were both looking forward and back.  Forward asking what, if any, might be the future of the chapel and back to discover an amazing story.

It seems probable that the story of faith in this community dates back to the seventeenth century and to the work of the ministers who defied the Acts of Uniformity, gave up their livings and pursued an itinerant ministry braving great dangers, but forming congregations that met in remote locations for secrecy.  Parallel to this the barn along the road at Alport is mentioned in William Bagshaw’s time as being ‘a well known centre of dissent’.  Hutchinson, who visited the Woodlands in 1809, says of Alport, where the lovefeast is held : ‘It consists of two farm houses by the side of a rivulet, and at the foot of some high craggy rocks called Alport Castle. The Methodist preachers regularly attend this place every Sunday, where they collect a small congregation from the scattered houses in the Woodlands.’

It was because of the faith of his tenants that the then Duke of Devonshire made the land available and provided the stone with which the residents built the chapel themselves.  This arrangement was made for the benefit of “members of the Wesleyan Methodist Communion”.

Sunday school records from the 50’s show around 20 children attending alternate Sundays regularly.  The Centenary celebrations in 1968 show a huge marquee, a brass band, the Duchess of Devonshire and a throng of residents.  By the time we moved here in 1989 services had recently moved from being monthly to only 4 seasonal services a year.  These were still well attended and much was made of cleaning and decorating Chapel and putting on a tea for the many who returned for these occasions. 

Over the next thirty years, the Chapel fell into poor repair and many of the regulars were no longer with us.  The community rallied and repaired the building and to mark the 150 year anniversary we set up a facebook page and a blog so that people could find out when services are and keep in touch.  However congregations remain small and for a number of years we have been looking for a way forward.

Before the pandemic we had generous support to enable us to make Chapel more accessible by making a proper path across the field and renovating the unusable toilet building.  We were refused building regs.  Then the pandemic struck and interest waned still further.  We are prayerfully seeking a future path for the Chapel.  We would be happy to try again to get the permissions that we need to be able to welcome people comfortably but feel that the building needs to have a purpose going forward beyond the 4 services a year.

In the meantime we would like to invite anyone who is interested to attend any of our 4 seasonal services.  Looking back through our visitor’s book which was presented to Chapel in 1968 the Chapel has been been supported by members of  other Chapels from as far away as Glossop, Sheffield and Bakewell as well as those in the Hope Valley.  Our services tend to be quite traditional depending on who is taking each one and with tea and cake served afterwards. 

The dates and times can be found on our facebook page and on our blog :

https://www.facebook.com/hopewoodlands/

https://woodlandschapel.wordpress.com/

Judy Skelton

James Garside

The previous post was an article from the Reporter of 1930 and was found in a collection of articles as a pdf online.  I wanted to find out more about them and online it credits the scrapbooks to Luke, James and Sam Garside.  It would appear that there are 12 scrapbooks of articles which have been scanned. (paid for by a member of New Mills Local History Society who wishes to remain anonymous)

The article that I am currently typing up is by James Garside but there was no date and no paper mentioned, so I had a look online to see if I could find out more about him. It would appear that he died in 1952 and there was this tribute online : http://www.stevelewis.me.uk/page46.php

He seems to have been an extraordinary man, a great walker, friend of GHB Ward, and local historian who helped with access and himself walked to the Lovefeast from Hayfield at the age of 75.

‘He was a great walker and for many years he went regularly over Kinder Scout to attend the famous Woodlands Love Feast. At the age of 75 he did this walk last year. For a long period Mr. Garside also walked to Eyam to attend the Plague Service.’

WOODLAND’S LOVEFEAST or the ‘Peakland Pentecost’

Click to access sbook3_002.pdf

Click to access sbook3_003.pdf

This article is split between the last page of the first collection and the first page of the second.  The articles are pasted onto sheets and copied and the last section has words missing as they are off the page.  Sometimes I have been able to finish a word or it is obvious what is missing.  Otherwise I have just put dots to show missing words or parts of words.

There are differences and anomalies in the various accounts, but I have typed things up as they were originally printed.

The Reporter July 12 1930

WOODLAND’S LOVEFEAST or the ‘Peakland Pentecost’

How long the famous Woodlands Lovefeast has been held in the Peak no one knows.  Some people say it goes back to the passing of the Act of Conformity in 1662, and others that it belongs to the days of the Covenanters.  But it is definitely known that the Wesleyans have held the Lovefeast for more than 150 years.

