Heald Wesleyan Chapel Memorial Stone

Heald Wesleyan Chapel Memorial Stone

Heald is a straggling moorland village situated  on high ground on the road to Burnley two miles North of Bacup. The inhabitants of this place, during the 17th century lived hard and rough. The main industry was spinning and weaving the cloth had to be carried to Rochdale or Burnley on the mans' back which in itself was a days work. The money earned had to be supplemented by what could be grown or farmed. It was no place for a weakling which is probably why the nonconformists took hold here. The people had been brought up to stand on their own feet. The nearest church was at Newchurch and to get there meant a good long walk over the hills. The road to Newchurch from Deerplay was and is still known as  "Kirkgate" The Wesleyan Chapel was built in 1832 and the plaque says it closed in 1868.


The inscription on the Plaque says " This stone is erected by the Heald Wesleyan Church marks the site of the Old Wesleyan Chapel and School 1832 -1868. However the information on the stone does not seem to tally completely with the information on the website. The actual stone is on quite a reasonable footpath, and although I was in a hurry there were no obvious signs of a chapel having been at that spot.


This website details some of the history and also shows this same memorial stone looking west.  This site shows where the memorial is now sited. I hope this is the correct spot. This is about 10 minutes from the Sharneyford checkpoint on the "Rossendale Way in a Day Challenge" event, organised by Rossendale Mountain Rescue.