Bethesda Methodist Chapel, Hanley

Bethesda Methodist Chapel, Hanley
Bethesda Methodist Chapel, Hanley Location in Staffordshire
53°01′24″N 2°10′37″W / 53.0233°N 2.1769°W / 53.0233; -2.1769
OS grid reference	SJ 882 473
Location	Albion Street, Hanley, Staffordshire
Country	England
Denomination	Methodist
Website	Bethesda Methodist Chapel
Architecture
Functional status	Redundant
Heritage designation	Grade II*
Designated	19 April 1972
Architect(s)	J. H. Perkins Robert Scrivener
Architectural type	Chapel
Groundbreaking	1819
Completed	1887
Closed	29 December 1985
Specifications
Materials	Brick with stuccoed facade and slate roof

Bethesda Methodist Chapel is a disused Methodist chapel, in Hanley, Staffordshire, England. One of the largest Nonconformist chapels outside London, the building has been known as the "Cathedral of the Potteries", being "one of the largest and most ornate Methodist town chapels surviving in the UK".^[1]

The first Methodist chapel on the site was built by the Methodist New Connexion in the late 18th century. Finding the building too small for their growing membership, the congregation replaced it with the current building in 1819, to the designs of a local amateur architect. The chapel is built over two stories and is in the Italianate style, with further work to expand the building completed in 1859 and 1887.

It became a Grade II* listed building in 1972, but this did not prevent it deteriorating. The chapel was closed for active worship in 1985, the size of the congregation having diminished. After passing through a number of owners, it was acquired by the Historic Chapels Trust in 2002 and is undergoing an extensive restoration scheme.