This year’s feast was held on Sunday.  There was a gathering of the clans but regular frequenters say the attendance was not so large as usual.  Some familiar faces were missing, but that is bound to happen in the course of nature every year.  Mr. G. H. Eyre was there from Castleton and he recalls being there as long ago as 1870.  Mr Elijah Wragg, who hails from beyond Sheffield, is a popular figure who always ‘testifies’, and has a sense of humour even in his Christianity.  He has been coming to the gathering for 60 years.  People from Hayfield, New Mills, Chapel, Chinley and even Ashton, were noticed in the service.  One who testified came from far away Wensley Dale.

The service is held at Alport Farm, in the hamlet of Alport, in the Woodlands.  The hamlet used to consist of three houses.  Now there are only two, as two houses have been knocked into one.

SERVICE HELD IN BARN

The scenery is magnificent.  The farm is about a mile from the main road of the Snake Pass but one or two hardy motorists had braved the stony road to Alport.  For the most part the people walked from the main road, some of them getting wet for rain began to fall in the early afternoon.  From the farm is a splendid view of ‘Alport Castle,’ a series of rocks, so called because of their fortress like appearance.  Beyond the farm the road does not go, and there is some of the wildest scenery in the High Peak.  The hills are glorious, and not a few who were in the neighbourhood would like to penetrate the fastnesses. (as original)

The Lovefeast must surely be one of the most remarkable services held in the Christian world.  The barn of the farm is used for the purpose.  The floor is strewn with straw and the seats are ‘forms’ without back rests.  The hayloft forms a gallery in which people sit, and they get a fine view of the proceedings below.  Behind the barn is a shippon, and it is possible to see into the barn through the wooden racks from which the cattle take the hay.  Two large ‘picking holes’ are open to the sky, and the glimpses through them of the lowering hills are really wonderful, But on Sunday afternoon they also made it possible for the rain to come through.

PLUM CAKE AND WATER.

The procedure is equally quaint.  As soon as people arrive they are offered a piece of cake by men standing there with old fashioned wicker baskets full of plum cake.  The ‘wine’ is the natural one of water and is offered from a pint jug filled from a large enamel ewer.  That is the feast of love and it corresponds to the more elaborate Holy Communion in the Church of England or the Lord’s Supper in the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel.  Having partaken of the cake and water, people pass into the barn for the service. 

In the morning there was an ordinary Wesleyan Methodist service conducted by Rev. W.  Standley, superintendent of the North Derbyshire Mission.  His pulpit was a small platform.  There was no musical instrument of any kind.

THE LOVEFEAST.

The Lovefeast was held in the afternoon.  This also was conducted by Rev. W. Standley.  It was a service of fervour in which anybody present could take part individually.  It opened with a hymn and prayer in the usual way and Mr. Standley gave a short address.  Then others began to testify what had happened to them.  If no one cared to speak at the moment, then someone would start a hymn.  Most of the hymns thus started were of the old revivalist character.  One always sung is :

‘ We sing of the realms of the blest,

That country so bright and so fair,

And oft are its glories confest,

But what must it be to be there?’

It was sung with much fervour on Sunday afternoon.  Much feeling was also expressed in the hymn, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus,’ and a chorus was added, which is not usually the case.  And so the service went on for several hours, in testimony and song.  Many old Methodist hymns were sung to the old rousing tunes.  Occasionally there would be an impressive pause. More than once it was broken by a bird coming into the barn through the ‘picking hole’ and twittering amongst the beams.

Woodlands Lovefeast has been described as the ‘Peakland Pentecost’ and to old frequenters it is.  Some of those used to impart fire and fervour are gone on their long journey and the modern… are much more restrained in their … ions.  But it is yet a wonderful service in its simplicity, its freedom from al l..tion, its homeliness and in its fervent expression by the simple country … of the marvellous faith that is theirs.  There is no organ but the singing is wonderful at times.  Some bass singers were there on Sunday afternoon, whose notes … clear and resonant as those of any ….

It is one of the places as yet un… by the great hurry of the outer world.  All is peace and quiet in Alport and it has an air of rest about it that soothes the nerves jagged and torn by the fretting and worrying of the workaday life.  A few …s have discovered it.  Some were .. at the service.  But they were the ramblers, those who love the countryside not the people who live on it.  Alport is the ideal place in which to hold a religious service and it is good to know there are places in which today, despite the hustle and bustle and the mechanical … of mankind, the peace and quiet of nature reign supreme.

