Fairy St, Elton, Wesleyan Methodist

The church did not have a graveyard.

^Our records show that this church is closed. Click the arrow on the line above to find links to search for web sites of current churches of the same denomination, or try the Nearby Churches link above.

Earlier services had been held in the cottage of Mary Ann Brooks in Wellington Street in 1873, but a rapidly growing congregation prompted them to move to rooms rented from Bury Co-op in Hopkinson Street. But within a short time the Co-op reclaimed the rooms and the congregation was obliged to move to dilapidated Fairy Street premises in Albion Street. The inadequacy of the building prompted them to realise the need for a custom built church and in 1881 local architects Maxwell and Tuke were retained to design a school and chapel on a site in Fairy Street, off Bolton Road.

The new building was opened on 13th April 1882, despite having faced several problems including severe storm damage and the threat of subsidence from the construction of a railway siding nearby. By now the township of Elton was growing and so, too, was the school in Fairy Street. In 1884 it had 213 scholars and 28 teachers.

By the early 1900s once again the search was on for new premises. Funding had begun as early as 1903 but it was not until July of 1912 that a procession marched behind a large banner from Fairy Street to a new site in Bolton Road to lay the foundation stones of the new building.

The Wesleyan Methodist church was formed in the 18th century from religious societies founded by John Wesley and his preachers. It suffered many secessions, but was the largest Nonconformist denomination in the 19th century. In 1932 the Wesleyan Methodists joined with the Primitive Methodists and the United Methodists to form the Methodist Church of Great Britain.

It was located at SD7933710676 (Lat/Lon 53.59225, -2.313652). You can see this on maps provided by:

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