We noted earlier that the 1689 Act of Toleration allowed nonconformist churches and chapels to be licensed and that the Salterforth Baptists were established in 1861 according the Mr Lewis in his history of the Barnoldswick Baptists but I have seen an earlier date of 1852 mentioned. Salterforth seems to have been a hotbed of Non-conformism as there was a Quaker Meeting House and an Inghamite chapel as well. My picture of the old chapel was a bit of a puzzle for me for years because it looks like the old Baptist church in Wapping in Barlick but somehow it was wrong. I have been told that it is actually the old Inghamite church in Salterforth. If anyone can confirm this I'd like to hear from them!
I can tread on firmer ground with the present church as I have a report from the Craven Herald, 24th of June 1932 of the laying of the foundation stone on June 18th by Mrs Harrison of Dumfries for the new church which replaces the old one which had stood on the site for 170 years, this makes the foundation date 1762. A glass time capsule was placed under the stone containing copies of the Craven Herald, photographs of the old chapel, several newspapers describing the last service in the old building, a list of members of the building committee and three coins, a shilling, a penny and a halfpenny. The land on which the old church stood was sold by John Jackson to William Batty in 1754 and was described as Gateland Croft. The first chapel was built by volunteer labour but the new one will cost £3,000. When I interviewed Harold Duxbury for the Lancashire Textile Project in 1982 he told me that Briggs and Duxbury built it and it was the first major job he had as Clerk of Works in charge of the job. He told me that they installed a mortar mill at Salterforth Shed driven off the end of the weaving shed lineshaft to make the mortar for the building out of putty lime and clinker from the boiler house. The stone came from Sagar's quarry on Salterforth Lane and was carried to the site by steam wagons carrying about four tons on each load.
Sadly, the last time I saw any mention of the church was in a sale notice. I thought back to the time when Margaret Sharples persuaded me to go with her and join in singing a 'do it yourself' Messiah at the church in the 1970s when I lived opposite her at Hey Farm. She knew that in my youth I had been a chorister and loved the Messiah. It was the first time I had sung seriously since I was a lad and I lined up with the tenors but soon found I had to do a quick scuttle round the back of the organ to join the baritones! The conductor had a word with me afterwards because he had noticed and and he said that he could tell I'd sung it before because I was following the runs in the music so well. At least one part of my misspent youth had come in handy! We did the performance on the Sunday and I remember what a satisfying thing it was to do, great fun and I think we were quite good.
We need to pop up the hill to Barlick now and take note of the Reverend Richard Milner, he was curate under the Reverend Mordaunt Barnard from December 1835 to April 1840 when he took over as vicar until he died in 1880. Richard Milner was known as 'the best beggar in Craven' for his fund-raising ability. While he was curate he raised funds to build what was described as a Church school but this was a cover for building a chapel of ease for Gill Church, the old St James' church on Church Street. This concerns us because originally the committee looked for a site 'on Blue Pot Lane'. This was what is now Park Road and Park Avenue and the stated intention for building there was to make it more convenient for the inhabitants of Salterforth. These plans fell through as land couldn't be bought there and the site on Church Street was donated by Mr James Royds of Mount Falinge, Rochdale. At first the new church was used as a day school during the week but was soon moved to Butts. The present Church School in York Street was built in 1883.
I can't find the reference but I have a memory of reading that when Mr Milner had got his Barlick school sorted out he turned his attention to Salterforth and helped raise funds to build the school on Salterforth Lane in 1844, enlarged in 1910. I have an old picture of it and the extension has been built so it must be shortly after 1910, note the unpaved road. I've run out of space again! We'll have a final round up next week.
SCG/17/06/12
The old Inghamite chapel.
Salterforth school about 1910.