The Derby Daily Telegraph, Monday, July 7 1913

Town and County Gossip

The Alport love feast is one of the most famous events in the calendar of Methodists and indeed of members of many other religious denominations – in the Peak of Derbyshire.  It is held in a barn – the building in which it has taken place now for a period of 150 years.  On the Sunday on which it is held there is a pilgrimage to the secluded farmstead in the Woodlands of the Peak, not only from neighbouring Derbyshire villages, but also from Yorkshire, Cheshire, and even Nottinghamshire.  The latest anniversary was celebrated on Sunday, when, with the additional stimulus of the presence of the Rev. W.F.Moulton , of Hathersage to conduct the services, the attendances were unusually large, in spite of the fact that the weather was unsettled. 

Derbyshire Times Saturday July 9 1932

Centuries Old Custom in a Barn.

Hidden away in the heart of the Pennines is an old grey barn, where for centuries past, on the first Sunday in July, Alport Love Feast is celebrated.

Alport, a hamlet of two houses, stands about two miles off the Snake Pass between Ashopton and the Snake Inn, and may justly claim to be one of the most secret places in England.  It is an ideal place in which to hold a religious service, for that is what Alport Love Feast really is.  It is the old testimony meeting of Methodists in North Derbyshire.

As you enter the barn, you are invited to take the feast of love – a drink of pure water and a piece of home made cake.  New mown hay and clean straw covers the floor, and the pulpit is just a plain deal table at which the minister sits to conduct the service.  There is no organ ; instead the barn resounds with the voices of country people, who worship in the way shown to their forefathers.

Everybody is at liberty to speak.  There is no prolonged silence.  Almost as soon as one has finished speaking another has started, and so throughout the day the service continues.

There is something very appealing about the simplicity of the service which has a significance all its own in the religious life of North Derbyshire.

There were about 200 at the services on Sunday.  The Rev. S.F. Pawson, Hathersage, presided, Mr. J. Eyre, Castleton was born at Alport 76 years ago, and on Sunday made his 60^th attendance at the feast.  Mr Eyre, Sheffield, who is in his 83^rd year, was also present.  Mr. Tom Dutton, a Staveley man, had walked 30 miles to tell the gathering how he was converted 28 years ago. As in several previous years, a 76 years-old Chapeltown man, Mr. Elijah Wragg, led the singing, and sang several solos.  Mr. Wragg has visited Alport for more than 50 years

1935 – 1936

Belper News 12 July 1935

Alport ‘Love Feast’

Ancient Custom Observed in Peak District

Alport ‘Love Feast’ tradition was upheld on Sunday, when a congregation of close upon 300 attended the ancient form of worship in a barn, about five miles from Ashopton.  Hundreds of years ago, farmers, who were the Covenanters persecuted by Charles II gathered together to worship in their own way.  An old barn on the lonely moors is used as a place of worship, and the celebration is always held on the first Sunday in July.

It is claimed that this unusual form of worship was attended 150 years ago by John Wesley.  On Sunday the congregation included a good number of old Methodists, aged from 70 to 80 years.  An address was given by the Rev. J. Baines Atkinson, of Hathersage.

Following the ‘Feast’ which consists of cake and water, of which all partake, the ceremony is thrown open to all who care to come forward and relate their experiences.

Mr Elizah (Elijah in other sources) Wragg, who is 78 years of age and lives at Ecclesfied, always attends, and on Sunday he led the singing and rendered several solos.  The arrangements were again carried out by Mr. T. Eyre of Alport. 

The Derbyshire Times, Friday November 6, 1936

Alport Love Feast

Interesting Link severed by death of two stalwarts

A large number of North Derbshire residents, particularly members of the Methodist Mission, will regret to hear of the death of Mr. Elijah Wragg of Gent Hall Grenoside, near Sheffield at the age of 78. 

Mr. Wragg was one of the outstanding figures of the past 60 years at the famous Alport love feast, and was fond of telling how he was carried across the moors by his father to his first love feast.  He possessed a strong voice and often led the singing of the old-time Methodist evangelical hymns.  He had sung at functions held at the Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Manchester, Doncaster, York, and many other places.  He was a member of the Birley Carr Methodist Church choir for over 60 years.  Late in life he became a tenant of the Earl of Wharncliffe.

The funeral service at Birley Carr Methodist Church was attended by a number of North Derbyshire Methodists who had gathered with Mr. Wragg in the Alport Barn on Love Feast Sunday.  Five minutes before Mr. Wragg died, his oldest friend, with whom he had aattended the love feast for 50 years also passed away.  He was Mr. M. Weldon of Howbrook, who was aged 73.

Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald 01 August 1896

Another rather older and much longer article is very interesting :

 

Alport Love Feast.  Derbyshire Woodlands.  (By Nomad.)

Between Manchester and Sheffield runs a good high road – very high in some parts for it rises to an elevation of something over 1600 feet above sea level – which traversed some of the wildest and most beautiful scenery to be met with in any part of the country.

