St Thomas the Apostle
Heptonstall, Yorkshire
A lovely place, where American poet Sylvia Plath is buried; the new churchyard was recently used in the filming of the BBC series Happy Valley and the old graveyard in the BBC series The Gallows Pole.
Heptonstall is one of the oldest Methodist Churches in the world, which has been in use since having been founded in 1764.
John Wesley made 20 visits to this hill top industrial village near Halifax between 1747 and 1786, but the Methodist society originated in the evangelical activities of William Darney. The society met in a cottage at Northgate End until an octagonal chapel was built in 1764 (extended in 1802). By 1818 there were no fewer than 1,002 children enrolled in the Sunday School. Membership, which reached 446 in 1821, had fallen by 1939 to 50; but the church, in the Upper Calder Circuit, survives as one of the oldest surviving Methodist chapels in use.
The church is now closed for regular worship, however, the building will be open on Sundays and Bank Holidays for people to come in and look around. There will be six services a year, which will be advertised widely, including on social media. It is also still available for weddings and funerals. To arrange any of these, please contact the minister, Revd Kathie Heathcoat.
