Churches in Great Aycliffe |
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The Chapel Richard and Margaret Errington have kindly supplied information about Aycliffe Methodist Chapel from information taken from the deeds of Chapel House. The first indentures for the sale of premises, dwellings and garden garth recorded was July 21, 1856, and again on January 1, 1857 for the sum of £75. The property was held in trust as a meeting place or chapel for Primitive Methodists. The Trustees are recorded in an Indenture dated 6th November, 1886: By Indenture of this dt md btwn WILLIAM NELSON of Great Aycliffe in the Coy of Durham Boot and Shoe Maker JOSEPH GRAHAM of Middridge in the sd Coy Carpenter and THOMAS ROBSON of Darlington in the sd Coy Storekeeper and THOMAS CROSBY of Heighington in the said Coy Labourer of the one pt and the sd WILLIAM NELSON THOMAS ROBSON WILLIAM JACKSON Mason HENRY MARINER Miller MATTHEW GARTHWAITE Shoemaker and FRANCIS WATSON Railway Signalman all of Great Aycliffe aforesaid THOMAS DUNN Newspaper Manager MILES DONSON JACKSON Machinist STEPHEN GLADWIN Bootmaker THOMAS HUCK Signalman BENJAMIN DOBSON Commercial Clerk WILLIAM DIXON Fitter WILLIAM SUTTON Shingler THOMAS MARSHALL BARKER Joiner FRANCIS HESLOP Tailor and WILLIAM WHITFIELD Commercial Clerk all of Darlington afsd and SAMUEL DRESSER of Heighington afsd Grocer (thrinar clld "the sd Trustees") of the other pt RECITING by an Indenture dtd the 2nd January 1857 and md btwn Thomas Dixon the sd Thomas Crosby the sd William Nelson and William Walker Garry of the first pt and the sd Joseph Graham Thomas Tiplady the sd Thomas Robson Edward Bristow Pilkington John Gair William Bell the sd Thomas Crosby and the sd William Nelson of the second part the pce of land mssge and herdits thrinar dscrbd and intended to be thrby convyd were granted bargained sold released and confirmed unto and to the use of the sd persons parties thrto of the second pt their heirs and assigns forever NEVERTHELESS upon the trusts and for the ends intents............ |
The Chapel The Chapel was purchased from the Trust in 1970 by Richard and Margaret Errington. The Chapel was duly demolished and a new house constructed in its place. This house was designed by James Douglas, the son-in-law of Harley Richardson, and Rickaby Bros. of Aycliffe built it. Harley Richardson asked if the house could be called 'Chapel House' in memory of his father who was a lay preacher and who died of heart failure/pneumonia cycling home from Aycliffe Chapel to Darlington one winter's night in a snowstorm. It was thought he had fallen off his bicycle and lay unconscious in the cold at Beaumont Hill. |
At a later date the father of Harley Richardson, a Darlington Architect, designed the final Chapel building and it was completed about 1888. The remains of the date stone exists in the garden of Chapel House:
Wesleyan, Primitive and United Methodists merged about 1932 to form the Methodist Church Unification. Aycliffe Methodist Chapel was formerly Primitive Methodist. The Trustees in Aycliffe in 1936 were: Thomas Searle, Moore Marshall, Joseph Waters, Joseph Trowsdale, Angus Wilkinson, Austin George Crump, Arthur Williams, Robert John Shinkfield, Robert William Noddings, Thomas Edward Hudson, Jonathan Whinn, Alfred Banting Armstrong, Charles Harold Bulmer, William Waites, Amy Armstrong, Emma Isabella Bentley, Hannah Walker Walker, Iris Muriel Rogers, Vincent William Heslop, William Robinson, Ethel Garthwaite, Lucy Robinson and Matthew Garthwaite. |
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| Interior of the Primitive Methodist Chapel, courtsey Gill Myers | Demolition of the Primitive Methodist Chapel. Boys playing football are: Jim Gibb, Paul Myer, Stephen Foster and Karl Eastham, courtesy of Gill Myers |
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