In the very northernmost part of the Peak district is the bleak but beautiful tract known as Woodlands, bounded on the north and west by the county boundary, on the east by the Derwent, and on the south by its tributary stream, the Ashop, and crossed in a S.E. and N.W. direction by the high road referred to above.  At a point on this road, 23 miles from Manchester and 15 miles from ‘t’other place,’ which the Rev, Newman Hall once described as reminding him of the ‘City of Destruction,’ to say nothing of Sodom and Gomorrah, is what is still locally known as Jumble Bridge, though marked on the Ordnance Map as Alport Bridge.

This bridge, now a substantial and well-built structure, spans a small stream known as Alport River, quiet and peaceful-looking enough just now, but in wet weather not to be trifled with, for it has within the memory of the present generation, swept away more than one of the present bridge’s predecessors – indeed this seems to be a family characteristic of Peak district streams, as residents in the neighbourhood tell me of sundry such mishaps.

A few yards on the Manchester side of Alport Bridge a lane leaves the high road on the Northern side and follows the Alport River for a distance of nearly two miles, till it reaches Alport Castle’s Farms, two lonely farm houses situated in the midst of one of the wildest and most beautiful valleys in all this beautiful part of the country.  On the left rises steeply and to a height of several hundred feet the great hill, Hey Ridge, with Hey Ridge Tor, (its summit) overshadowing the glen, and completely shutting it off from all the country to the west.

On the opposite side of the stream is Alport Edge, also rising to a great height, and separating Alport Dale, as this district is called, from the upper section of the Derwent Valley.  Looking down on these solitary dwellings, and forming part of the Alport Edge, are some rocks rising abruptly from the valley, and having very much the appearance of an ancient fortress – hence they have obtained the name of Alport Castles.

Such, then, is a brief description of Alport in the Woodlands.  To do anything like justice to its natural beauties would be a task far beyond the powers of the present writer – it should be seen by all lovers of rural loveliness – but enough has been said to show how out-of-the-way a spot it is.

It was here – Alport Castles’ Farm – that the True Believers, or Covenanters, or Nonconformists, or whatever they may have been called, in the ‘time of the persecution’ (Reign of Charles II), used to assemble to hold their (then) illegal meetings for prayer and praise, safe in their mountainous retreat from the harassing attentions of their enemies, the soldiers, who must indeed have had keen noses to scent out the ‘psalm-singing rascals’ in this remote corner.  The services were originally conducted in one room at the farm, and soon became so well attended that two rooms had to be utilised : then as people flooded in over the neighbouring hills, and adjournment was made to a larger barn, and in this barn the service, or Love Feast, has continued to be held ever since, and there is no record of the worshippers having ever been disturbed by their enemies, though some years since an infidel appeared on the scene, and endeavoured to bring people round to his views.  It need hardly be said that he met with remarkably little success, for he was in a hopeless minority.

The first Sunday in July is the date of this now firmly established institution and this day brings pilgrims to Alport Love Feast from all directions – I met people there from Moseley, Tideswell, and Swallow Nest, as well as many pedestrians from the valleys of the Astrop (original spelling – I presume Ashop), the Derwent, and the Noe – all bent on taking part in this by far the largest and most important Love Feast for many miles round.

The service began at 10.30 a.m. and lasted till about 4 p.m. in the historic barn.  The first part was an ordinary Wesleyan morning service conducted by the Rev. W. Wandless, of Bradwell, who also acted as president throughout the day.  The first service over, the Love Feast proper, i.e. the refreshments, came on in the form of large slices of cake handed round in clothes baskets and jugs of cold water, with which some regaled themselves while seated on the forms placed for their convenience in the barn ; some made themselves comfortable in the thick bracken with which the floor was carpeted, while others strolled about outside exchanging notes with friends they had not met with since the previous Feast.  The collection of course was not overlooked, a knife tray being requisitioned as no orthodox collection-plate or offertory bag was available in this remote corner of the world ; but it answered the purpose quite well, for there was hardly a person present who did not give something.  The refreshments were very soon disposed of, and people settled to the more interesting part of the programme, viz, the experiences.  One after another, members of the congregation rose and related their experiences as Christians – how they had been converted, how glad they were they were converted, how anxious they were everyone else should be, etc., etc., etc.  Between each speaker a hymn was sung, and in this way some two hours passed very pleasantly, and no doubt with benefit to many present.  To reproduce the speakers here would take up far too much space.  Suffice it to say the speakers were in great variety, some harangued the audience in a fiery, excited manner, after the style of the man who once talked of ‘dragging iniquity down the High Street with a cart-rope’ and seemed to be heard all over the Woodlands, while others spoke in subdued tones that were hardly audible at the further end of the barn.

