Methodism is said to have been introduced to Sabden in 1766 when a Mr. Moorhouse and a Mr. Bradley came to live here.  In 1778 Mr. Moorhouse moved to Castle Clough, but Mr. Bradley was joined by John Harrison from Accrington.  Sabden was put on the Plan of Services of the Burnley Methodist Circuit in 1810, and John Harrison’s house was used for services and class meetings. The first contribution to the Burnley Circuit quarterly meeting was made in September of 1810, and amounted to the princely sum of 5s. 2d (about 26p in today’s money).  Exterior view of the present chapel

One of the old stained glass windows from the original church.

John Harrison’s house was used for worship for about 25 years until a chapel seating 150 was built in 1835 at a cost of £350.  The chapel was opened on 18th October 1835 by Rev. Benjamin Frankland.  A Sunday school was also built and established the same year.  A 350-seater chapel was built in 1844 and opened by Dr. George Osborn.  The cost to build this chapel was £1,130.  In 1860, the school building was enlarged at a cost of £200 in order to accommodate the increasing population and thriving community.  The third chapel, seating 500, was built in 1879 at a cost of £2,270 and was opened on 10th July by Rev. W.T.Ratcliffe.  This chapel survived until the end of 1965 when it was demolished due to a second outbreak of dry rot, which had made the structure of the building unsafe.  
The church was a lovely building, built in the shape of a cross and with a spire rising to a height of 90 feet.  An organ had been installed in 1894 at a cost of £300.  This was hand pumped by men in a small room to the side of the organ.  It was converted to electricity when that power source became available in the village.  
After the demolition of the chapel, a room in the school was converted to a small chapel, and is still in use today.  Two stained glass windows from the old church were installed into the school premises, one in the new chapel, and one on the staircase.  The remaining 5 windows were stored until they were sold to Philips of London in 1995.  

Inside the chapel

Exterior view of the present-day chapel

A small plot of land at the rear of the school building was sold in 1973 for house building, and the large plot of land at the front of where the main chapel had stood was sold for house building in 1988.  The sale of these two plots of land reduced the maintenance liability of the church and gave us sufficient funds to build a small car park. 

Much improvement work has been done to the property over the last few years including the installation of double glazed windows, and a complete re-roofing.  The kitchen and toilets were completely refurbished in 1999 thanks to a legacy left to the church by a lifelong resident, and member of the church, Mr. Harold Brogden.   

 

Further information about the church and church events can be obtained from any of the Church Stewards, or by e-mail on Mmccrerie@aol.com   

I am grateful for the details of the early history of Methodism in East Lancashire, which can be found in a book called ‘History of Wesleyan Methodism in Burnley and East Lancashire’ by B Moore J.P., written in Burnley in 1899.

Michael McCrerie.  

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