Dunham-on-the-Hill (Hapsford) United Methodist Free Church

1882:  The Q4 Preaching Plan for the Chester 1^st Primitive Methodist Circuit showed twelve ‘Places’: George Street Chester (built 1862/3, head of circuit), Guilden Sutton, Saughall, Willaston, Little Neston, Whitby, Ellesmere Port, Pool Town, Manley, Elton, Dunham and [Mickle] Trafford.  There was no chapel in Dunham so the members probably met in a private dwelling; there must have been enough of them to justify planning a weekly preacher.  The society at Mickle Trafford would have had the same arrangement since the chapel there was not built until 1885.  The Plan shows that there was a weekly Sunday service at Dunham at 2.30pm led entirely by lay preachers.  On every Sunday bar one during the quarter, the preacher went on to lead the evening service at Mickle Trafford, nearly 4 miles away.  Alternate weeks there was a Tuesday evening service at 6.45pm taken by one of the two ministers from Chester.

1897:  The Cheshire Observer reported three times on the new United Methodist Free Church chapel in Dunham:  6 March 1897; 24 April 1897; 9 October 1897.

The chapel is wrongly labelled ‘Methodist Chapel (Primitive)’ on both the 1897 and 1908 25” OS maps.

Two of the major benefactors mentioned in the report of the foundation stone laying above had stones built into the front wall of the chapel, to the left of the porch: Thomas Jeffs of Hapsford Hall and Miss Evans.

The entry for Thomas Jeffs in the 1901 Census shows he was a farmer age 76; he was living with his wife Jane (69), two daughters, two sons, a domestic servant and six farm employees.  Hapsford Hall still exists (Grade II Listed Building); it lies about half a mile NNW from the chapel.  An entry for Miss (Elizabeth) Evans has been found in the 1891 Census; Bowling Green Bank is shown on the 1898 25” map; it is a short road off Brook Street in Chester, only a short distance from The Temperance Hall (previous a PM chapel built in 1862/3) and the 1888 PM chapel, both in George Street.  She was single, aged 41, a carter and cow keeper, living with her nephew Edward Tomlinson aged 19, single, a cowman.  Sadly, Elizabeth was never to see the chapel completed – her death was registered in the second quarter of 1897.

The chapel is not mentioned in Kelly’s Cheshire Directories for 1902, 1906 or 1910.

1940:  The 1940 list of Methodist chapels has an entry for this chapel in the ‘Districts C’ download, page 90, Circuit 402: Frodsham:

Hapsford (Dunham Hill): United Methodist; Brick; seating for 120; Chairs; no School Hall or other rooms.

1990s:   The chapel survived as a place of Methodist worship until the late 1990s when the high cost of repairs required to the building forced its closure.

2022: The current owner – a retired builder – told me that he bought the chapel at auction in 2001.  Very little land came with the chapel so he acquired more at the back and right-hand side.  He has added an extension to the right of the chapel (closely matching the original in brick and style), a garage and a conservatory at the back.  He was told that the original land was provided by a local farmer – perhaps the owner of the farm named Woodhouse which appears to lie on the same plot of land as the chapel on the 1897 map referred to above – and that the chapel cost £550 to build.  It was heated by a wood-burning stove in the cellar – the hot air was ducted around the chapel before being vented out.  The chapel is roofed with Ruabon tiles, matching the Ruabon brick walls.  The owner has plans to further enhance the area in front of and to the side of the chapel.