About 3.30 p.m. everyone who had any experiences to relate appeared to have related them, and the president (Rev. W. Wandless) rose and told us that we must not suppose because he was a minister his life had been all smooth sailing – on the contrary he had had as many troubles and temptations as anyone.  Ministers are not kept in glass houses – indeed it would be no good if they were, for he said, they get so pelted that the glass would very soon be broken.

Mr Wandless referred very pathetically to his parents, long since gone from this life, or as his aged mother remarked on her death-bed ‘got a little start’ of him – they were both journeying to the same place and would meet again there, the only thing being that she had got a little start on the road.  A short prayer and a hymn or two followed, and the congregation were dismissed to their scattered homes, and here I would remark that a more orderly or decorous congregation I never saw in any church or chapel.  There must have been some 200 or 300 present for the large barn was full to overflowing and some even could not get in : but the talking, laughing, etc., etc., one generally sees outside a chuch were singularly absent – even the children behaved as though the service had made an impression on them.

After a few minutes for a cup of tea at the farm (in the room where the meetings were first held) I joined the throng wending their way down the picturesque dale, and a pretty scene it was, as the different coloured costumes of the ladies blending with the charms of nature gave a lively appearance to this usually lonely mountain glen.

Once more at Alport Bridge my nearest route lay across the Astrop (Ashop) by a wooden foot-bridge, and along the almost disused Roman Road, which crosses Blackley Hey and Hope Brinks – a distance of about four or five miles to the quiet little village of Hope; but some good people going to Bradwell very kindly offered me a seat in their trap.  Of course I did not say no, and a beautiful drive I had along the Sheffield Road to Astropton (Ashopton) (four miles) then along by the Derwent through Bamford to Brough Lane Head.

Arrived at Astropton one of our party, who has lived there the last 20 years or more, left us, but not before she had invited us (almost insisted) to go into her house for a cup of tea before going any further ; ‘Just a cup of tea – it is ready,’ etc. Of course eight or nine people could not drink a cup of tea and be off immediately without a word, so the nominal two minutes spread out into more like three quarters of an hour ere we bid our fellow-traveller ‘good-day’.

From Astropton down to Bamford the road lies in the valley between Win Hill on the west and Bamford Edge on the east, over which lies (in the writer’s opinion at least) the pleasantest road to Sheffield via Stanage Toll and Redmires.

At Brough Lane Head our roads again diverged, those for Bradwell turning off to the left through Brough, while I kept straight ahead for one mile to Hope and home, where I arrived safely after a very pleasant and long-to-be-remembered day in the Woodlands, whither I hope to go again some time and explore the tracks over the hills round Alport Castles.

Love Feasts appear to be a very ancient custom, having originated in Apostolic times, but like other good institutions they got corrupted in course of time, and so may (many) abuses crept in that at the Council of Carthage, A.D. 397, they were suppressed.  In modern times the custom of holding Love Feasts has been revived by the Moravians and Methodists in England, and the Glassites (followers of Rev. John Glass) in Scotland.

The particular feast herein referred to has now been held regularly for some 200 years, and seems likely to continue for another 200.  It is on record that Wesley himself once presided at Alport, and his followers may be met with there the first Sunday in July every year.

 

Old Newspaper Articles

As we have been trying to piece together the story of the Chapel and the Lovefeast, Jennifer did some research last year and found various articles.  The quality was poor so they needed retyping.  Today, I felt inspired to begin that task, starting with one from 1926.  Reports may not be completely factually correct but it is interesting to read what was said at the time.

Derby Daily Telegraph 1/9/26

For one hundred and seventy years the Alport Love Feast has been annually observed, and this year it has taken place as usual.  It is attended by Methodists from all parts of the country, who come year after year from a sentimental interest, one who has never missed for half a century travelling all night from beyond the border.  An old description of the Feast reads : –

The floor of the historical barn was strewn with hay, the seats were planks, and the hayloft served as a gallery.  The place was packed and many were unable to get in.  The veteran stewards of the place handed round, as of yore, the bread – thick slices of rich plum loaf – in farmers’ baskets, and the water from the springs of the tiny river Ashop in quart jugs – no glasses – while the collection, indispensable in a Methodist service, was made in a big mahogany knife-box, that looked as if it had been on the kitchen table of the farmhouse for two or three hundred years.

