Mount Zion Methodist Heritage Chapel

Mount Zion stands in beautiful surroundings on the edge of Ogden Moor in Yorkshire. It is a significant site in the history of Methodism and one of two designated heritage chapels in Calderdale. John Wesley regularly visited and preached. He stayed in the cottage which still adjoins the Chapel, in a small first floor room now known as the ‘Prophet’s Chamber’.

The original meeting house was built in 1773 and replaced in 1815. The foundation stone and the sundial remain from the original building. The current interior was designed in 1881 by Leeming and Leeming. The pew rent board is still in situ and the Belgian organ from 1892 is in working order. The Chapel also houses the Horace Hird collection of Methodist ceramics.

In 1797 when the New Connexion led by Alexander Kilham, broke away from the Wesleyans, the ‘Kilhamites’ outnumbered the latter at Mount Zion. Consequently, the Wesleyans met in a barn across the road, leaving the New Connexion to meet at Mount Zion. Regular meetings ceased in 2014 when the building became a heritage chapel, but worship still takes place at least six times a year to mark important events in the history of the Methodist Church, locally and nationally and at significant times in the Christian calendar; the Chapel remains licensed for weddings and funerals.

The aspiration is for Mount Zion to remain a special place in the community, its presence demonstrating that generations of ‘people of faith’ have brought us to where we are today, in so doing creating a heritage, which while firmly rooted in the past, may inform the present and influence the future. The aim is to inspire people (of all faiths and none) to know about, cherish and seek to preserve this heritage, in the process adding their own stories to those which the Chapel already tells.

Mount Zion offers a programme of learning outside the classroom for children and students; adult group visits are very welcome; the Chapel hosts, open days, cultural and social events and a range of activities. Archive and record preservation is central to its purpose. In addition to the Hird Collection, Mount Zion houses a range of documents and artefacts. These are in the process of being accessioned and catalogued. There exists a comprehensive database of births and burials, plus a detailed grave plan. These may be accessed via the Mount Zion website.