How the event originated will probably never be known, but Mr. Joseph Dyson, a Sheffield worthy, remembers it for over eighty years and he dates the inauguration about the year 1754.  John Wesley died in 1791, or nearly forty years later, and it is not unlikely that the founder of Methodism himself participated in the ceremony during his Derbyshire pilgrimage.

A year on

As we are approaching another Lovefeast, and I have been posting regularly on Facebook, I realised that I hadn’t posted on the blog for a long time – a whole year!  Whilst looking back at documents that we gathered together last year, I reread the text that Jennifer Fox wrote for us for a slide show that was part of our fund raising activities for renovations in 2010-2011.  We are actually considering extending this work to make Chapel more accessible and are looking into the possibility of having a loo and improving the path.

Jennifer has been our circuit steward for 10 years and is retiring this year.  We are very grateful to her for her support and friendship.

I thought people might be interested to read the history that she prepared at that time.

    WOODLANDS METHODIST CHURCH     Research  by Jennifer Fox

 

Before the Chapel was built (SLIDE Map)

John Brentnall writing about William Bagshawe, the Apostle of the Peak gives Alport Castles as a place associated with Bashawe’s ministry 1662 -1702.

 

SLIDES Love-Feast

Alan Ogle in his articles about Methodism in the Peak says  “there is a tradition that John Wesley on his journeys sometimes preached  at Alport Castles Farm. As the old bridle path from Yorkshire passes through the farm yard and the farm itself was a house of call for travellers this seems a possibility.

What is known is that from the early 1760’s an annual Methodist Love-feast has taken place in the barn on the first Sunday in July.  The Love-feast (originally called an “Agape”) goes back to the early days of Christianity. It was revived by the Moravians and by the early Methodists.

The meeting is informal and consists of prayer, praise and fellowship. Bible passages are read and those attending often contribute other readings. Some speak of what their faith has meant to them and of their Christian experience. Favourite hymns are sung unaccompanied. Pieces of rich fruit cake are passed round in a basket. Two traditional old two-handled Love-feast cups filled with water are also passed round.”

 

SLIDES of FARMS & SNAKE INN

Seth Evans, in the Methodist Recorder of 1902 writes “This wild district has produced many good champions of the Cross, such as John, Joseph, Jonathan and Isaac Longden. John Longden kept the Snake Inn and held prayer meetings in the public house. One Sunday in 1812 being planned to preach at Tideswell, fourteen miles distant, finding that nearly all his congregation had gone to see a poor fellow hang in the gibbet several miles away, he followed, and preached to the multitude beneath the gibbet post. Another time a bridge over the river Derwent in the Woodlands, collapsed and killed several men whose bodies were removed to the nearest farm house, which was on our plan as a preaching station. As they lay in the dwelling, Mr Longden preached a special sermon from Christ’s words in reference to the Tower of Siloam, ‘Think ye that these men were sinners above all men?’ Its powerful effect was marked by converting power in the crowded company gathered beneath the roof under such solemn circumstances”

According to the earliest evidence available in a preacher’s plan of 1824, there were societies in the Bradwell Wesleyan Methodist Circuit at Gellet Hay and Hag Lee. (The Bradwell & Bakewell Wesleyan Circuits amalgamated in 1905 to form the North Derbyshire Mission Circuit. In 1944 this in turn amalgamated with the Bakewell ex-Primitive Circuit to form the Peak Methodist Circuit.)

A Wesleyan Methodist Circuit Plan of 1858-9 shows that Gillott Hey, Hagg Lee and Alport Farm were used as preaching places. “Most of the Woodlands farmers were tenants of the Duke of Devonshire. He was so impressed by their religious faith and sincerity that he built them the chapel. It was their decision that the chapel should be affiliated to Methodism.” (Alan Ogle)

SLIDE  “Woodlands Wesleyan Methodist Chapel erected in 1868 by His Grace the Duke of Devonshire. Work done by his tenants and others” (The building accounts book)

SLIDE   The names of the men who worked on the building, carting materials etc

Isaac Longden Jonathan Eyre  Samuel Shaw  John Bridge  George Eyre  Benjamin Dawson  Jonathan Wilcockson  David Allott  John Walker  John Allott  Robert Littlewood  John Longden  John Thorp  Henry Eyre  Aaron Bradbury  Jonathan Cotrel  William Walker  Benjamin Ashton  Frank Hall

The stone was obtained from Ladybower and Moscar, the slate from Glossop and the pulpit and forms from Castleton.  Example: Isaac Longden -ten days with one horse and man at 6s per day paid £3.0.0

SLIDE  “Woodlands  at a meeting held in the chaple May 16^th 1871 it was agred to pay to ceep the chaple in repare”  (spellings as written)

 

Accounts for 1871/2

 

£   s  d

G A Eyre                          10  0

Mr J Longden                   10  0

Mr Jonathan Eyre             10  0

Mr David Allott                10  0

Mr John Bridge                 10  0

Mr John Allott Sen.           10  0

Mr John Allott Jun.            5   0

Mr John Wilcockson         10  0

John Walker                      10  0

Mr V H Eyre                     10  0

PAID                4 15  0

 

John Bridge began to clean the chapel May 16^th 1871 at 1s /week for one year

£    s    d

May 16 John Bridge for cleaning chapel 11 weeks @ 1s per week                  11   0

2 books                               10

June 17                                                                         Painting                          9    0

Jan 13 1872   Jonathan Eyre                                        one load coal                  9    6

Candles                           2    0

John Bridge  Chapel cleaning                                                                        2   12   0

Bars and Ale ??                                                                              2   3

4     6   7

Balance in Hand at Feb 24^th 1871                                                                               7 1/2

PAID                   4     5  11 1/2

COLLECTED      4    15  0

May 14^th 1872 George A Eyre                                          Balance in Hand          9  0 1/2

 

It appears that the Members agreed to pay the cost of running the chapel equally between them.

As shown above in 1871 most were giving 10 shillings a year, these are the amounts they each gave to the Treasurer in subsequent years

SLIDE

• 15s
• 13s
• 16s 4d

1881        9s

1882      15s 4d

1883        9s

1884   £1 4s 0d

1886   £1 1s 4d

 

 

SLIDE  Expenditure in 1883:              £   s   d

G A Eyre Chapel keeping                  2  12  0

New flue                                                   2  2

Mr Shaw bill for Harmonion               2   8  0

Mr Leming Sallary                                 15  0

J P Hunter 71/2 yd Matting @ 1/8         12  6

Himbook binding                                     1   6

15 cwt coal and ale                                  9   0

17 cwt coal and ale                                  9  10

 

 

SLIDE   Given to Charles Bridge for playing the “Armoin” in May 1876 – £1 15s  0d

G A Eyre 10s and I Longden,, V H Eyre, D Allott, J Allott and J Eyre 5s

 

SLIDE     Members of the Chapel in 1870 and where they lived

There were 15 members in 1868 when the Chapel was built & 21 members in 1870

They each paid Class money of 1d per week to Bradwell Circuit)

Jonathan Eyre, Sarah Eyre                                        Alport

Martha Buttress                                                         Alport

Elizabeth Ann Eyre,  Hannah Eyre                           Alport

Isaac Longden,  Elizabeth Longden                          Upper House

Hariatt Allott,  Mary Allott                                        Wood

John Wilcockson,  Ann Wilcockson                          Blagden View

George Eyre, Henry Eyre, Sarah Eyre                       Gillott Hey

John Allott                                                                  Lockerbrook

John Bridge, Hannah Bridge                                      Bell Hagg

Robert Littlewood, Mily Littlewood                          Hagg Lee

John Walker                                                               Elmin Pits

Jane Hall                                                                    Elmin Pits

 

“There were 235 people living in Hope Woodlands on the 1871 Census”

 

SLIDE   The Society Steward’s Account book from March 1912 to March 1920 shows that membership varied from 18 to 22.  Society  Stewards during this time were Jonathan Eyre and Benjamin Longden.

The Ministers were:  1912 – 13 Revd W Fiddian Moulton

1913 – 19 Revd H Stanley Sandford

1919 –       Revd Frederick Inwood

 

 

SLIDE   North Derbyshire Mission Plan & Directory 1908 (Show actual copy?)

Society Stewards – Mr Jonathan Eyre Mr Benjamin Longden

Poor Steward – Mrs B Longden

Sunday School Superintendent – Mr John Allott

Chapel Stewards-  J. Eyre and Isaac Longden

The plan of Preachers’ appointments shows that services at Woodlands were at 2.30pm on Sundays and 7.30 pm on Wednesdays.

John Allott (Woodlands) & Charles Bridge (Ashopton) were listed as Local Preachers

 

SLIDE       Woodlands Members 1923 & where they lived

 

Jonathan  Eyre                               Alport

Isaac        Eyre                                     ‘’

Mary D    Eyre                                     ‘’

Annie       Eyre                               Gillott Hey

Mary  Webster                               Snake Cottage

Elizabeth Eyre                               Hayridge

Emily      Eyre                                      ‘’

Ann         Eyre                                      ‘’

Benjamin Eyre                                     ‘’

Alfred Longden                            The Hagg

Ellen   Longden                                   ‘’

Thomas W Gee                             Rowlee

Mary H      Gee                                   ‘’

Sarah E M Gee                                    ‘’

Annie Isobel Gee                                ‘’

Mabel Ollerenshaw                       Blagden View

 

Total number of Members 16     Steward Alfred Longden

 

By 1928 there were 10 members

SLIDE   The Receipts and expenditure account book 1912-1920

“ This book is the property of the Trustees & Sunday School Teachers of the Woodlands Wesleyan Chapel and contained a list of provisions required for the Teas also financial account of all Xmas teas & entertainment since Xmas 1910” (as written)

SLIDE

List of Provisions and Confectionary required for the Teas

16 lbs ham

2 tins tongue

5 lbs best butter

10 lbs lump sugar

1 ½ lbs tea

½ lb coffee

8 lbs cake or slab 2 sorts

4 sandwiches cake

4 sponge moulds

3 currant moulds

4 doz assorted cakes

3 ½ doz currant & plain tea cakes

2 fruit loaves

2 seed loaves

1 lb queen cakes

 

SLIDE          Receipts Xmas 1910              £   s    d

Tea first day                      2  15  0

taken at the door                   11  0

Tea second day                    12  6

Sale of Provisions                   18  3

4  16   9

 

Subscriptions towards tea                                 s   d

Miss Eyre                         2  6

Miss Buxton                     2  0

Mrs B Eyre                       3  0

Mr Willis Bridge              4  0

Mr Jon Eyre                      5  0

Miss Beckett                     2  6

Mr B Longden                   5  0

Mr I Longden                    5  0

Mr A Longden                  3   6

1     12  6

6      9   3

To Cost of Provisions from A F Hancock Ltd             3      0    8

balance                 3     8    7

 

Cream given by Mrs Peter Eyre & others       Bread given by John W Longden

The Chapel was continually updated.  For example in 1919, the cost of a new stove was £7 15s  4d and in 1925, two new lamps were purchased at a cost of £3.  It is also evident                                                                                                                           from this account book that teas, concerts and fund raising efforts were very much a part of the Church life at Woodlands.  Examples:

 

From November 1914 to April 1915 monthly contributions of  £2 were forwarded to the Revd H Stanley Sandford for Belgian wounded soldiers and refugees.

 

A Bachelors Tea & Concert on February 19^th 1921 raised  £8  9s  5d and a Young Ladies Tea & Lecture took place on January 14^th 1922,  proceeds to the Renovation Funds.

In February 1922, another Bachelors Tea & Concert raised £6 for the Royal Infirmary and £6 for the Royal Hospital.

In March 1923 a concert given by Hathersage Friends on behalf of their Organ Fund raised £3.

SLIDE    Harvest Festivals were always grand affairs as the following accounts show:

Harvest Festival September 20^th 1925                               £  s  d

Receipts                                Collections                           3  2  4 1/2

sale of fruit etc                     4  3  2

supper                                     13  0

Mr & Mrs Gee Subs                 5  0

sale of confectionary                4 11

8 8  5 1/2

 

Expenditure  paid to F W Longden for soloists expenses   1  0  0

to A F Hancocks Ltd for

cakes, tea, sugar etc                                  8  6

2 lbs potted meat                                       2  8

1  11  2

 

balance   6  17  3 1/2

 

A Concert & Tea on January 9^th 1926 raised £5 10s 2d for the Circuit Debt!

In 1926 the Women’s Auxiliary tea & meeting together with boxes & Easter Offerings raised £5 13s 10d.

The renovations included redecoration by J & J Hanson Newark at a cost of £42 and the re-opening services on May 1^st 1927 were conducted by the Revd Frederick  Inwood.

Talk about & show slides of the first renovations (addition of the Sunday School?)& the centenary celebrations

 

Exhibition Panels : photographs and quotations describing the Lovefeast for the exhibition Remote and Radical

The exhibition was introduced by saying :

In a remote barn in the Woodlands Valley people have gathered for the annual Methodist Alport Lovefeast for over 250 years.  But even before this the area was a meeting place of the Covenanters and Dissenters meaning that it has, perhaps, been a place of worship for more than 350 years.

Set between Kinder Scout and the barren moors of Bleaklow the tiny hamlet of Alport nestles beneath the imposing natural landslip of Alport Castles – it is at once a place of awesome grandeur and intimate peace.

The story is full of characters including the ‘Apostle of the Peak’, William Bagshawe, and suffragist Hannah Mitchell, who was born at Alport, and through the exhibition we are hoping to collect more recent memories and reminiscences.